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What a strange man this was. The way he talked. The way he navigated around subjects instead of providing straight answers. And yet the way he was also quite warm. Not in a false manner, either. Or at least, Zeff didn’t think so.

All at once, Zeff felt as though this man was some mad mixture of one of their greatest possible allies with an entity that they needed to be ever wary of, at all costs.

But perhaps it was too soon to be making such broad judgments.

Whatever the case, he wanted more information.

“So are you truly claiming to not be this ‘Archangel’ that Darktide thinks you are?” said Zeff. “Even if I don’t bring up your name in the process, I will most definitely be asking him about that later, so you might as well tell me the truth.”

Graves broke for a sigh, then shook his head again. “Fine. But don’t go spreading this information around. And if you decide not to listen to me, then don’t say I didn’t warn you against it, either.”

Zeff waited.

“Yes, I was once known as Archangel.” He gave a mild shrug. “Bit of an overly grandiose name, I always thought, which I suppose is part of the reason I didn’t mind giving it up. But yes, Melchor did meet me on a couple of occasions, when he was a child. When I became Graves, I left that name, and others, behind. For the safety of many innocent lives, you understand, not just you Rainlords.”

“I see. So you are not a Rainlord yourself, then?”

“No,” said the man with a laugh. “But knowing how deeply you lot care for one another, it is flattering that you were even humoring the idea.”

“It would have explained why you are helping us so much.”

“I am also helping myself, you know. Vanderberk has been my target for decades. Finally being able to put him down is more reward than all the treasure in the world.”

“Perhaps, but there were other ways you might have gone about it. Ones that would’ve involved making sure that your Rainlord prisoners remained entirely out of our reach.”

Graves bobbed his head to the side but said nothing.

“How did you learn of our presence here in Vantalay, by the way?” Had those bumbling Triplets let it slip when they first arrived, Zeff wondered? If so, then he supposed their incompetence was a good thing, in retrospect.