~~((The 6 Pages of New Year's + Double Monday = Page 3 of 8))~~
“What about the Hun’Kui, then?” said Manuel. “They might be able to help us.”
“Ah, and I highly doubt they will tell the Hun’Sho of what we are doing,” added Elise.
On that point, Hector could agree. And those four Hun’Kui had been through hell with them, so there was at least a modicum of camaraderie to be had. His talk with Eleyo earlier had affirmed him of that much.
Still, he noticed Diego hesitating. And he wasn’t the only one who did.
“...Do you not trust the Hun’Kui, Lord Diego?” said Manuel.
“I don’t know,” the man said. “But I suppose asking for their help would allow us keep an eye on them.”
‘That’s true,’ said Yangéra. ‘Just don’t turn your back on them, everyone. Remember that they’re still strangers to us.’
Chapter One Hundred Fifty-Seven: ‘A glimpse of Madness...’
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Francisco Elroy had to admit, the view from his room was stunning. The Omarest Mountain Range of Dante was known for its skiing even as far away as Sair, and now he could see why. The snow outside his window was unlike anything he’d seen in Aguarey.
Under different circumstances, he might have been able to enjoy visiting this luxurious, mansion-sized cabin in the middle of nowhere.
The question of why the hell he was here in the first place had still not been answered to his satisfaction. He understood that the crazy old guy named Damian Rofal was responsible, but beyond that, not much was clear.
The last thing he remembered before waking up here was fighting a group of Vanguardian jackasses in his school. And now he’d come to find that one of those very jackasses was here with him, not much more aware of what was going on than he was, apparently.
His reaper, Dennex, had advised him not to ask too many questions, however, and Cisco could see the wisdom in that, especially after what Dunstan Rofal, the Vanguardian jackass in question, had told him.
“My family is a bunch of criminals,” he’d said. “I suggest you not trust any of them. And my grandfather in particular is... well, he’s a lot more dangerous than I ever realized, it would seem.”
They’d been here for a couple weeks now, so naturally, Cisco had been trying to find a means of escape--with Dunstan’s help, surprisingly. But this place was much more of a prison than it looked. The building’s three floors may have had an open-air layout to them, and the furniture may have been as ritzy as Cisco had ever seen, and the food may have even been pretty damn good, but there was some sort of high-level soul net preventing not just the reapers from leaving, but people, too.
From what Cisco had thus far gathered, it had something to do with the tall, rocky spires that stood all around the structure. They looked normal enough at a glance and as of now, were half-buried in snow, but when he’d touched them a few days ago, he could feel them humming in a way that was most certainly unnatural.
A dark serial novel. Set in a modern fantasy world called Eleg. Mature language. Updates every day at noon PST by ~400 words.
Monday, January 1, 2018
Page 1468
~~((The 6 Pages of New Year's + Double Monday = Page 2 of 8))~~
Maybe he was just in a weird mood. Somehow, he felt like he was back in school again, attempting the impossible task of making friends with normal people.
After that, Hector wasn’t able to speak up much more, but that may have also been the result of the conversation simply not going anywhere else. It was mainly just the Rainlords expressing their worries more, and Hector didn’t feel terribly compelled to say anything else, not when it might just further increase that worry.
Unsurprisingly, Garovel did a much better job of trying to comfort them than he could have.
At length, Diego finally arrived, though the Lord Elroy was not with him.
‘Where’s Zeff?’ asked Garovel.
“I explained the situation to him, but he didn’t want to stop his work,” said Diego. “He’s determined to get us out of here as soon as possible and doesn’t seem to care about much else, right now.”
Hector couldn’t say he was surprised.
“Will you explain the situation to us now?” said Elise. “We have been wondering what is going on for some time.”
“Of course.” Diego took a seat next to Hector. He explained about his encounter with the Hun’Sho named Jasirok and presented the pyramidal key known as a Kag for the group to examine. Then he told them about what he had witnessed.
A period of incredulity passed as the group asked for clarification, of which Diego and Yangéra could unfortunately provide little.
A giant hand appearing from a mirror.
A mirror?
Apparently, Hector wasn’t the only one to pick up on that coincidence, because Garovel was the first to ask, ‘Was there anything strange about the mirror?’
