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Hector had to wonder if that was really true. Sure would've been nice if it was, but his natural pessimism made it all but impossible to believe it. And while he didn't know much about Bloodeye, the guy didn't seem like the type to let things go. "You really think he'll give up just like that? I was under the impression that he wants the Sunsmith's head really badly."

'Oh, he does,' said Grigozo. 'You are certainly not mistaken about that. But even with the victory at Uego, the situation in Sair is still tenuous. If that country slips away from Abolish's grasp, much of the blame will fall upon him. A loss here, to you, will not likely affect his reputation much, but a loss there would be devastating.'

Hmm. When he put it like that, Hector was abruptly tempted to march over there and start raising hell. If most of the Rainlords weren't still in Vantalay, then he would've been more than just tempted.

The conversation didn't last much longer from there, as Grigozo's tone began to quickly sound more haggard and less focused. Perhaps the reaper was just faking it in order to persuade them to let him rest, but judging by Grigozo's visibly trembling form, Hector doubted it. He didn't have trouble believing that the exhaustion was simply catching up to the reaper now that the question of his immediate survival had been answered.

And so, they headed back to Warrenhold.

Banda Toro's ashen husk was not left behind, either. Maybe it wasn't appropriate to take his body with them, but leaving him there in the middle of an open field seemed pretty weird, too. Whether or not they would grant him a proper burial was also a lingering question in Hector's mind, but at the very least, he figured that some of their people might want to study his remains in order to learn more about this mysterious "Chaos form," as Grigozo called it.

He expected Garovel to finally give him a piece of his mind on the way back, but the reaper merely remained quiet the whole time. Granted, it wasn't actually that far, so maybe Garovel was just waiting until they had more time and privacy.

But there was quite a bit to do before they would have that, it seemed.

Because Hahl Saqqaf had arrived in force while he was away. A couple of Abbas' sons met up with them before they even landed and began asking about the situation, as well as everyone's condition. Hector could sense Pauline lingering nearby, too.