Chapter 110 - CX. | O, curious devil... (1/2)

Hector didn't let Garovel anywhere near Ibai. Lord Dimas kept the unconscious Iziol on his back the whole time, but Hector didn't have that much confidence. He had Garovel stay with Chergoa and the Elroys, instead.

The reason he'd volunteered was to see for himself whether or not this aberration could be trusted, but so far, there was little clarity to be found. Ibai didn't do or say anything particularly volatile or dangerous, but perhaps that was only because they were all stuck in a limousine together as their host of Rainlords embarked on the long trip to Moaban.

The Blackburns had chosen Horatio and Silvia for their two bodyguards, and Ibai seemed to enjoy their company greatly, talking about all manner of subjects with them, asking their opinions about what would be fun to do together. Ibai acted like they were all going on a pleasant trip to an amus.e.m.e.nt park or something.

Hector didn't much care for the aberration's enthusiasm. Even if it wasn't carrying malicious intent, it still reminded him of Geoffrey.

Eventually, Ibai rounded on Hector and Dimas.

”So what are your names?” he asked. ”You never did tell me. Mine's Ibai, but I bet you knew that, eh?”

Hector didn't feel like answering, and apparently, neither did Dimas.

Ibai's smile lessened somewhat. ”Mm. You don't like me. I get it. Some of my own family members don't like me very much, either. Fidel, for instance. I always beat him when we thumb wrestle. He hates that.”

Was that supposed to be a joke? Or did he actually think that way? Hector honestly couldn't tell. Maybe it was a bit of both.

At their continued silence, Ibai shrugged. ”You two don't like to talk much, do you? I understand. And I don't want you to worry, either! I thought this might happen, so I came prepared!” The man reached behind his seat and began pulling out several long, flat boxes.

They were all board games, Hector realized.

Hector didn't need to refuse to talk anymore. He was genuinely speechless. This f.u.c.k.i.n.g guy had brought board games to play with the two people who would kill him if he did anything wrong.

”See?” said Ibai. ”This way, you don't have to talk. You can let the game speak for you!”

Hector couldn't decide if this was one of the stupidest ideas he'd ever seen or one of the most brilliant.

”What should we play? Hmm, maybe not Monopoly. Probably shouldn't have brought that one...”

What followed was, without a doubt in Hector's mind, the most uncomfortable game of Snakes and Ladders that had ever been played on the face of Eleg.

The second game was slightly less tense. For the third, they switched to Parcheesi; and for the fourth, they played a game called Waterwall, which Hector had never even heard of. The objective was to trap all of one's opponents by building dams and rerouting water, which moved every turn and was represented by a cl.u.s.ter of squiggly-lined pieces.

Ibai won every single game. It didn't seem to matter whether the game was skill- or luck-based. Horatio almost beat him once, but every other time was a complete trouncing.

Hector kept Garovel apprised of everything that was happening--or not happening, rather--and by the time Hector and Dimas' shift ended, Hector was even more confused than when they had started.

The Rainlords had stopped on one of the larger bridges Hector had seen for a brief refueling break. The two gas stations on either side of the road looked a bit overwhelmed by the dozen vehicles that had suddenly arrived. Hector and Dimas walked together as they made their way back to the head of the entourage.

Now that they were away from the aberration, Hector was more interested in talking. ”Well, that was... different than I expected.”

”Indeed,” said Dimas.

”What do you think?” asked Hector.

Dimas nodded lightly. ”I think he seems genuine. You?”

”I don't know...” Hector frowned at being the cynical one. ”Have you encountered many aberrations before?”

”Two,” said Dimas. ”I doubt that qualifies as many.”

”What were they like?”

”They both tried to kill me within about ten seconds of meeting me.”

”Ah...”

”What about you? You seem strangely interested in them.”

”Me? Oh... I've only met one, but... but, ah...”

Dimas waited patiently.

