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'Not lost,' said Garovel. 'Losing. And yeah, it sounds like Jackson made it out alive, but I'm also hearing rumors that he is gravely wounded and unable to lead.'

'Wounded?' said Worwal. 'He's undead! Why should his wounds matter so much?!'

Garovel's hollow gaze went to Abbas. 'Why should the regenerative properties of your armor be impaired?'

Worwal paused. 'You are saying that Morgunov attacked him with nanomachines, as well?'

'It's possible,' said Garovel. 'Probable, even. You two didn't even come into direct contact with Morgunov, correct? And yet you were still infected. I think it's quite likely, therefore, that Morgunov hit Jackson with something far more potent.'

Silence arrived for a time until Worwal broke it again. 'Even so, that doesn't change the fact that reuniting with the Vanguard is our best option, at the moment.'

'That is your choice to make, of course,' said Garovel. 'But we will not be able to assist you. The Rainlords are still fugitives from them. Even if they are busy with the war, we can't risk drawing their attention to Warrenhold.'

"The Vanguard cannot help us," said Abbas. His downcast gaze was fixed on the helmet in his hands.

That made the silence return briefly as everyone waited for him to elaborate.

Worwal had to push him. 'What do you mean?'

"The Vanguard is the entire reason we are in this situation to begin with," said Abbas. "They drove out the Rainlords, weakening the nation and inviting attack from Abolish. We were fools to side with them over our own countrymen." The Lord Saqqaf took a heavy breath and rubbed his brow. "Asad was right."

More silence.

Damn, Hector thought. He didn't necessarily disagree, but... damn.

'If we had openly opposed the Vanguard, that would have invited an attack just the same,' said Worwal.