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((The Mon/Wen/Fri Double -- page 1 of 2))
The tour of Warrenhold continued and lasted much of the day, as the King wanted to meet all of the head Rainlords and talk to each of them for a while. Hector sat in on each one, mainly just observing and not saying much.

It seemed to go well, he thought. All of the Rainlords were appreciative of the asylum being granted to them, and the King was very welcoming and friendly.

His Majesty's primary interest seemed to be in Rainlords' plans moving forward. In every meeting, he asked about it. How long did they intend to stay in Atreya? Would any more of them be arriving? Where were the rest of their kin? What about their subjects in Sair? What were their intentions regarding Abolish? And the Sandlords taking over the Wetlands?

The King had a soft speaking voice, but he didn't pull his punches when it came to the subject matter of his questions. He could've just asked Hector all of these things, but he probably wanted to get his answers directly from the source.

Hector tried not to take it as a sign the King didn't trust his word. It was simply wise--not relying on only one person for all the answers to such an important subject.

That being said, though, the Rainlords didn't have that many proper answers for him to begin with. There was still so much uncertainty in their future, and they all knew it, even if they were reluctant to say so like Dimas and Zeff. Mainly, they told the King about their current efforts to rebuild their power so that they could "eventually" go reclaim their kin from the Vanguard and retake their territory.

It was nearly evening already by the time the King finished meeting with everyone.

And it would be on this day that Hector did something that he had never done before--at least, not on this scale. Ever since being informed that the King intended to visit, Hector had been thinking about what this evening might be like. And he of course made sure to warn the kitchen staff several days in advance.

He invited everyone in the castle to come eat together with him, and he hosted his first proper banquet in Warrenhold.