“Not that we noticed,” said Diego. “I didn’t think to examine the mirror too closely when I first saw it, but it seemed normal enough. After it happened, though, the mirror shattered instantly. I brought one of the pieces, if you want to see it for yourself.” He rifled through his pockets and retrieved a jagged mirror shard.
They passed it around, though Elise was kept away from it, in case it decided to do anything else unexpected. When Hector and Garovel got their chances to examine it, they didn’t see anything particularly notable about it. It certainly didn’t have the odd, foggy look to it that Hector recalled the Courier’s mirror having.
But maybe that didn’t matter. Maybe it’s power had left it after breaking.
Afterward, the group struggled to figure out their next move.
“It seems obvious enough that we should try to locate whatever lock this Kag goes to,” said Diego, “but we have no idea where to start looking. And from the way Jasirok was talking, it sounded like asking the other Hun’Sho for help might be a bad idea.”
“I agree,” said Elise. “As nice as they have been to us, I simply don’t trust them very much. They could decide to hinder our investigation rather than help it.”
The three reapers all seemed to concur.
Maybe he was just in a weird mood. Somehow, he felt like he was back in school again, attempting the impossible task of making friends with normal people.
After that, Hector wasn’t able to speak up much more, but that may have also been the result of the conversation simply not going anywhere else. It was mainly just the Rainlords expressing their worries more, and Hector didn’t feel terribly compelled to say anything else, not when it might just further increase that worry.
Unsurprisingly, Garovel did a much better job of trying to comfort them than he could have.
At length, Diego finally arrived, though the Lord Elroy was not with him.
‘Where’s Zeff?’ asked Garovel.
“I explained the situation to him, but he didn’t want to stop his work,” said Diego. “He’s determined to get us out of here as soon as possible and doesn’t seem to care about much else, right now.”
Hector couldn’t say he was surprised.
“Will you explain the situation to us now?” said Elise. “We have been wondering what is going on for some time.”
“Of course.” Diego took a seat next to Hector. He explained about his encounter with the Hun’Sho named Jasirok and presented the pyramidal key known as a Kag for the group to examine. Then he told them about what he had witnessed.
A period of incredulity passed as the group asked for clarification, of which Diego and Yangéra could unfortunately provide little.
A giant hand appearing from a mirror.
A mirror?
Apparently, Hector wasn’t the only one to pick up on that coincidence, because Garovel was the first to ask, ‘Was there anything strange about the mirror?’
“Not that we noticed,” said Diego. “I didn’t think to examine the mirror too closely when I first saw it, but it seemed normal enough. After it happened, though, the mirror shattered instantly. I brought one of the pieces, if you want to see it for yourself.” He rifled through his pockets and retrieved a jagged mirror shard.
They passed it around, though Elise was kept away from it, in case it decided to do anything else unexpected. When Hector and Garovel got their chances to examine it, they didn’t see anything particularly notable about it. It certainly didn’t have the odd, foggy look to it that Hector recalled the Courier’s mirror having.
But maybe that didn’t matter. Maybe it’s power had left it after breaking.
Afterward, the group struggled to figure out their next move.
“It seems obvious enough that we should try to locate whatever lock this Kag goes to,” said Diego, “but we have no idea where to start looking. And from the way Jasirok was talking, it sounded like asking the other Hun’Sho for help might be a bad idea.”
“I agree,” said Elise. “As nice as they have been to us, I simply don’t trust them very much. They could decide to hinder our investigation rather than help it.”
The three reapers all seemed to concur.
Page 1467
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“I am also concerned about what our kin in Capaporo are doing now,” said Manuel. “While a part of me is glad that they have not come for us in some haphazard fashion, I am also... surprised that they haven’t.”
‘What do you mean?’ said Garovel.
“Think of it,” said Manuel. “We are talking about the likes of Darktide, Grayguard, the Yellow Tempest, the Blue Bull, the Lord of the Drowning Sky, and the Lion of the Desert. Knowing what we know of these people, I find it difficult to believe that, even if they did believe us dead, they would not at least come searching for our corpses.”
Hector was beginning to notice a pattern with this Manuel fellow.
