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As for the status of Field Marshal Graves, Raul had been intensely wanting to know what that man was up to, but information about him was preciously rare. He suspected that the elders knew much more than they were letting on--which was their prerogative, of course--but he could only guess at why that might be.

Perhaps they’d come to some kind of secret arrangement with him?

All in all, it was a strange state of affairs. Rumors were constantly spinning left and right. They were going to leave the country soon and return to Atreya. They were going to stay and keep helping with rescue operations. No, that was only temporary. No, Lord Darksteel wanted them to stay and recover the Sword of Unso like they’d originally intended.

That last one, Raul was reasonably sure was not true. From what he’d heard, Lord Goffe just wanted them all to return safely, treasure be damned. But a part of Raul was still sore about not having accomplished that particular goal.

Despite having discovered the Sword’s whereabouts--in the possession of one Thaddeus Croll--the Sword ended up becoming lost again after the battle at Logden Prison. Supposedly, Thaddeus had been involved in that fight and perhaps even slain, but the Triplets searched up and down the mountains around the prison, only to find no trace of the Sword.

He wondered if there might be some other way he could make up for that disappointment. Perhaps if he could find some other ancient artifact as a replacement, but this was hardly the time to be obsessing over such things. While civilian lives remained in danger, they took priority.

Thankfully, that danger seemed to be waning, finally. The Rainlord encampment was noticeably less busy than the last time he was here. Fewer rescuees were around, meaning they were now being taken to Ridgemark at a faster rate than they were arriving.

The encampment itself was an impressive structure, considering it had been made and maintained entirely by materializers. There were entire barracks and lookout towers, as well as a main building where the elders conducted their meetings. Even the architectural designs were quite elaborate, complemented further by the ornate furniture and decorations therein. In fact, if not for the metallic sheen on most things, Raul might have felt like he was back in Marshrock.

There was also a lining of ice around the edge of the encampment--put there by Lord Zeff--in order to both help the camp stay afloat and to prevent anyone from walking off into the water without realizing it.