Page 3790

‘Anyway, I should relax. Shouldn’t get too worked up about something tha hasn’t even happened yet. Tell me what’s been goin’ on with you, old man! We shouldn’t waste this opportunity to bring each other up to speed on everything!’

Ugh. Unfortunately, he was correct about that. This Void State was not something that they could harness at will. It was an emergent phenomenon that only manifested during furious clashes. As much as he might’ve liked to ignore Morgunov’s rambling--or at least postpone it for another occasion after the battle--that would not be a very efficient use of their time.

‘I encountered the Mendocava on the Gettira Plains of Ardora.’

‘Oooh! The skeleton guys?! Our undead cousins?!’

‘You sound even more surprised than I expected. Did your men tell you nothing of what my forces have been up to?’

‘Oh, they probably did. And I probably wasn’t listening. Been kinda busy with my own stuff, lately, y’know? Startin’ a war ‘n all. And besides, I’d rather get the details from the horse’s mouth! Which is you, big fella!’

‘Do you know anything about the Mendocava that might prove useful to me?’

‘Mm, well, now, lemme think here... Haven’t thought about those guys in an Age. But I do recall studying them fairly extensively for a while. Back when I was just an uppity little snot, myself. Historically, the Mendocava are something of an anomaly. They pop up every now and then, cause some sort of ruckus, only to disappear for centuries thereafter. Or longer, even. And this, despite many curious historians’ and adventurers’ best efforts to locate and learn more about them. I remember reading one sad book about a guy who spent his whole life searching for them. Literally, his whole life. From when he was a child until he penned his final work on his death bed. Never encountered them even once. And yet, here you are, stumbling onto them by total accident!’

‘Lucky me.’

‘Benefits of living so long, eh? Now you’re makin’ me want to encounter them, myself!’

‘Join my campaign in Ardora, and you will.’

‘Huh?! You’re really offering me that?! How unexpected! They must be annoying the shit out of you over there!’

‘Not just them. The Jaskadan Forest and the Dulvani, too. It has all devolved into quite the tedious affair. One I’d see resolved sooner rather than later, if at all possible.’