However, he had not heard a few of those names before. He didn’t know who Grayguard or the Yellow Tempest referred to, but the Blue Bull? Given what Hector remembered of the siege of Marshrock, that name could have only belonged to Salvador Delaguna. The man’s size alone accounted for the animal, and his cobalt transfiguration power accounted for the color. And the Lord of the Drowning Sky? That was a strange name, but he couldn’t imagine that it belonged to anyone other than Dimas Sebolt. That man’s aerial mobility was unmatched by any other Rainlord whom Hector had met--arguably any other servant he had met.
“So what are you saying?” said Elise. “Do you believe something is preventing them from coming after us?”
“Possibly,” said Manuel. “It has been nearly three days, yet none of the reapers have sensed them.”
‘I think you are worrying too much,’ said Lorios. ‘They could be searching for us right now and simply having trouble finding us. We fell a long way, remember? Not to mention all the monsters above us right now, making it more difficult to sense anything or anyone specific.’
“That is true,” Manuel admitted. “But even so, I imagine Bloodhound would have been able to locate us by now.”
Okay, who the hell was Bloodhound? Hector wondered if Manuel was just making some of these names up himself.
He did find himself agreeing with Manuel, though. Especially with regard to Asad. After witnessing the lengths that the man had gone to for Zeff back in Sair, Hector doubted that even a nest of giant worms would prevent Asad from coming to help him again.
Oh, hey, maybe that was a way he could contribute to this conversation. He gathered his composure, waited for an opening, and said, “...I don’t think Asad would ever leave Zeff behind.”
“Yes,” said Manuel. “If recent events have proven anything, it is that the Lion and the Dragon care even more for one another than most of us realized.”
Hector couldn’t help smiling meekly beneath his helmet. Social interaction certainly was terrifying, but it wasn’t all bad, either.
He probably shouldn’t have been getting such a strong feeling of accomplishment for making such a minor contribution to the conversation, though, he figured.
“I am also concerned about what our kin in Capaporo are doing now,” said Manuel. “While a part of me is glad that they have not come for us in some haphazard fashion, I am also... surprised that they haven’t.”
‘What do you mean?’ said Garovel.
“Think of it,” said Manuel. “We are talking about the likes of Darktide, Grayguard, the Yellow Tempest, the Blue Bull, the Lord of the Drowning Sky, and the Lion of the Desert. Knowing what we know of these people, I find it difficult to believe that, even if they did believe us dead, they would not at least come searching for our corpses.”
Hector was beginning to notice a pattern with this Manuel fellow.
However, he had not heard a few of those names before. He didn’t know who Grayguard or the Yellow Tempest referred to, but the Blue Bull? Given what Hector remembered of the siege of Marshrock, that name could have only belonged to Salvador Delaguna. The man’s size alone accounted for the animal, and his cobalt transfiguration power accounted for the color. And the Lord of the Drowning Sky? That was a strange name, but he couldn’t imagine that it belonged to anyone other than Dimas Sebolt. That man’s aerial mobility was unmatched by any other Rainlord whom Hector had met--arguably any other servant he had met.
“So what are you saying?” said Elise. “Do you believe something is preventing them from coming after us?”
“Possibly,” said Manuel. “It has been nearly three days, yet none of the reapers have sensed them.”
‘I think you are worrying too much,’ said Lorios. ‘They could be searching for us right now and simply having trouble finding us. We fell a long way, remember? Not to mention all the monsters above us right now, making it more difficult to sense anything or anyone specific.’
“That is true,” Manuel admitted. “But even so, I imagine Bloodhound would have been able to locate us by now.”
Okay, who the hell was Bloodhound? Hector wondered if Manuel was just making some of these names up himself.
He did find himself agreeing with Manuel, though. Especially with regard to Asad. After witnessing the lengths that the man had gone to for Zeff back in Sair, Hector doubted that even a nest of giant worms would prevent Asad from coming to help him again.
Oh, hey, maybe that was a way he could contribute to this conversation. He gathered his composure, waited for an opening, and said, “...I don’t think Asad would ever leave Zeff behind.”
“Yes,” said Manuel. “If recent events have proven anything, it is that the Lion and the Dragon care even more for one another than most of us realized.”
Hector couldn’t help smiling meekly beneath his helmet. Social interaction certainly was terrifying, but it wasn’t all bad, either.
He probably shouldn’t have been getting such a strong feeling of accomplishment for making such a minor contribution to the conversation, though, he figured.
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