143 CXLIII. | 'O, meddling fellowship...'

Including himself, Hector's raiding party grew to be six strong, but that certainly wasn't because no one else wanted to join. In the end, he'd refused more volunteers so as not to break up any of the individual families. And thankfully, the heads of each House agreed with him on that front, so no one tried to argue with him. Everyone understood that if too many people went, then it would jeopardize the safety of their sleeping brethren.

That resulted in an entourage of Hector, Diego, Asad, Imas, Jada, and finally Evangelina Stroud.

The only reason he'd agreed to the Lady Stroud joining was because she was the head of her own House, and there was really no refusing her. Just like Diego, she was the only Stroud present, thanks to the events at Rheinhal. Unlike Diego, however, she'd actually been there when the battle against the Gargoyle of Korgum took place.

And whenever anyone brought it up, she did not hesitate to give her feelings on the subject. The Lady Stroud was certainly no fan of the Gargoyle, or the Vanguard in general. From what Hector understood, Zeff had been there as well, but he'd barely talked about it, perhaps because Evangelina seemed to have the issue so well in hand.

As they walked, Hector had many more opportunities to witness--and indeed experience--the chaos of Babbadelo first-hand. They'd been attacked before, but now it was almost constant, probably because they didn't have intimidating numbers on their side anymore. Nearly every street had a new group of Hun'Kui bandits who seemed keen to test them. Several tried to extort a toll beforehand, but just as many attacked without warning.

It never went well for the assailants. They were rarely ever armed, and even when they were, the reapers noticed it immediately, having become hyper-aware of the threat ever since their first encounter with it.

But the fact that these people weren't armed and yet were still so bold as to attack them anyway... it spoke to Hector of desperation. And Garovel agreed. Maybe some of them were just being assholes, but a lot of them were probably trying to feed themselves or their families in whatever way they could.

It was more than enough reason to go easy on them, Hector felt. And the others seemed to agree, excepting the Lady Stroud. She didn't kill anyone, but she dealt out plenty of broken fingers, hands, arms, and ankles. She just about pulled a guy's leg off before her reaper, Ezura, told her to stop.

Hector wondered if he should ask her to return to the inn. He doubted she would listen to him, but maybe the others would be able to convince her. Regardless, he decided to hold off and just keep an eye on her.

At length, the frequency of attacks began to die down again. Hector wasn't sure if they'd just been passing through a particularly bad area of the city or if the attackers had realized it was a lost cause.

Either way, this sudden calm, though welcome, was rather unsettling, in its own way. Hector could see the reapers constantly scanning their surroundings.

'We need to be extra careful how we resolve this situation,' Garovel was saying, not for the first time. He'd been trying to explain something, but the constant interruptions from hostile Hun'Kui had been getting in the way, and even now, he looked like he was waiting for something to cut him off again.

The reapers didn't really need to be looking around so much, Hector knew. They could sense the locations of every soul around them if they just concentrated, but after Dunehall, Hector couldn't really blame them for their paranoia here. If aberrations were able to operate undetected by reapers, then it didn't seem outside the realm of possibility that these Hun'Kui and their new technologies might have a similar surprise in store.

Thankfully, though, that didn't seem like it was going to be the case.

Garovel was taking a while to finish his thought, so Hector decided to give him a push. 'What do you mean?'

'Hmm? Oh, yeah. Um. Look, let's say we beat up these food-stealing pricks and start handing it out to everyone. Let's even say that there's plenty of food to go around and that we don't have to worry about rationing it at all. What happens after we leave Babbadelo?'

'Uh...'

'How do we know that someone else won't pick up where these assholes left off?'

'Hmm...'

'The answer is that we don't know,' said Garovel. 'That's the problem. This place is unstable as hell, and that's not something we can realistically fix unless we stay here indefinitely and work on keeping the peace ourselves.'

Hector frowned. '...Are you saying we should turn back?'

'I'm saying there's only so much we can hope to accomplish for the locals here. It's not as simple a matter as you seem to have been thinking. And before you say anything else, do NOT give me any of that cavalier sass from earlier, you prick. Coming up with terrible plans is MY area of expertise, remember? And I don't appreciate being treated like I'm some kind of lazy piece of shit who doesn't care about helping people.'

