The day after gaining his new compass, Tal was still buzzing with adrenaline and uncharacteristic cheer. He and Alys had parted ways that morning with a kiss before she'd headed off to see another one of her clients in the Grounds, and Tal had gone to the courier station to pick up the local deliveries and get them to their destinations before their scheduled departure the next morning.
His good mood had lasted right up until the last delivery of the day, which led him on yet another inconvenient trip down to the Black Lake Shrine. He was pretty sure someone was just being an ass at this point since the Temple had a way more convenient Dygra shrine these days, and what was the point of having someone else deliver an offering to a god for you? But he'd take their damn payments and do the job just to be stubborn at this point. The inky blackness was no deterrent to his Goggles, and shimmying down the fissure was more an annoyance than a danger these days.
He was on his way back from the shrine when he heard the echoing footsteps and caught the glow of firelight around the bend of the gem-studded alcove. With a grimace at the awkward encounter he assumed was coming with one of Dygra's other followers on their way to worship - hopefully brief; his Frey quest had left lingering trauma he hadn't finished dealing with yet - Tal straightened his shoulders and eased his way carefully out of the crevice to avoid any scratches on the sharp minerals that studded the walls. "I'm just leavin' so it's all yo--" he started to say, and then stopped, squinting through the light the small palm-fire gave off.
There was a very familiar dark-haired Jester behind that flame, but-- "What in th'hail are y'doin' down here?" he blurted out at his favorite frenemy, utterly nonplussed at the unexpected meeting.
His good mood had lasted right up until the last delivery of the day, which led him on yet another inconvenient trip down to the Black Lake Shrine. He was pretty sure someone was just being an ass at this point since the Temple had a way more convenient Dygra shrine these days, and what was the point of having someone else deliver an offering to a god for you? But he'd take their damn payments and do the job just to be stubborn at this point. The inky blackness was no deterrent to his Goggles, and shimmying down the fissure was more an annoyance than a danger these days.
He was on his way back from the shrine when he heard the echoing footsteps and caught the glow of firelight around the bend of the gem-studded alcove. With a grimace at the awkward encounter he assumed was coming with one of Dygra's other followers on their way to worship - hopefully brief; his Frey quest had left lingering trauma he hadn't finished dealing with yet - Tal straightened his shoulders and eased his way carefully out of the crevice to avoid any scratches on the sharp minerals that studded the walls. "I'm just leavin' so it's all yo--" he started to say, and then stopped, squinting through the light the small palm-fire gave off.
There was a very familiar dark-haired Jester behind that flame, but-- "What in th'hail are y'doin' down here?" he blurted out at his favorite frenemy, utterly nonplussed at the unexpected meeting.
