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If all of that was true, then why had Graves asked how they found out about the captives being transferred? If that was part of his plan from the beginning, then shouldn’t he have already known that? Unless he’d been playing dumb. Or deployed multiple attempts to inform them without knowing which had succeeded?

Why had he brought up Gema, though? Zeff had gotten completely distracted by the mere mention of her name.

Perhaps that had been the point.

Agh.

Zeff didn’t like this suspicion filling his mind, right now.

Maybe none of these questions mattered. Maybe Graves had simply found out about them via some leak in the RPMP. Maybe Zeff should’ve just been focusing on getting everyone out of this godforsaken place, already. Maybe he should stop worrying so much about tangential factors. The only real concern here was the preservation of his kin, after all.

And yet...

In the ensuing few moments, one new question did involuntarily crystallize into his mind.

“When, exactly, was it that you replaced Thaddeus Croll?”

That was the question. Was it possible that Graves had, in truth, been the one fighting the Rainlords at Miro? None of the Rainlords who’d fought Croll had ever done so before, so none of them would have noticed any suspicious changes--and even if they had, there would have been any number of other rationalizations to help explain such differences away.

Not to mention, it might better explain how Thaddeus Croll had been able to stand up to the likes of Leo, Darktide, Evangelina, and more with minimal backup of his own.

But Zeff held his tongue. Here and now, he decided to keep that question to himself.

Because what was there to be gained from asking it? At best, a reassuring explanation that assuaged Zeff’s suspicions. At worst, a suddenly hostile field marshal who would either kill or capture everyone here.

That risk was most certainly not worth the reward.

And with that in mind, looking back on the rest of this conversation and the fight that preceded it, Zeff Elroy came to the abrupt conclusion that he should probably stop tempting fate today and just accept the easy victory that had presented itself.


Chapter Two Hundred Eighty-Seven: ‘Resting Iron, breathing Steel...’
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It was a relief to learn that the Rainlords would be returning soon. And a surprise, as well. From what Hector had previously understood of the situation over there, the Rainlords still needed to go to the aid of the RPMP in the defense of the city of Ridgemark, but apparently, they were quite confident that the battle would cause little delay now that they had recovered their lost brethren.