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Combined with the revelation that Thaddeus had also been breaking the Rainkid's fingers one at a time during an even earlier conversation, it had quickly become clear that Vanderberk should not allow Croll to be alone with this kid, anymore. Whether it was because the kid didn't know when to shut up or because Croll just hated the Rainlords after doing battle with them for weeks, Vanderberk didn't know. Maybe both.

At length, the kid did indeed return the nod Vanderberk had been looking for. Good. They could finally get this show on the road.

He sent word to his men and began preparing to leave immediately.

The fact that the negotiations were not going to take place within the prison itself also posed a certain level of risk. The prison had been his third suggested location, which they'd also intelligently refused. He could have insisted--and perhaps should have--but between the prison guards and his own men, Vanderberk had plenty of power to divide between here and the meeting place. If the Rainlords decided to try something hinky like staging a prison break while he was distracted with negotiations, they would find themselves overwhelmed in both places.

And he would of course be keeping men at both locations who could deal with any Invisibility users. The Rainlords had probably learned their lesson already about using Abolish's own tech against them, but if not, then that would make for a nice surprise, too.

As they made their way down the narrow mountain pass in a line of military vehicles, the late afternoon sun cut a picturesque image across the uneven landscape on the horizon. One might've thought that they would be able to see quite far into the distance when they were this high up, but no. The mountains here were so dense that the horizon was perhaps only two or three miles away.

The trip to Dakinsalla took longer than expected. The winding roads down and then back up the mountains made the journey thrice what it would've been if he'd just flown, but oh well. Not all of his men could fly, and the backup was necessary here.

He wasn't afraid of the Rainlords, but he didn't want to be overconfident, either. They could be a problem if they swarmed him while he was alone, especially since he was still lacking intel on some of them.