It was a relief to hear Garovel joking around again, Hector felt. After what the reaper had told him about his past earlier, Hector was glad to hear him sounding like himself again. ‘Has anybody else found anything yet?’
‘Nope.’
‘Ugh.’
‘Don’t worry. Capaporo has to be close. Voreese said so. She wouldn’t lie. And if she did, well, that’s great, too, because then I’ll get to give her SO much shit about it later.’
‘Somehow, that doesn’t alleviate my worries.’
‘Mm. Sounds like your problem.’
‘How close is close, anyway? Isn’t that kind of a vague term?’
‘I’m sure we’ll find it sometime within the next twenty-four hours.’
‘Aw, shit...’
‘Hey, at least you’re not Diego. I’m sure he’s gonna be feeling miserable, soon.’
Hector sympathized. He wasn’t entirely without pain himself, at the moment, as his own numbing had worn off already. He’d more or less gotten used to this level of bodily discomfort, so it wasn’t hindering him too terribly. It only felt like he had three or four broken ribs and maybe a few gunshot wounds here and there. It probably wasn’t nearly as bad as what transfiguration users had to deal with. That shit looked like it hurt.
‘Maybe I should’ve let Manuel borrow the Scarf, after all.’
‘No, Hector. I feel bad for Diego, too, but the Scarf is probably your greatest secret, right now. The fewer people that understand how it works, the better.’
‘I guess so...’
‘And besides, he’s not wearing armor, so it wouldn’t look nearly as good on him.’
Hector didn’t respond, but he couldn’t help smirking, either.
‘By the way, have you talked to Emiliana again since we got back?’
‘Oh. Uh. No, I haven’t...’
‘Presumably, you told her that you were in the middle of fighting the last time you spoke, right?’
‘Y-yeah...’
‘Maybe you should tell her you didn’t get eaten.’
‘Ah... I mean... I’d kinda prefer to wait until I know Marcos and Ramira are safe.’
‘Why? Just tell her you’re alright real quick. It’s not that hard, is it?’
‘Er, she’s, uh... she’s not the easiest person in the world to talk to...’
‘You mean because she’s a girl, and you’re you?’
‘Actually, no, that’s not it. It’s more because she’s just, uh... well, I don’t know if she and I are going to get along very well...’
‘...Are you serious? The two of you are fighting?
‘N-not exactly. I don’t know.’
‘Hmm. Well, even so, she must be worried about you.’
‘I don’t know about that. If she was really worried, she could use her Shard to call out to me, and I would hear her. But I’m not, so...’
‘Oh, don’t be a fuckin’ baby. Just tell her you’re alright real quick. It’ll take two seconds.’
‘I...’ He supposed Garovel was right. ‘Alright, fine. Gimme a minute.’ He reached inside his armor for the Shard and then called out to her with his mind.
A dark serial novel. Set in a modern fantasy world called Eleg. Mature language. Updates every day at noon PST by ~400 words.
Thursday, April 5, 2018
Wednesday, April 4, 2018
Page 1650
((Triple Wednesday -- Page 3 of 3))
‘On the bright side, though, we don’t have any reason to think that Royo and Malast will harm them.’
Hector wasn’t so sure about that. ‘Well... he did say that he was the one who derailed the train, which nearly killed us all.’
‘Okay, so maybe we have a slight reason to think they might harm them.’
‘Mm.’
‘But the unpleasant truth of the matter is that if Royo intends to kill all of the Hun’Sho, then he probably already has. It’s been several hours since he’s presumably had free rein in Himmekel.’
Hector wished he could argue with that point.
‘I honestly don’t think he’ll hurt them, though,’ said Garovel. ‘He seemed... diplomatic with us, there at the end. And the Hun’Sho would no doubt make for incredibly valuable allies, if he can manage to persuade them.’
‘Hmm...’
‘It’s a shame we couldn’t bring any of the Hun’Sho with us back to Warrenhold, actually. Even just one of them would have been great.’
‘What the--? I thought you didn’t trust them.’
‘Oh, I don’t. But they must know all sorts of good shit. Especially the older ones.’
‘I’d rather not live with people we don’t trust, Garovel. And besides, I feel like a Hun’Sho could very easily kill a non-servant, even just by accident.’
‘Eh, I’m sure we could figure something out. Keep ‘em segregated from all the normies, maybe.’
‘Now you’re making it sound like we’d be keeping the Hun’Sho prisoner.’
‘Maybe we would be.’
‘Garovel.’
‘What? They’re sneaky and barely even human.’
‘...I can’t tell if you’re joking or not.’
‘I just mean that if one or more of them happened to do something criminal, then that would justify us keeping them prisoner.’