'That's not what I was--'

'Yeah, sure it wasn't.'

'I wasn't trying to insult you, Garovel... Believe me, I know how much you want to save innocent lives. I mean, shit, without you, I wouldn't even... uh... y'know... I just--'

'Yeah, alright, fine, we both know what an incredible humanitarian god-being I am, but that's only part of what I was getting at. The real point, my young friend, is that you let yourself get a bit too worked up back there. You and I are supposed to be the reasonable ones here, remember?'

'Sure, but...' Hector didn't quite know how to argue that point just yet. He only knew that he wanted to. 'Mrgh...'

'Look, I get it. You're feeling more confident in your abilities and want to help as many people as possible. That's a good thing. Great, actually. Especially considering where you started. But not everything--'

'No, that's not it,' said Hector. 'That's not it at all...'

The reaper fell quiet a moment. 'What do you mean?'

'It's not... agh... it's not that I'm feeling more confident... In fact, it's the exact opposite.' Hector's gaze drifted from side to side as he eyed his companions. 'If anything, I've been... really fucking frustrated with myself.'

'...Why?' Garovel sounded genuinely incredulous, as if he'd just heard something completely nonsensical to him.

'Because! Garovel...! I've barely been able to do ANYTHING lately. Everybody's been having to protect me.' Hector could hardly believe that he was having to explain something so obvious. 'And I hate that.'

'Hector... if that's what you really think, then you're an idiot.'

'No, I'm not. YOU'RE an idiot.'

'Really? That's your comeback?'

'Shut up. When you said that these people here were in trouble, I was just... I was SO ready to help them, because it sounded like I actually COULD! For a change! And isn't that the whole point?!'

'Of course it's the point,' said Garovel. 'But Hector. Come-the-fuck-on. I warned you back in Kuros, back when I was asking if you wanted to go meet Chergoa. I said we'd be stepping into territory that we were not ready for. And honestly, my boy, you've done far better than I ever could have hoped.'

Hector made no response.

The reaper's boney face twisted as he kept pace with Hector. 'You really don't agree? Hector. Marshrock was amazing enough, but Dunehall, too?'

'But that was... I mean... I don't know what that was. But I know that it wasn't something reliable.'

Garovel paused. 'Something reliable?'

'Like... I don't think I could do it again. It was just... It was dumb luck, is all it was.'

'Mm, I dunno about that. I think you're underestimating yourself.'

'I don't.'

'Yes, I see that now. I can't believe I ever thought you were being overconfident. Holy shit.'

'Ugh. I just... I... I mean, I'm not wrong, am I? The Rainlords are going to live with us. Under my roof. They're gonna be relying on me. So...' He had to consciously avoid sighing in front of everyone. 'I have to become more reliable than just dumb luck. I don't know how, but... I have to.'

'Hector. You can't protect... ah... Hmm.'

Hector threw him a glance. 'Wha?'

'Well, uh,' said Garovel, 'I was about to say that you can't protect the Rainlords from everything that's threatening them, but... frankly, I don't know what you're capable of, anymore. After Rasalased and Haqq's shield and that shit you pulled with the Salesman-of-Goddamn-Death... and now whatever-the-hell is going on with you and the Shards... I just. You... I don't know. Now that I think about it, maybe I'M the one who's underestimating you.'

'Uh... what?'

'Argh! Fuck you! Now you're making ME confused! None of this means that we shouldn't still be cautious in general! Or that you should stop listening to my sage wisdom, goddammit!'

'...Okay,' said Hector.

'Don't gimme that shit. My entire worldview is crumbling over here, and all you've got for me is "okay"? I don't know what's real anymore, you son of a bitch.'

'...Then why do you sound more excited than upset?'

'Excuse me? I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about.'

'I'm sure you do.'

'You must be going crazy. It's the only explanation. Crazy Hector, that's what they're gonna start calling you if you're not careful.'

'Right.'

'Hector the Crazy. Hector "Crazy" Goffe. Crazy Hector and the Crazies.'

'Did you just put me in a band?'

'Oh, man, I would love to see you as the lead singer of a band.'

'I'd sooner face Ivan again.'

