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By the time the Rainlords left, Linus was in a foul mood. Mr. Vance must've been able to tell, because he asked him to stay and talk instead of escorting them to their rooms. Granted, that was grunt work, but still. If the Rainlords decided to go crazy and start attacking people, Linus might've been the only person in the building who could stop them.

"I want you go with them," Mr. Vance.

Linus didn't understand. Go with them? The man had just asked him to stay behind and talk. "What?"

"To Logden Prison," he clarified. "Take some men with you, if you want, but I want you to accompany the Rainlords personally."

Linus blinked. "Sir, what are you talking about? I couldn't possibly leave Ridgemark, right now. If the VMP breaches the city, this place would be all but defenseless. You'd be defenseless."

"I know."

He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Had the man lost his--?

Hmm.

Actually, no. On second thought, Linus could believe it just fine.

Vino Vance had been acting strange over the last few months. He'd been making decisions that he never would have a year ago, taking risks that he never would have.

Just last month, for instance, when that first group of Rainlords arrived, Vino had asked him to send a group to negotiate with them. This, when a Vanguardian field marshal had been only a stone's throw away from here. It had worked out for the best in the end, of course, but it could have easily turned into a gigantic mess for a variety of reasons.

And there were subtler changes, too. Vino's appetite wasn't what it used to be. Linus barely ever saw him eating, anymore. It didn't help that Vino's natural appearance had always been rather pale and sickly, either.

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Unfortunately, Linus couldn't give him either answer. Without knowing more about the nature of the operation that these Rainlords had in mind, he could not in good conscious commit to assisting them, even tentatively.

But it was still an interesting idea. He decided to give his boss a kind of uncertain half-nod.

Mr. Vance seemed to understand. "We can help with that."

Okay, maybe he hadn't understood. Shit.

Linus didn't get the chance to take Mr. Vance aside and explain, because Elroy spoke up again first.

"Ideally, we would be able to get them out before the battle here is decided."

"Ah, do you think these people would be willing and able to aid in the defense of the city?"

"Absolutely," said Elroy.

"Excellent," said Mr. Vance with a smile.

Linus was clenching his jaw as Mr. Vance turned to look at him again.

The meeting didn't get much better for Linus from there. The discussion turned to one of logistics and intel-sharing with regard to the enemy. Several times, Linus wanted to interject and perhaps walk back their claim of support, but no clear opportunity for it ever arrived.

And frankly, it probably wouldn't matter. Whether intentionally or not, Mr. Vance had committed the RPMP--or his part of it, at least--to helping them. Trying to undo that commitment would just make him look weak and foolish.

Ugh.

As the meeting drew on, Linus found his mind already wandering to the more pressing issue of who the hell he could spare for this mission. Maybe he could convince Kristof or Daro to send someone from their divisions, instead. With the promise of future reinforcements on the table, one of them might agree.

Probably Daro, most likely. Kristof was already up to his eyeballs on the front line. Yeah. The more Linus thought about it, the more he felt like Kristof wouldn't want to spare even a single patrolman--not without a major concession on Linus' part, at least.

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"You would be honorary members of the RPMP," Mr. Vance went on, "and as such, I would prepare a suitable stipend for the duration of your stay here. That, too, is negotiable if you would prefer some other form of payment. Something with less of a paper trail, perhaps?"

Still, the Rainlords persisted in silence.

Mr. Vance tilted his head at them. "Well? I'm not getting any younger over here. Do you find those terms agreeable? If so, let us begin hashing out the details."

"...No," said Elroy. "We do not wish to prolong our time in Ridgemark any more than necessary."

Mr. Vance leaned back in his chair. "Oh? You have pressing business elsewhere?"

"You could say that."

"If you are willing to share what it is, then perhaps I could provide assistance--or at least point you toward someone else who can."

Elroy fell quiet again.

From his position beside Mr. Vance, Linus could see several of the Rainlords exchanging small glances with one another, particularly the reapers, as if they were conducting a silent conversation. Obviously, the reapers could speak telepathically with their own servants, but not with each other, so it made for a peculiar sight.

It made him wonder if perhaps Rainlord reapers actually could have private conversations. Heh. Maybe that was why they were such a tightly knit community.

More likely, though, they just understood each other incredibly well.

At length, Elroy spoke up again for everyone. "Logden Prison. You know of it?"

Mr. Vance paused to think. "Logden? Yes, I know of it. What is your interest in it?"

"We have people there. We want to get them out."

Mr. Vance gave Linus a look.

Linus knew what he wanted. A tentative assessment. Would it be possible to help the Rainlords with such an endeavor? A simple nod or shake of his head was all Mr. Vance was looking for here.