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Caster spared another glance at Loren. His young ward. How confused the lad must have been, right now. How confused the lad must be all the time, given how little Caster had deigned to explain to him.

It wasn’t Loren that was the concern, though. It was the reaper. Rezolo.

Reapers were always difficult to trust. Their loyalties were always murky. Their true heart, always hidden. Caster was waiting for a moment when he might be able to see the truth there, such as after he reestablished contact with the Unwavering Gaze. But that could be a while, especially if the new tower’s construction ended up delayed, which was an unfortunately common occurrence with construction projects.

In the meantime, he couldn’t reasonably expect these two to keep following him while remaining in the dark indefinitely. He might need to take a gamble and start explaining more to them. It wouldn’t be the end of the world if Rezolo turned traitor, after all.

Or would it? The Beast’s presence did complicate matters.

Bah.

Perhaps Darksteel could be useful for this purpose, too. If nothing else, another pair of discerning eyes might help him crack Rezolo wide open, even if Darksteel himself did not prove viable as a long-term ally.

“Would you also be willing to assist me in the construction of my network?” said Caster.

“Assist how?” said Darksteel.

“However you like. I need materials. I need to process and refine those materials. The physical labor will also be quite time-consuming. I’d even be willing to let you help with the mapping stage, if you are interested in that sort of thing.”

That last part in particular was actually quite the concession to make and risk to take, offering to bring this veritable stranger in on the project so intimately, but he suspected that hardly anyone would see it that way.

A difficult and expensive quagmire of dubious value and murky motives: that’s how most people would view this endeavor, no doubt. Not something to spend their own time, energy, and resources on.

But if Caster’s instincts were right about this fellow, then Darksteel might know better. He might see this the way Caster did. As a monumental opportunity. And if he could see that, unaided, then maybe he really was the kind of ally that Caster wanted to have on his side. Maybe this was a partnership that had real potential.