Page 1632 -- CLXXVI. (Patreon)

He couldn’t stay here forever, he was beginning to think. He would have to move, eventually.

But not yet. He could wait for her. Just a little longer.

Then he finally heard something different. The horse. Rustling movement. Trotting off.

The rider was leaving, Parson realized.

He waited. He listened. He hoped. If the horseman was gone, perhaps his mother would return to him now.

And he kept waiting.

Had the horseman carried her off with him? Was she never going to return?

Eventually, Parson could abide the wait no longer. He had to know. He stood on unsteady legs and stepped out from his hiding place. He searched the area for the rider’s camp from the previous night.

When he found it, he also found his mother.

She was on the ground, covered in blood. Her clothes were torn, and her throat had been cut.

Chapter One Hundred Seventy-Six: ‘Descend, and have care...’

The first part of the fall was a bit rough. Hector hadn’t quite nailed the correct trajectory when he’d jumped in, so he soon ended up hitting the wall and bouncing off of it. He ping-ponged back and forth for a while before finally managing to correct his angle of descent with iron. He armored up during that time as well, finding it better to scrape against the wall with metal than with bare flesh.

Once that was done, though, the journey became quite peaceful. And long. It was a strange feeling, to be sure. As he got accustomed to the sensation and relaxed a bit more, his senses began to blend together, which eventually became disorienting as well. At times, he wasn’t even sure if he was falling. It almost felt as if he were simply suspended in midair, instead.

‘That’s not too surprising,’ said Garovel privately after Hector had told him about it. ‘The human body is in no way adapted to falling such a great distance. That, and I’ve heard gravity can get pretty screwy in these holes, too. I’m sure your brain doesn’t appreciate that very much, either.’

It was true that he felt a little woozy at times. He tried to maintain his focus, though. A question. He had to think of a question. ‘Ah... oh, uh. By the way, um... you mentioned it before, didn’t you?’

‘...What? Mentioned what before?’

‘Uh... ah...’

‘You okay there, buddy?’

‘Y-yeah, I think so. Sorry.’

‘Want me to knock you out and just wake you up when we get there?’

‘N-no, that’s okay. This is... this is good training. I think.’

‘Hmm. If you say so.’

‘But you DID mention something before...’

Garovel laughed. ‘Yes, Hector. I have mentioned many things before.’

‘No. I mean. But. Yeah.’

Garovel laughed harder. ‘This is more fun than I expected. I like disoriented Hector.’

‘Ah... er...’ Dammit, there was something. He was trying to remember. ‘You mentioned something about these giant holes, didn’t you?’

‘Mm, sure?’

‘Agh...’

‘C’mon, buddy, you can do it.’