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'Overall, I think this is a fantastic idea,' said Sentsia. She shared glances with Yovess and Horatio. 'And given the... circumstances of our own House, I believe we may be especially well-suited to these tasks.'

'How do you mean?' said Garovel.

Mevox was quick to answer for her. 'She's referring to the fact that the Blackburns have been holed up in Marshrock for the last thirty years, barely ever setting foot outside Luzo. Y'know. That thing they did which caused pretty much all of our current problems? Everyone remembers that, right?'

'Mevox,' said Iziol.

'What? Was anything I said wrong?'

'It is true,' said Sentsia. 'We are at fault. But that is all the more reason that we, as a House, should work harder than any other to aid all of our kin here now.' She held Mevox's gaze steadily.

'Hmph. Nice words.'

'Thank you.'

Garovel took control of the conversation again. 'Well, in any case, there's no need to rush. I'd like everyone to take the next few days to evaluate potential candidates for both deployment and support. I want to be clear that the point of these missions is not to engage our enemies or to stomp out injustice wherever we find it. The objectives are strictly reconnaissance and, if possible, artifact retrieval. And that being said, those whom you wish to send should be capable of defending themselves if the need arises.'

'Makes sense to me,' said Mevox.

'Agreed,' said Yovess.

The meeting continued for a while longer as they moved on to other subjects, such as housing arrangements. Some of the Sebolts and Blackburns wanted to either swap rooms or move in to some of the recently renovated areas in the Entry Tower--which segued into the larger topic of Warrenhold's restoration.

It was proceeding well, by all accounts, but Hector knew that it wouldn't be able to continue like this indefinitely. Not without reliable funding.