the

[Grand Moff Hissa]

((Hector Quayle continued from rebury))

Hector was spreading his bounty farther this time. It would've been smarter at the start, but he'd been working quickly. From that perspective, the thief had done him a favor. This time it would be done right.

The expanse of snow was vast. Tracking wouldn't be hard here, but most of the others wouldn't think to begin, let alone know how. And if they did, they'd be searching for people. And it meant he could be sure that where he was going, nobody else had yet been. Visibility was good. He could say for sure now that he wasn't being followed.

Meat spoiled quickly enough at room temperature, but nothing out here was room temperature, and even the presumably unseasonable melt wouldn't be enough to ruin his plans. He just had to make sure that, no matter what was closed, his options remained open.

If you stood right at the edge of the snowfield, by a specific tree with a gouge chipped into the bark, and knew how many paces to count and in what direction, you'd find a parcel of dinner. But of course, only Hector knew.

((Hector Quayle continued in damn))