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~~((The July 4th Special -- page 2 of 12))~~
'Two of you should go,' said Orric. 'The third should remain here in order to keep an eye on Miro and also to serve as backup in case this meeting turns into another fight.'

"Good thinking," said Leo. "'n we should probably inform the other Rainbros, eh?"

'That would be ideal, yes.'

"I can do that for ya."

'Are you sure? You wouldn't rather go to the meeting?'

"I mean, kinda, sure. But let's be real here, dudes. I ain't exactly the greatest negotiator in the world, y'know? 'n I figure you guys'd probably be more comfortable without me there, too."

'Hmm, why do you say that?'

"C'mon. You're afraid I'ma do somethin' crazy. Or say the wrong thing 'n botch the meeting. It's okay. I ain't offended. Really."

Melchor chortled. "Leo, we're Rainlords. We don't exactly have a reputation for calm agreeableness."

Leo scratched his lip and shrugged. "If you say so. Either way, meetings're pretty dull, so just go ahead 'n take the youngin' here." He eyed Raul. "You can handle it, right, chief?"

Raul hadn't expected to be prompted on his opinion at all. "Ah--yes, sir, I believe I can."

"See that? What a go-getter. Attitude like that, you'll go far, kiddo."

For some reason, Raul didn't think he really meant that.

Leo didn't give Melchor or his reaper another opportunity to argue with him. The boron beneath his feet disappeared, and he dropped straight down. "See yaz!"

Raul soon heard drilling noises from below as Leo presumably began tunneling his way toward the others. He exchanged looks with Cousin Melchor.

'Guess that settles that.' Orric latched onto Melchor's shoulder.

They left together.

Orric guided them toward the southwestern most fortress. The terrain was quite rough, and they didn't want Melchor to waste pan-rozum time just to move faster, so Raul cleared a smoother path with his power. A thick layer of top soil slid out of their way, creating a gently arching dirt road for them to jog across.