Hector wasn’t sure how to respond to that.
‘And hey, I’m three thousand years old. I’m entitled to be a little racist, aren’t I?’
‘Wow, Garovel.’
‘Okay, that one was a joke, just so we’re clear.’
‘Was it, though?’
‘Oh, don’t even start. I’m very tolerant of other cultures and ethnicities, I’ll have you know.’
‘Uh-huh...’
‘Like with you, for instance. I decided to take you on as a servant, even though I don’t much care for the blacks.’
Hector coughed up a laugh so suddenly that he nearly tripped and so had to stop running. He doubled over and lost control of his cooling armor as he kept cracking up.
‘I’d say that’s pretty tolerant,’ said Garovel, ‘wouldn’t you?’
When he felt the heat of the Undercrust creeping into his armor, he managed to get hold of himself and fix his armor. ‘Holy shit, Garovel.’ He started running again, seeing that there was still no sign of Capaporo or anything else around. ‘You almost made me fall on my face, just now.’
The reaper laughed.
‘On the bright side, though, we don’t have any reason to think that Royo and Malast will harm them.’
Hector wasn’t so sure about that. ‘Well... he did say that he was the one who derailed the train, which nearly killed us all.’
‘Okay, so maybe we have a slight reason to think they might harm them.’
‘Mm.’
‘But the unpleasant truth of the matter is that if Royo intends to kill all of the Hun’Sho, then he probably already has. It’s been several hours since he’s presumably had free rein in Himmekel.’
Hector wished he could argue with that point.
‘I honestly don’t think he’ll hurt them, though,’ said Garovel. ‘He seemed... diplomatic with us, there at the end. And the Hun’Sho would no doubt make for incredibly valuable allies, if he can manage to persuade them.’
‘Hmm...’
‘It’s a shame we couldn’t bring any of the Hun’Sho with us back to Warrenhold, actually. Even just one of them would have been great.’
‘What the--? I thought you didn’t trust them.’
‘Oh, I don’t. But they must know all sorts of good shit. Especially the older ones.’
‘I’d rather not live with people we don’t trust, Garovel. And besides, I feel like a Hun’Sho could very easily kill a non-servant, even just by accident.’
‘Eh, I’m sure we could figure something out. Keep ‘em segregated from all the normies, maybe.’
‘Now you’re making it sound like we’d be keeping the Hun’Sho prisoner.’
‘Maybe we would be.’
‘Garovel.’
‘What? They’re sneaky and barely even human.’
‘...I can’t tell if you’re joking or not.’
‘I just mean that if one or more of them happened to do something criminal, then that would justify us keeping them prisoner.’
Hector wasn’t sure how to respond to that.
‘And hey, I’m three thousand years old. I’m entitled to be a little racist, aren’t I?’
‘Wow, Garovel.’
‘Okay, that one was a joke, just so we’re clear.’
‘Was it, though?’
‘Oh, don’t even start. I’m very tolerant of other cultures and ethnicities, I’ll have you know.’
‘Uh-huh...’
‘Like with you, for instance. I decided to take you on as a servant, even though I don’t much care for the blacks.’
Hector coughed up a laugh so suddenly that he nearly tripped and so had to stop running. He doubled over and lost control of his cooling armor as he kept cracking up.
‘I’d say that’s pretty tolerant,’ said Garovel, ‘wouldn’t you?’
When he felt the heat of the Undercrust creeping into his armor, he managed to get hold of himself and fix his armor. ‘Holy shit, Garovel.’ He started running again, seeing that there was still no sign of Capaporo or anything else around. ‘You almost made me fall on my face, just now.’
The reaper laughed.
Page 1649
((Triple Wednesday -- Page 2 of 3))
‘Also, you accidentally brought up an interesting point, just now.’
‘I did?’
‘About worms being hellish abominations, that is.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘I mean, ARE they?’
‘Well. Uh...’ He realized what the reaper was getting at. After the ensuing fight, he’d nearly forgotten, but now he remembered. ‘Hmm.’
‘The worm you killed was born from a Hun’Sho core.’
‘Right...’
‘That was certainly new information to me. I did not know that Hun’Sho could transform into monsters like that.’
‘Do you think... do you think all worms used to be Hun’Sho?’
‘No. Remember the eggs we found in Babbadelo?’
‘Oh, yeah. But, uh, we never actually saw those eggs, did we? They were in those vacuum-sealed boxes the whole time.’
‘Okay, that’s true, but I’VE seen worm eggs before. I know they exist.’
‘Have you seen worms actually being born from them, though? Or, uh, what if there’s a Hun’Sho core inside of every worm egg or something?’
