”And in combination of hope and planning, the keys to success,” Jigano returned, his humor dry as a desert wind. But humor swiftly fell away as he gave the skeptic his honesty, stripping away defenses to give Deimos a vulnerability he would only show a friend. He gave what he had and in return, not support but more doubt, more certainty of his ineptitude, more dismissal of what he had survived and endured, some of which Deimos knew and had witnessed.
The bard shook his head, for he was beginning to think Deimos did not want to understand. ”I am going because Vai and I spoke of the need for a guardian for the mages, one who does not need to focus on the plants. I am going because Remi and I spoke of the amount of plants down there, and how every mage who can use their magic against them will need to focus on that, because the gas will limit how long we can spend down there, so clearing out as much as we can as fast as we can will be important. If we are lucky the only challenge we face will be the gas, and that is more than challenge enough. But we are not counting on luck alone.” He gestured sharply, and his nails briefly shifted to claws before flickering back to their more human guise.
”My presence is a planned precaution, to serve as a shield for the mages if any insects remain, or anything else is a physical threat. Rory will spark the initial gas and direct the explosion back into the chamber before anyone goes inside. Vai will blow the new poison gas upwards and away from us as we work. Remi will change the plants’s capacity for poison – or uproot them, as you suggest – or however else he sees fit to wield the magic he knows best once he sees the area. When the gas becomes too much again, we all retreat to the bottom of the stairs and let Rory blast it clear again before starting anew, or taking breaks at the top of the stairs to recover. Remi has said he will discuss masks with you to protect ourselves with. Isla will wait at the top of the Spire to heal anyone who needs it. But also…” He met Deimos’s eyes squarely, and his voice was quiet, not accusatory, but not shying away either. ”The last time we all went down together, you had to leave us down there. I know you have courage. I know you have strength. And I know you wouldn’t have left if you could have stayed. But we were trapped in the hut, entangled in vines and being pulled under the earth.” Amalia had been trapped in what could have been her grave.
”And you left,” he said simply. And then had still had enough strength left to fight with a Landshark shortly after, from the tale Kiada told, so the poison had not completely disarmed him.
”So yes, I will go. Because I will not abandon anyone who goes down there with me. I didn’t before, and I won’t this time. And that includes you. We’ll need all the help we can get… but like Hell I’d ask Rory to go down there and then not be at his side.”
The bard shook his head, for he was beginning to think Deimos did not want to understand. ”I am going because Vai and I spoke of the need for a guardian for the mages, one who does not need to focus on the plants. I am going because Remi and I spoke of the amount of plants down there, and how every mage who can use their magic against them will need to focus on that, because the gas will limit how long we can spend down there, so clearing out as much as we can as fast as we can will be important. If we are lucky the only challenge we face will be the gas, and that is more than challenge enough. But we are not counting on luck alone.” He gestured sharply, and his nails briefly shifted to claws before flickering back to their more human guise.
”My presence is a planned precaution, to serve as a shield for the mages if any insects remain, or anything else is a physical threat. Rory will spark the initial gas and direct the explosion back into the chamber before anyone goes inside. Vai will blow the new poison gas upwards and away from us as we work. Remi will change the plants’s capacity for poison – or uproot them, as you suggest – or however else he sees fit to wield the magic he knows best once he sees the area. When the gas becomes too much again, we all retreat to the bottom of the stairs and let Rory blast it clear again before starting anew, or taking breaks at the top of the stairs to recover. Remi has said he will discuss masks with you to protect ourselves with. Isla will wait at the top of the Spire to heal anyone who needs it. But also…” He met Deimos’s eyes squarely, and his voice was quiet, not accusatory, but not shying away either. ”The last time we all went down together, you had to leave us down there. I know you have courage. I know you have strength. And I know you wouldn’t have left if you could have stayed. But we were trapped in the hut, entangled in vines and being pulled under the earth.” Amalia had been trapped in what could have been her grave.
”And you left,” he said simply. And then had still had enough strength left to fight with a Landshark shortly after, from the tale Kiada told, so the poison had not completely disarmed him.
”So yes, I will go. Because I will not abandon anyone who goes down there with me. I didn’t before, and I won’t this time. And that includes you. We’ll need all the help we can get… but like Hell I’d ask Rory to go down there and then not be at his side.”