'What kind of band would it be, you think? Heavy metal?'

By the time the group's destination came into view, Hector was more than ready for a fight to rescue him from this conversation.

It was a hulking platform suspended in midair by a host of thick cables. It wrapped all the way around one of the city's enormous pillars and was positioned about halfway up to the next layer of streets and buildings. The group had already traveled up two layers on the way here, and the view to either side of Hector was not something he would soon forget, he thought. Like a sea of fireflies flickering in the darkness, both above and below--some moving, some not, but all reminding him of life, of how many people were still relatively nearby, even if he couldn't see any of them.

"Hmm," said Diego Redwater, staring up at the platform above their heads. "That looks like a defensive position, if I've ever seen one. I guess they're expecting us, eh?"

"We were not exactly subtle on our way here," said Asad. "No doubt, they received plenty of warning."

"If that is the case, then there is no sense in attempting stealth," said Evangelina. Her long, raven-black skirt flowed wildly with every step she took. When they'd first set out from the inn, Hector had thought it rather impractical attire for combat, but after seeing the way the woman could move in it, he was glad he hadn't said anything.

'We should assume that they are more heavily armed than anyone we have met thus far,' said Qorvass. 'It would be best to avoid running headlong into a hail of ardor-infused bullets, no?'

The Lady Stroud's face remained stolid, but she didn't say anything.

Her reaper, however, chimed in. 'That may not be an option, either,' Ezura said, and she motioned upward.

A fleet of blinking white specks were pouring out from the platform above. Hector wasn't quite sure what they were, but apparently Asad was, because quartz raised up from below the group and started carrying them diagonally away.

Blindingly bright spotlights fell upon them, and then a storm of flaming bullets arrived, chasing after Asad's zigzagging work as it pushed the group ever higher and closer to their objective.

The shields came up, and everyone bunched together to form a protective wall around Asad and the reapers. A flurry of bullets occasionally washed over them, pinging off the shields like hail, but Hector was not pleased to see the many dents they left behind.

Ardor-infused, indeed. If they could do that kind of damage to the metal of Haqq's shield, then he didn't want to imagine what they would do to a person. Or a reaper.

As they neared the platform, Hector caught clearer sight of the blinking specks and realized that they were a small army of hovering drones.

And they were in range.

Hector's free hand flexed, and iron clapped around every drone in his line of sight. They dropped instantly, and Hector pulled an iron bowl up from below to catch them like so much popcorn, not wanting them to fall out of sight and kill some poor bystander.

Hector moved to eliminate the rest of the drones as well, but he found that they had already been taken care of by glass and were joining his own batch in the bowl below.

The group soon reached the platform, and briefly, Hector got a sprawling view of the military compound that sat upon it.

But only briefly.

A kind of hissing whoosh stole his attention, and he immediately saw the rocket-propelled grenade that it belonged to. Its brightly burning form left little doubt that it, too, carried the threat of ardor, and Hector was about to try to divert its path with materialized iron, but Asad's quartz beat him to it.

Rocket met glass, and the resulting explosion was so fierce that it still reached them and tore Asad's glass elevator to pieces, sending the group toppling off in all different directions.

Hector caught himself, Jada Najir, and Diego Redwater on an iron slide, which carried the three of them smoothly down to the platform full of hostiles, and they all hit the metal ground running. More blazing gunfire erupted, and there was no cover to be found--not from these bullets. The small building in front of them might as well have not been there, and indeed, as they ran sideways, the gunfire bisected it horizontally, making the structure buckle under its own weight.

Several shots grazed Hector's head and legs, and he could feel that whole chunks of flesh were just gone, exploded apart. But he was still running, and the regeneration was doing its work, and that was all that mattered.

Shields out, they rounded the collapsed building and finally had a clear view of their attackers--a firing line of twenty or so Hun'Kui in various types of deeply green garb. When they saw Hector, Jada, and Diego all barreling toward them, they immediately stopped firing and scattered.

Hector clapped iron around most of them before they got too far, but the now-all-too-familiar sound of a rocket-propelled grenade demanded his attention again. He flung himself and Jada out of its path with a sudden iron pillar, but the force of explosion threw them even farther than he'd wanted, and they went sailing through the wall of a small tower together.