A part of Hector still wasn't ready to talk about it. A part of him would never be ready. But a different part urged him to. It wanted him to tell this person. Dimas would understand, Hector thought. Just about any Rainlord would, probably.

So he tried. ”The aberration I met... he, uh... he killed my dad. And... many of my friends.”

Dimas was briefly quiet. ”I am very sorry to hear that,” was all he said.

Hector hadn't really been expecting anything more from the man. In fact, that was probably why he decided to tell him. He didn't want to be asked a dozen questions and end up reliving that nightmare.

He tried to think of something else to talk about, but nothing came to mind, and soon enough, they were back with the Elroys. Zeff was still asleep, and now, so was Asad. Asad's daughter Jada had since joined them as well, along with his sister Imas, and with Hector and Dimas added in, the limousine was nearly at maximum occupancy.

The conversation never reached higher than a low murmur. Most everyone seemed either too tired or just not in the mood to talk much, but through the relative quiet, it was clear enough to Hector that Jada knew the Elroys pretty well. She kept the topics light and infrequent, Hector noticed, bringing up things like pets and food and a bit about what Moaban would be like.

”I have been there several times,” Jada was saying in that faint Valgan accent. ”Raml'hahl is always very nice. Or--I think they call it Dunehall in Mohssian?” She looked to Atalim, her reaper. ”Is that right?”

'It is, yes.'

'Dunehall?' said Garovel. 'Is it a fortress?'

'It used to be,' said Atalim. 'It weathered many assaults during its day, but now it serves as home to the local steward, who takes care of it for whenever Hahl Najir visits.' The reaper gave a laugh. 'I imagine he will not be very pleased to see us with so many unannounced guests.'

'Will that be a problem?' asked Chergoa.

'Oh, not at all. He would never disobey Asad. That would jeopardize his cushy job.'

Garovel threw a glance Hector's way. 'Speaking of fortresses,' he said publicly, 'Hector was given a really nice castle by the Queen of Atreya.'

Hector felt compelled to interject. ”Nice might be the wrong word for it, Garovel...”

'Okay. We have a really interesting castle. You guys should come visit. And perhaps stay awhile.'

'Uh,' said Chergoa, 'we're kinda busy with things here in Sair, in case you haven't noticed.'

'Busy? Are you planning on getting kidnapped a second time?'

'Hilarious. We're not going anywhere without Emiliana's family.'

'Well, I didn't mean right this second. And they're all invited, too, of course. Warrenhold has plenty of room.'

'I wasn't questioning its spaciousness. Most castles are pretty big.'

'Ours is a little TOO big, actually. Enough so that we're not really sure what to do with it all. It's possibly the largest castle I've ever seen, now that I'm thinking about it.'

Chergoa c.o.c.ked a skeletal eyebrow. 'Ever?'

'Maybe. I'm not sure. You definitely have to see it for yourself, someday. It would be a great place to lay low, if needed, and we would certainly welcome you, despite all of your horrendous character flaws.'

'Thank you,' Chergoa said flatly.

'Did you say Warrenhold?' asked Shenado. She'd been mostly quiet up to now, which seemed to make everyone more interested in hearing what she had to say.

'I did,' said Garovel. 'You know of it?'

'Not from personal experience, but I've heard Axiolis talk about how much he hates that place,' said Shenado.

Garovel let out a laugh. 'Really? Why? It wouldn't have anything to do with the Redwater Uprising, would it?'

'Ah, so you know about that.'

'A friend of ours was able to tell us some of Warrenhold's history,' said Garovel. 'It's our understanding that the castle caused trouble for some folks who were looking to kill a few kings, yes?'

'Yes,' said Shenado. 'Those kings needed to die in order for several of the Rainlords' allies to seize power and provide much needed aid during the Uprising. Many of the Rainlords themselves were dispatched to help take the castle, but instead of the swift victory that they were expecting, they encountered a struggle that lasted decades.'

