Appearances aside, he wasn't actually their leader. They didn't have to listen to him, especially when they were all speaking in private like this.
But then again, Pauline was no doubt eavesdropping on their conversation, wasn't she? In that case, he supposed it was good that they were still playing the part of his subordinates.
The thing was, though, that he hadn't yet told them about her presence. He'd been waiting for the right time, and then it slipped his mind until just now.
They were doing this unprompted.
Phew. That was a nerve-racking realization, somehow.
He had to relax. The Rainlords were just following his lead because he was the one that Lorentian government had asked for. This was his mission. That was all this was.
Or so he kept telling himself.
Zeff's words rang through his mind.
"Do you even realize how many people look up to you now?" he had said.
That was quite a while ago, yet it seemed more accurate than ever now as Hector deliberated on what their next move should be.
With the weather the way it was, leaving the airport with the non-servants seemed like a bad idea, but if the cause of the weather was supernatural, then it might not stop any time soon.
For now, at least, everyone was safe. He could hear the wind howling outside and sheets of rain buffeting the windows, but it wasn't like the building was crumbling or anything. It was just a scary storm.
Ultimately, he decided to wait a while longer to see if the weather cleared up. If it did, he planned to do as the Rainlords said and take the Lorentians to safety as a group.
Hector also took the opportunity to privately inform Roman and the Rainlords of the allied Sparrow's presence, which of course prompted more questions that he didn't have the answers for.
A dark serial novel. Set in a modern fantasy world called Eleg. Mature language. Updates every day at noon PST by ~400 words.
Tuesday, June 2, 2020
Monday, June 1, 2020
Page 2329
((The Mon/Wen/Fri Double -- page 2 of 2))
Once the civilians were taken care of, though, Hector was faced with a decision.
The hunt was still on, but he couldn't very well leave these people here unprotected. And at the same time, trying to take them somewhere safer was also risky.
He took his time to think it over. He brought Garovel up to speed on the situation and asked for his opinion, and the reaper told him to rely on the Rainlords for not just their strength but also their opinions.
So he did. He found a place where he could talk to Roman and the Rainlords in private while still keeping an eye on the Lorentians, and then they held an impromptu strategy meeting.
It didn't take long for the general consensus to become clear. Rather than splitting up their forces to protect the civilians and hunt the Beast separately, they believed it would be wiser to pool all of their power to ensure the Lorentians were taken to safety, and then they would go hunting afterwards.
When pressed on the subject of the potential assassination of Secretary Karr, they only had one thing to say.
"We'll protect her while she is with us, of course, but doing anything more than that would be unreasonable." It was the Lord Salvador Delaguna who actually uttered those words, but Fidel Blackburn and Carlos Sebolt both agreed.
Roman seemed less certain, though he did nod in approval.
Hector could see why they felt that way. Getting involved in Lorentian politics without any knowledge of what was really going on--that did seem like it could spiral out of control and bite them on the ass, even if their intentions were pure.
However, they were still leaving the final decision in Hector's hands. They told him that they would go along with whatever he chose to do.
Which was rather surprising, Hector felt.
Once the civilians were taken care of, though, Hector was faced with a decision.
The hunt was still on, but he couldn't very well leave these people here unprotected. And at the same time, trying to take them somewhere safer was also risky.
He took his time to think it over. He brought Garovel up to speed on the situation and asked for his opinion, and the reaper told him to rely on the Rainlords for not just their strength but also their opinions.
So he did. He found a place where he could talk to Roman and the Rainlords in private while still keeping an eye on the Lorentians, and then they held an impromptu strategy meeting.
It didn't take long for the general consensus to become clear. Rather than splitting up their forces to protect the civilians and hunt the Beast separately, they believed it would be wiser to pool all of their power to ensure the Lorentians were taken to safety, and then they would go hunting afterwards.
When pressed on the subject of the potential assassination of Secretary Karr, they only had one thing to say.
"We'll protect her while she is with us, of course, but doing anything more than that would be unreasonable." It was the Lord Salvador Delaguna who actually uttered those words, but Fidel Blackburn and Carlos Sebolt both agreed.
Roman seemed less certain, though he did nod in approval.
Hector could see why they felt that way. Getting involved in Lorentian politics without any knowledge of what was really going on--that did seem like it could spiral out of control and bite them on the ass, even if their intentions were pure.
However, they were still leaving the final decision in Hector's hands. They told him that they would go along with whatever he chose to do.
Which was rather surprising, Hector felt.
Page 2328
((The Mon/Wen/Fri Double -- page 1 of 2))
Hector annihilated his dome and rejoined the others. The Rainlords remained quiet, but the Lorentians had questions. Hector apologized for being secretive and told them that it was too difficult to explain.
They didn't seem to care for that response very much, but perhaps they felt like they didn't have much choice, because it didn't take long for them to stop asking him about it.
The worsening weather and growing tension in the air apparently took priority.
From there, things actually proceeded a bit more smoothly, though Hector was even more uncomfortable than usual. There were far too many variables in play right now for his liking, and knowing that Pauline was secretly listening to every word being said made him second guess almost everything that was coming out of his mouth.
But he wasn't showing it, thankfully. He was able to relegate his worries to a background thought process and thereby mitigate most of his visible hesitation.
That was important. He knew he needed to be calm. These people were relying on him.
He asked Secretary Karr if there were any other personnel in the airport right now, and he was unhappy to hear that there were.
The first order of business, then, was getting everyone together so that they could be protected. He may have been here to hunt down the so-called Beast of Lorent, but these civilians took priority.
The booms of thunder were becoming both louder and more frequent. The terminal's very large windows that overlooked the tarmac shuddered harder each time, to the point where everyone began to stay away from them in the fear that they might simply break.
It took a little while to gather everyone together, but Hector was at least relieved that, according to one another, all of the airport's personnel were accounted for. It also helped that there weren't very many of them, due largely to the fact that the airport was currently closed to the public. Apparently, the only people here were the ones who'd been needed in order to maintain essential operations for his arrival here.
Hector annihilated his dome and rejoined the others. The Rainlords remained quiet, but the Lorentians had questions. Hector apologized for being secretive and told them that it was too difficult to explain.
They didn't seem to care for that response very much, but perhaps they felt like they didn't have much choice, because it didn't take long for them to stop asking him about it.
The worsening weather and growing tension in the air apparently took priority.
From there, things actually proceeded a bit more smoothly, though Hector was even more uncomfortable than usual. There were far too many variables in play right now for his liking, and knowing that Pauline was secretly listening to every word being said made him second guess almost everything that was coming out of his mouth.
But he wasn't showing it, thankfully. He was able to relegate his worries to a background thought process and thereby mitigate most of his visible hesitation.
That was important. He knew he needed to be calm. These people were relying on him.
He asked Secretary Karr if there were any other personnel in the airport right now, and he was unhappy to hear that there were.
The first order of business, then, was getting everyone together so that they could be protected. He may have been here to hunt down the so-called Beast of Lorent, but these civilians took priority.
The booms of thunder were becoming both louder and more frequent. The terminal's very large windows that overlooked the tarmac shuddered harder each time, to the point where everyone began to stay away from them in the fear that they might simply break.
It took a little while to gather everyone together, but Hector was at least relieved that, according to one another, all of the airport's personnel were accounted for. It also helped that there weren't very many of them, due largely to the fact that the airport was currently closed to the public. Apparently, the only people here were the ones who'd been needed in order to maintain essential operations for his arrival here.
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