Jada was first on her feet and helping Hector to his, and without even time to think, they were already storming up a flight of stairs while being chased by more gunfire from more yet-unseen shooters.

At the next floor, they encountered a group of four Hun'Kui who, by their expressions, had not realized they were there.

Hector added them to his collection of iron statues.

They found a balcony on the left, along with still more gunfire. This time, however, the bullets were quickly cut short, and Hector saw why. Asad and the others were pushing through the middle of the compound, drawing fire, encasing assailants in glass, and flattening everyone else.

Hector made an iron walkway from the balcony to the roof of the next building over, and Jada didn't hesitate to run across first. Hector followed, wondering if she was just reckless or if she actually trusted his workmanship that much. As he ran, he was glad he'd thought to include tiny ridges in the iron for added grip. It was a trick he'd noticed in some of Asad's creations and had been wanting to try for himself.

He heard another RPG launch and saw it heading for Asad's group, but it never found its target or even exploded. Instead, Diego Redwater bounded up a stack of crates and snatched it out of the air mid-flight, freezing it solid in an instant--a feat which, frankly, Hector wouldn't have even thought physically possible in temperatures like these.

Diego's whole body smoldered with freezing mist as his power of nitrogen transfiguration clashed with the very atmosphere itself.

And at that moment, all gunfire ceased, and Hector was confused, because he looked around and saw the remaining Hun'Kui laying their weapons down.

He didn't quite know what to think. There were still quite a lot of them left, and they surely could've put up quite a fight, considering how heavily armed they were. And yet they were surrendering so soon?

When he observed the scene a second time, however, he thought he understood. It was Diego--the way the man was standing in the middle of the compound like that, in full view of all the Hun'Kui, having just done what he'd done, looking not entirely unlike some kind of unkillable ice god with that frozen rocket clutched in one hand, while also seemingly poised and awaiting another.

Hector and Jada made their way down from the rooftop and rejoined the others. Everyone shared a similar expression of disbelief and suspicion.

In the end, however, the battle concluded without further incident, and the rest of the Hun'Kui gathered and allowed themselves to be taken prisoner.

Hector certainly had no complaints. That fight could've easily gotten much messier. Brief as it had been, a few of the reapers had still taken a bit of a beating, even despite having positioned themselves behind the shields for extra protection. Qorvass sported a clearly visible bullet hole right in the center of his bony forehead. It looked rather awkward to Hector, but the reaper didn't seem terribly inconvenienced by it.

With all hostiles safely subdued, the group decided to spread out and search the compound. Jada and Atalim chose to remain partnered with Hector and Garovel.

"...I am sorry I could not be of more assistance back there," said Jada.

The words took Hector by surprise, as he wasn't even looking at her and had been eyeing a large warehouse on the other side of a line of smaller buildings.

And now that he was thinking about it, he and she had been spending a lot of time together lately, and yet he hadn't heard the young woman speak very much at all. He remembered her talking to the Elroys a fair amount during the trip to Dunehall, but he wasn't sure she'd ever uttered a single word to him directly.

Now that she definitely had, though, Hector was suddenly nervous, as it reminded him how little he actually knew of her.

"I feel I should thank you for protecting us the way you did," she said.

Oh shit, and she was really nice, too? Why the hell was this happening now? 'Garovel, help...'

'Tell her it was no big deal,' the reaper said privately. 'And sound manly.'

Hector frowned and looked at her--which turned out to be a bad idea.

This was a proper young lady that was speaking to him. A noblewoman. Those golden yellow eyes that apparently ran in her family easily made for one of the most striking gazes that Hector had ever seen, and combined with the soft contours of her nose, cheeks, and eyebrows, Jada's face created an uncommon blend of keen innocence.

Goddammit.

This was why he was in the habit of avoiding people's faces. Especially women's.

He tried to respond, but his mouth wouldn't move, perhaps because it knew something that his brain didn't. He decided to just go with a simple nod, instead. That would be enough, right?

Thankfully, it did seem to satisfy her.

Garovel picked up the slack before the silence grew too long. 'What is your ability, by the way? We've yet to see you use it.'

Jada hesitated visibly at the inquiry, then deferred to Atalim.