'Ah, well, perhaps Axiolis will be pleased to know that Hector bears no relation to any of Warrenhold's previous occupants,' said Garovel.

Shenado tilted her skull to the side. 'He said if it weren't for Warrenhold, the Rainlords would have had all the support they needed in a dozen other key battles across the continent and wouldn't have suffered such heavy losses.'

'Mm. Then... hopefully, he'll be pleased to know that it is now occupied by a friendly face.'

'He also said that it was cursed.'

'Oh, well, that's not--'

'He said, even after it was taken, the castle drove people mad and caused all manner of political turmoil.'

'Axiolis is mistaken. I would be happy to--'

'You tryin' to invite us to some cursed pile of dog shit?' said Chergoa. 'The hell is wrong with you?'

'It's not cursed! It's just misunderstood!'

'Uh-huh, sure it is. I bet it's just teeming with ghosts 'n shit.'

'Ghosts aren't real,' said Garovel.

'You don't know that.'

'Actually, I do. And so do you.'

'If ghosts aren't real, then what do you call us?'

'Reapers aren't ghosts!'

'Aren't we, though? I mean, we're people who've died, right?'

'It's not the same!'

'It kinda is.'

Garovel sighed. 'Okay, so by that logic, you are therefore worried that Warrenhold is teeming with reapers.'

'Well, I was more worried about the dog shit part.'

'There's no dog shit!'

'So you say...'

'Ugh. Whatever. You'll see it for yourself when you visit.'

'I don't wanna visit a place filled with that much dog shit.'

'Chergoa, I will end you.'

She just laughed.

Hector would have kept listening, but Ramira poked him in the face with her iron spider. She'd insisted that he sit next to her, and he couldn't very well refuse. And besides, sitting next to a little girl was way less intimidating than sitting next to anyone else in this car. Except maybe Dimas, who was sitting on Hector's other side.

”What's the matter?” Hector asked.

”You never told me your name, you big lump.”

She was right, he realized. The reapers had handled all the introductions, which she obviously hadn't been able to hear.

”Ah... sorry. My name is Hector Goffe. I'm from a country called Atreya.”

”Where is that?” Ramira asked.

”It's, uh... to the southwest of here.”

”Why did you come to Sair, then? To help us?”

”Er... s-sorta...”

”And why are you helping us, huh?”

”Oh, um, because my reaper is the brother of Emiliana's reaper.”

Ramira squinted at him. ”So you're the servant... of the brother... of the reaper of my sister?”

”Y-yes... I think.”

”That's really hard to remember.”

”Y-yeah...”

Emiliana decided to pitch in. ”Perhaps it would be easier to think of Lord Hector as a very distant cousin.”

”Ah--” He raised a hand slightly. ”Lord--um--you don't have to--I mean, I'm not really a... er...”

”Oh, I am sorry,” she said. ”Was I mistaken? I thought you were an Atreyan Lord.”

”Well... I am, technically.”

Emiliana tilted her masked head at him. ”Then what is the problem?”

”Ah, uh, sorry.” He could feel himself losing what little composure he had. He needed to concentrate and find his footing again. ”I'm just, er--I'm just not a-accustomed to it, I guess. Because I wasn't born into it, I mean. So, um, please, um. Please j-just call me Hector. Please.” There were way too many pleases in there, he realized.

Emiliana just stared at him a moment. ”Very well...”

Ramira eyed him another time. ”Cousin Hector, huh? Mmkay.”

And he was abruptly reminded of having that same thought when he first saw their pictures. Cousins. The memory made him blush, and he had to hide it by rubbing his face, as if out of exhaustion. Thankfully, he actually was exhausted, so that wasn't too much of a stretch.

He could hardly believe they'd said that. And agreed about it. Cousins. Family. When the thought had been his own, he'd chalked it up to wishful thinking and dismissed it, but now... now, it actually had a sense of legitimacy. Of reality.

