Page 3910 -- CCCXV.

Chapter Three Hundred Fifteen: ‘O, trembling foundations...’
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The mouth of a great cavern sat there, waiting in a rare bath of crossed light. Red-orange hues from the east, and blue-green hues from the west.

They did not mix. Purple hues could not emerge. There was too much pride at work. Too much stubbornness and history.

A boulder stood at the entrance. It was cracked and crumbling in places. But still there. Still persisting. It inched closer to the cave, leaving an engraved trail behind in the dirt.

As it was about to pass into the path of the crossed light, however, it hesitated. A chirp sounded from within its heart. A repeating resonance. Once, twice, thrice. Then a pause. Once, twice, thrice again. Pause again. Over and over.

The boulder shifted. Cracks appeared and disappeared all along its hulking form. Dirt and dust unsettled then resettled, absorbing back into its packed body, turning gooey and amorphous before sharpening back into a pristine shine that made the boulder look like a freshly cut monolith.

Then it was still. It sat there for a long while. Deliberating.

This wasn’t the first time the call had come.

But these trips were getting longer and longer. More costly, too. More difficult, instead of easier as hoped. The distortions were growing stronger as the enemy took greater precautions.

Air released from the boulder. Pressurized gas escaping through sudden cracks that then vanished again.

A sigh.

It was time to return. This place would still be here when he got back. Of course it would.

That was the whole problem.

But at least he’d put them on the defensive. Hopefully, that would be enough for a while longer.

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Hector rubbed his forehead as he looked over the papers on his desk. He hadn’t used this thing much at all since materializing it here in his room in the Tower of Night, and the longer he sat here, the more certain he became that he did not wish for this to become a regular occurrence.

But for the moment, at least, it was helpful in trying to parse through all the information that had been flooding in, recently.

He had a decision to make. He knew he did.

Garovel hovered over his shoulder, reading the same materials.

They’d discussed everything a couple times already, but they’d yet to reach a conclusion.

He and Garovel both couldn’t shake the feeling that the news they’d been receiving out of Vantalay was... odd.