'I am afraid we cannot tell you,' the reaper said.

'Oh, come now,' said Garovel. 'We're all friends here. And besides, Hector and I have met the Dry God. AND he trusts us. That must lend us credibility, right?'

'Your trustworthiness is not in question,' said Atalim. 'The real problem is that one can never know who may be listening. It is for the best if--'

"Plutonium," Jada whispered, having stepped closer.

Hector's eyes widened.

"Materialization," she added.

Atalim growled lowly. 'Jada. Your father shall hear of this.'

The young woman was not deterred. "In truth, it is not as dangerous as it sounds," she went on quietly. "Even normal people would not be harmed unless they were exposed for a long period of time. Or unless I used certain isotopes. Or soul-strengthening."

'Wow,' said Garovel. 'I've never heard--'

Jada held up a finger. "It is too easy for reapers to be overheard," she whispered.

'Mm,' said Garovel. Then, privately, he relayed his thoughts to Hector.

"...Garovel has never heard of someone having a man-made element as their ability," he said softly.

Jada paused, seemingly listening to Atalim. "...No element is truly man-made. Only discovered."

Hector listened to Garovel again. "...Even so, they do seem to be rarer."

"...As they are in nature."

Hector had a question of his own now. "Ah... but if it's not that dangerous, then why all the secrecy?"

"Because," said Jada, "if the wrong people discovered that I can create something so valuable, they will come for me. Or simply try to kill me."

Hector understood.

"I am very grateful that I did not need to use it today." She glanced at Atalim. "My father will be grateful as well."

Now Hector didn't understand. "No offense, but... if that's the case, then why did you come with us? You could've stayed at the inn with the Rainlords."

"Abbi worries over you," said Jada. "He did not want any harm to come to you."

By now, Hector was reasonably sure that abbi was a Valgan word referring to Asad. "But that... doesn't explain why you decided to come."

"Abbi worries over you. I worry over abbi."

Hector supposed he couldn't argue with that. Asad still had not fully recovered from his encounter with the Marauder of Calthos. Jada certainly had every reason to be concerned about him.

But Hector was also beginning to see how these sorts of things could very easily spiral out of control. Various strong-headed and well-meaning people all concerned about each other, all taking steps to protect each other, only for it to escalate matters in unexpected ways.

That was the kind of thing that a lord should be mindful of, Hector supposed.

Ugh.

For now, at least, he could be glad that the situation here had gone smoothly, more or less. There was still the matter of locating all of the stolen goods and ensuring fair distribution, but Hector was feeling good about their prospects now. And he felt even better when he and Jada entered the warehouse that he'd spotted earlier and found it filled to the rafters with food.

Most of it looked just as weird as the stuff he'd tasted back at the inn. Massive slabs of blackened meat, pungent even through the heavy cloth it was wrapped in. Tubs of stringy, white noodles and darkly purple rice. Barrels full of reddish, leafy vegetables that Garovel identified as a kind of rhubarb.

Hector wasn't seeing any fruits, though, and wondered if that trend extended to the Undercrust as a whole. He was about to ask Garovel about it when a large gray box in the corner of the room caught his attention. He made his way over to it, looking for a door.

'Oh my fucking god,' said Garovel.

And Hector stopped, recognizing the reaper's tone all too well. He didn't even want to ask for elaboration.

Garovel floated up from behind him in order to inspect the gray box more closely. Atalim and Jada joined as well.

'...Is this what I think it is?' said Atalim.

Garovel sighed publicly. 'Yeah... yeah, I'm pretty sure it is.'

Hector found the door he'd been looking for. Its outline was so thin that it blended in with the rest of the box and rendered itself almost invisible. The handle was barely noticeable as well--just a small indention in the wall where it looked like he was supposed to pull.

He didn't think he wanted to open it anymore, though. Sure enough, Garovel's next words reaffirmed his bad feeling.

'Don't open this,' the reaper said. 'You understand me? No matter what. Do. Not. Open it.'

Hector let Jada be the one to ask.

"Why? Do you know what is in here?"

'I can make an educated guess,' said Garovel. But he neglected to elaborate, as if dreading to.

"...And?" pushed Jada.

'...Eggs.'