The bard raised a brow as Sascha went digging through his bag, but at the little figure that was pushed across the table he smiled, picking it up and raising it to admire more closely.
His smile froze as he recognized the depiction of a winged humanoid and his fingers tensed around it as he fought the urge to snap it in two, memories of his last encounter with an angel - or at least, angelic-like being - sending a mix of complicated emotions spinning through his blood... most of them dark. Only his training as a bard kept him from throwing the wooden reminder of so much death and destruction into the fire. Instead he set it down with careful precision off to the side, nodding his gratitude to Sascha since he didn't trust his voice not to come out sharp and cold at the unexpected reminder of his past, a ripping off of the healing scabs he'd finally begun to grow over it.
Luckily he had time to recover himself. Sascha spoke at length, and Jigano listened and nodded with interest at the strange names, his brow raising curiously at a few places that sounded oddly familiar to his own ears. Clearly, though, this was a world very unlike his own - and even more different from Caido. He let the realization that Sascha had meant no harm with his religious iconography relax him back towards feeling hospitable towards the stranger. He waited patiently while Sascha rambled, letting the young man run until he finally paused for breath, and the lorekeeper chuckled. "Most of that sounds unfamiliar to me, although my ancestors come from a place called Tian Xia on my world. Magic is common where I'm from, though when I was brought through the portal to Caido I lost the spark that allowed me to cast spells, both arcane and divine." A loss that still stung, though less now that he was becoming used to it, and to the other talents he had developed in this new world.
Jigano tilted his head at Sascha thoughtfully, then glanced up as a teenager brought out the laden bowels of stew and a loaf of fresh bread. He gave the youngster a grin and a nod, then turned back to his companion as he stirred his stew in thought. "For something that could have gotten you killed... you speak of it very easily to a stranger," the bard pointed out wryly. "But healing is a magical talent that will always be useful here. I can take you up to the Infirmary after dinner and introduce you to Vervain, who has strong healing magic. She's saved more than one person's life from the brink of death with it."
He considered the personal questions next, lips quirking wryly. "I'm from a land called Numeria, on the world of Golarion. As I said, it is a world of many gods and magic is more common there than it is here, but my spellcasting abilities were lost to me when I was brought here." He shrugged lightly, as if it were only a small thing and not something that had once helped to define him. "There are far fewer gods on Caido, but they are more... ah, 'hands on,' shall we say? They are more likely to appear when prayed to, but they can be capricious in how they respond to those prayers." It was a place to start, at least, and Jigano finally allowed himself the pleasure of taking a few spoonfuls of stew while giving Sascha time to think about what he'd said.
His smile froze as he recognized the depiction of a winged humanoid and his fingers tensed around it as he fought the urge to snap it in two, memories of his last encounter with an angel - or at least, angelic-like being - sending a mix of complicated emotions spinning through his blood... most of them dark. Only his training as a bard kept him from throwing the wooden reminder of so much death and destruction into the fire. Instead he set it down with careful precision off to the side, nodding his gratitude to Sascha since he didn't trust his voice not to come out sharp and cold at the unexpected reminder of his past, a ripping off of the healing scabs he'd finally begun to grow over it.
Luckily he had time to recover himself. Sascha spoke at length, and Jigano listened and nodded with interest at the strange names, his brow raising curiously at a few places that sounded oddly familiar to his own ears. Clearly, though, this was a world very unlike his own - and even more different from Caido. He let the realization that Sascha had meant no harm with his religious iconography relax him back towards feeling hospitable towards the stranger. He waited patiently while Sascha rambled, letting the young man run until he finally paused for breath, and the lorekeeper chuckled. "Most of that sounds unfamiliar to me, although my ancestors come from a place called Tian Xia on my world. Magic is common where I'm from, though when I was brought through the portal to Caido I lost the spark that allowed me to cast spells, both arcane and divine." A loss that still stung, though less now that he was becoming used to it, and to the other talents he had developed in this new world.
Jigano tilted his head at Sascha thoughtfully, then glanced up as a teenager brought out the laden bowels of stew and a loaf of fresh bread. He gave the youngster a grin and a nod, then turned back to his companion as he stirred his stew in thought. "For something that could have gotten you killed... you speak of it very easily to a stranger," the bard pointed out wryly. "But healing is a magical talent that will always be useful here. I can take you up to the Infirmary after dinner and introduce you to Vervain, who has strong healing magic. She's saved more than one person's life from the brink of death with it."
He considered the personal questions next, lips quirking wryly. "I'm from a land called Numeria, on the world of Golarion. As I said, it is a world of many gods and magic is more common there than it is here, but my spellcasting abilities were lost to me when I was brought here." He shrugged lightly, as if it were only a small thing and not something that had once helped to define him. "There are far fewer gods on Caido, but they are more... ah, 'hands on,' shall we say? They are more likely to appear when prayed to, but they can be capricious in how they respond to those prayers." It was a place to start, at least, and Jigano finally allowed himself the pleasure of taking a few spoonfuls of stew while giving Sascha time to think about what he'd said.
