<div style="text-align: center">《 Alvaro 》<br/>
Location: Near the church<br/>
Addressing: Ray Jr<br/>
<br/>​</div>Alvaro surveyed the surroundings again. He saw all the evidence and Ray's conclusion seemed sound enough, but as they traveled on, his only curiosity lay in the number of people they could count tracks for. Were some or all guards taken prisoner for negotiating purposes? A scenario with strong possibilities. Clouding that possibility was the fact they didn't know how many people were in the group, to begin with. They had splintered early on and a headcount wasn't known. His suggestion was to keep their minds open to anything because once someone locked their mind in on one thing, it became nearly impossible to see the unexpected thing.<br/><br/>He split off a little over a mile before the KOA,  giving Ray Jr full reign of handling the situation. He wanted the man to have his moment, to prove himself to his father and Abendblume. It was a rite of passage due any man who would inherit position and power. He would be close, he would be watching; the young Hale would have swift and deadly backup if any unexpected situation manifested. His final advice to Ray was to assess the situation quickly, act accordingly, and be done. He'd seen far too many people want to make speeches and artful soliloquies inspired by ego and anger. He'd seen most of those people die. A job was a job; stay in control, do it and go home.<br/><br/>Once he'd given all he could give from his experience, Alvaro slipped off into the darkening forest. Unseen, unheard, he was a shadow in the shade.