But maybe he was overreacting. In fact, he definitely was, he decided. These were Rainlords. They probably had more distant relatives than they could keep track of. One more cousin wouldn't be a big deal to them, surely, so he shouldn't let it be a big deal to him, either.

But it was. In spite of himself, it was. And he had no idea what to do about it, because it embarrassed the living shit out of him.

Ramira yawned and then prodded him with another question. ”So how did you become a lord in your country if you weren't born into it?”

”Ah, uh... it's a recent thing. And kind of a long story.”

Her big gray eyes seemed to be telling him that she was ready for a long story.

He hesitated, of course, but he gave it a go, beginning with how he met the Queen and giving the highlights from there. And before long, he could see the little girl slowly drifting off to sleep. He didn't really blame her, though. He wasn't so great at this storytelling thing, and in spite of all her energy, Ramira had looked pretty tired even since before leaving Luzo. And it actually made the story easier to tell, he found. There was less pressure to get it right when it felt like she was hardly even listening.

At length, Ramira was out cold. And the mask made it hard to tell, but judging from Emiliana's breathing and the fact that she hadn't moved her head at all in the last few minutes, she seemed to be out, too. Marcos, as well, had fallen asleep on Dimas' shoulder.

'We might as well get some rest, too,' said Garovel. He attached himself to Hector's shoulder, and Hector fell quickly into unconsciousness.

The warm darkness washed over him. Familiar and welcome and gone too soon.

He awoke to the realization that the limousine was no longer moving. Garovel was awake, too, but the Elroy children were still asleep.

And Ramira was leaning against his shoulder.

He tensed up, having to resist the impulse to jump out of his seat. If not for a very potent concern that he would accidentally hurt the poor girl, Hector was pretty sure that he would have ended up ripping one of the doors off the vehicle while trying to escape.

Garovel floated in front of him. 'You okay there, buddy?'

Hector just glared at the reaper with a clenched jaw.

'Just relax,' Garovel said privately, unable to hide his laughter completely. 'She's not going to hurt you.'

'Garovel...'

'Think of this as practice. Y'know, for when you have to touch someone who is actually conscious.'

'You did this on purpose...'

'Hey, I didn't make her fall asleep on you. She did that on her own.'

'You woke me up.'

'Oh, did I? My hand must have slipped.'

'Garovel!'

'I do have hands, don't I?'

Hector sighed through his nose. 'Why do you have to torture me like this?'

'Shits and giggles, primarily.'

'Garovel...'

'Oh, come on. This is adorable. Just try thinking about something else. Like why we've stopped or where Dimas went.'

Hector hesitated. He hadn't even noticed that the man was gone. He couldn't hear the rain anymore, either.

'You've all been out for a while,' Garovel went on. 'We've already reached the Waress Mountains.'

'...I've heard of those, I think.'

'I should hope so. They divide the whole friggin' continent.'

'R-right...'

'Also, we flew over them when we left Kuros.'

'Oh.'

'We're gonna have to get you an atlas or something when we get back to Warrenhold. Oh, or you could craft a big iron globe! That could be a neat project. Make it big enough for people to walk into and look at from the inside. I saw a globe like that once. It got destroyed in a fire, though. Yeah, I should definitely have you recreate it. Could be good for tourism, too. Though, if it's for tourism, then it might be best to put it above ground somewhere. Hmm. It'd look good underground, too, I'm sure. Maybe we could just have--'

'Uh, Garovel?'

'What?'

'Where DID Dimas go?'

'Oh, he's scouting ahead to make sure the Tunnels are safe.'

'Tunnels?'

'Yup. That's the other reason why I woke you up. You haven't seen them before, have you? The Waress Tunnels?'

Hector tilted his head. 'Uh...'

'C'mon, then. Get out of the car.'

'But I'll wake up Ramira if I move...'

'Eh, I think you can avoid waking her. C'mon.'

Slowly, Hector pulled himself away from the little girl. He tried not to jostle her too much.