‘Alright, well, that... would be horrifying. But I still don’t believe all worms come from Hun’Sho. Just, historically, it wouldn’t make much sense. There’ve been SO many worms. I don’t think the Hun’Sho ever had those kind of numbers, even at the peak of their civilization.’
‘Hmm.’
‘It seems clear to me that worms have some means of reproduction on their own. However, I’m now tempted to believe that worms as we know them today might have ORIGINATED from the Hun’Sho. And that’s a pretty horrifying thought, too.’
‘How old are the Hun’Sho?’
‘Oh, they’re old as fuck. Older than me, even.’
‘Older than all reapers?’
‘That, I don’t know. I don’t think so, though. It’s a subject I’ve looked into several times before, but recordkeeping in those days was far from ideal, to put it mildly.’
‘I wonder if Axiolis would know. He’s older than you, right?’
‘Alright, I’ll ask him. Hang on a second.’
Hector waited. The empty corridor just kept going. At this rate, he was beginning to hope that he would be the one to find Capaporo just so that he wouldn’t have to make the trek all the way back to everyone.
‘Hmm,’ said Garovel. ‘Axiolis says reapers came first.’
‘Oh, well, there you go.’
‘I don’t know if I believe him, though.’
‘What? Why?’
‘Because I don’t like that he knows more stuff than me. And if it’s bullshit, then that means he DOESN’T know more than me.’
Hector might’ve chuckled if he wasn’t regulating his breath so much as he ran. ‘You’re an inspiration for education everywhere, Garovel.’
‘Thanks, buddy.’
‘But, uh... since we’re talking about the Hun’Sho, um... I’m worried about Himmekel. What do you think’ll happen to them?’
Garovel was silent a moment. ‘Difficult to say. But we can’t do anything for them now. We’re way too far away. And even if we weren’t, we’re probably too late.’
Hector frowned to himself.
‘Also, you accidentally brought up an interesting point, just now.’
‘I did?’
‘About worms being hellish abominations, that is.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘I mean, ARE they?’
‘Well. Uh...’ He realized what the reaper was getting at. After the ensuing fight, he’d nearly forgotten, but now he remembered. ‘Hmm.’
‘The worm you killed was born from a Hun’Sho core.’
‘Right...’
‘That was certainly new information to me. I did not know that Hun’Sho could transform into monsters like that.’
‘Do you think... do you think all worms used to be Hun’Sho?’
‘No. Remember the eggs we found in Babbadelo?’
‘Oh, yeah. But, uh, we never actually saw those eggs, did we? They were in those vacuum-sealed boxes the whole time.’
‘Okay, that’s true, but I’VE seen worm eggs before. I know they exist.’
‘Have you seen worms actually being born from them, though? Or, uh, what if there’s a Hun’Sho core inside of every worm egg or something?’
‘Alright, well, that... would be horrifying. But I still don’t believe all worms come from Hun’Sho. Just, historically, it wouldn’t make much sense. There’ve been SO many worms. I don’t think the Hun’Sho ever had those kind of numbers, even at the peak of their civilization.’
‘Hmm.’
‘It seems clear to me that worms have some means of reproduction on their own. However, I’m now tempted to believe that worms as we know them today might have ORIGINATED from the Hun’Sho. And that’s a pretty horrifying thought, too.’
‘How old are the Hun’Sho?’
‘Oh, they’re old as fuck. Older than me, even.’
‘Older than all reapers?’
‘That, I don’t know. I don’t think so, though. It’s a subject I’ve looked into several times before, but recordkeeping in those days was far from ideal, to put it mildly.’
‘I wonder if Axiolis would know. He’s older than you, right?’
‘Alright, I’ll ask him. Hang on a second.’
Hector waited. The empty corridor just kept going. At this rate, he was beginning to hope that he would be the one to find Capaporo just so that he wouldn’t have to make the trek all the way back to everyone.
‘Hmm,’ said Garovel. ‘Axiolis says reapers came first.’
‘Oh, well, there you go.’
‘I don’t know if I believe him, though.’
‘What? Why?’
‘Because I don’t like that he knows more stuff than me. And if it’s bullshit, then that means he DOESN’T know more than me.’
Hector might’ve chuckled if he wasn’t regulating his breath so much as he ran. ‘You’re an inspiration for education everywhere, Garovel.’
‘Thanks, buddy.’
‘But, uh... since we’re talking about the Hun’Sho, um... I’m worried about Himmekel. What do you think’ll happen to them?’
Garovel was silent a moment. ‘Difficult to say. But we can’t do anything for them now. We’re way too far away. And even if we weren’t, we’re probably too late.’
Hector frowned to himself.
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