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~~((The July 4th Special -- page 8 of 12))~~
"You can consider those rings a gift," said Renart. "Or payment for your mission, if you prefer. Whatever the outcome, they are yours."

'These must be quite valuable,' said Orric.

'Indeed,' said Renart's reaper. 'If you have some issue with holding onto them, then they would undoubtedly net you a sizable sum from the right buyer.'

Raul doubted that would happen, but there was historical precedent for it, at least. The Rainlords of Sair had often been in the business of selling military equipment to their allies, and Raul was sure that these rings would qualify as such.

With new or rare technology, though, they generally preferred to deconstruct the items for the purpose of reverse engineering and hopefully mass production. If successful, it was much more profitable in the long-term that way.

To his knowledge, they had never really tried to hoard such technology en masse for their own usage before, but that seemed to be changing with these new missions being dispatched out of Warrenhold.

"What ability do these rings possess?" said Melchor.

"Invisibility," said Renart. "Even from reapers."

Melchor did not react, though he must have wanted to. Aberrations with invisibility had been involved in the attack on Dunehall. The attack that had been responsible for numerous casualties among the different houses.

The attack that had been responsible for Lord Ismael's death and Ibai's disappearance.

Now Raul really wasn't sure how to feel. Sickened and confused didn't quite seem to cover it. The prospect of striking at Abolish with their very own weapon was certainly... appealing, in its own way. Perhaps too much so.

"I would explain how to use them," Renart went on, "but there is not much to it. Unlike other aberration-harvested items, these are very intuitive."

"I see," was all Melchor said.

And the thick silence returned, though it was accompanied by a heavy westerly wind now that they were outside.