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And now there were these Sparrows who could manipulate minds as well. Were they in some way related to Ettol? Hector intended to ask Hanton Gaolanet about that the next time they spoke, but he had a feeling that even if the Sparrow did know something, he wouldn't be inclined to reveal it.

The notion that the Sparrows might be able to assist with this whole Leo situation had crossed Hector's mind, but he didn't much care for the multitude of different ways in which he could imagine that going horribly wrong. And while it was certainly tempting, thinking that Hanton might be able to just fix everything for him with a simple 'mind tweak' or whatever, it also seemed... like a pretty fucked up thing to do to someone, regardless of the reasoning behind it.

'Lord Goffe.'

Hector's eyes perked up. He hadn't allowed himself to become so lost in thought that he stopped paying to attention to those in front of him, but a protracted silence had drawn out while he considered what else he might be able to say or do here tonight.

All such concerns were shoved to the back of his mind, however, when he heard Ericoros address him for the very first time since they'd met.

'I do have one question,' the captive reaper said.

"I'm listening," said Hector.

'What is the overall objective of this little empire of yours?' said Ericoros.

And there arrived more silence, heavier than before as Hector thought about his response carefully. His "little empire," huh? Why was Ericoros asking about that kind of thing now? It was a bit late, wasn't it? Three weeks of cold, silent observance--and now this?

Well, whatever. Hector had pondered that question for himself many times, already. Maybe he hadn't fully articulated it to anyone else yet, but he didn't think it was that difficult to answer.

"It's pretty simple," said Hector. "The protection of civilians and the preservation of knowledge."