He was relieved that Sam didn't push him to go lie down. No amount of rest was going to fix what afflicted him, and so long as he had strength (and patience, his temper growing increasingly fierce and unpredictable) he wanted to live what life he had left. Hopefully with fewer regrets than he had already accumulated. "Our short-sightedness," Jigano agreed ruefully. "I wish we'd had time to explore it slowly the first time... but ah well. If we could turn back the clock there are many things I would change." He offered his friend a lopsided smile and asked his question, giving Sam the choice of facing the unknown, or facing painful memories. At his friend's decision he nodded, curiosity burning bright to see how things had changed since his last visit.
"Alright. But if we start running into the poison that was here before, let's turn around. I don't want either of us getting a lungful of that stuff." Did Sam still have lungs? Either way, it had hurt Lucas badly and Jigano had no desire to see his friend suffer similar harm.
He was surprised when the bookmaker took the lead, but not as much as he would have been a season ago. He'd always known that Sam was brave, as far back as their first meeting when the fearful redhead had given him the protective feather. Watching him grow into the stronger, more confident person he was slowly becoming was a pleasure and a gift, and Jigano smiled at his friend's back - no longer so narrow as it had once been. Isuma chirped encouragement to them both, leaving the bard's shoulder to perch on Sam's instead and peering down the spiral stairs with eager curiosity at this place her companion had been twice without her.
Though no poison rose to meet them, the walls of the Spire were cracked and wounded, the once-smooth surface of the stone rough with fissures and fractures in the black substance. The further they descended the worse the damage grew, dust on the ground and floating in the air amidst fallen rocks upon the steps that they had to pick their way around. There were no breaks in the walls, no openings to other floors or doorways, but once they neared the bottom of the Spire a jumble of rubble blocked the way into the underground chamber. Isuma hopped forward to perch on a shattered block of stone that stood nearly head-high, turning back to peep curiously at the two men who followed. There was no visible way through the debris without shifting it, but it looked unstable...
"This is... different," the bard said dryly, peering over Sam's shoulder. "It had fallen in the last time I was here, but the Fae had made a tunnel through the rubble so we could reach the chamber beyond. Now... I don't know." He eyed it dubiously, then looked to the bookmaker with an arched brow. "What do you think? We could start trying to shift things carefully and see if we can make a way through. Or we could try heading up and see if we missed anything on the upper levels first? I'd hate to ask Remi to come back here again... if he'd even listen to me," he added, lips quirking into a pained, humorless smile.
"Alright. But if we start running into the poison that was here before, let's turn around. I don't want either of us getting a lungful of that stuff." Did Sam still have lungs? Either way, it had hurt Lucas badly and Jigano had no desire to see his friend suffer similar harm.
He was surprised when the bookmaker took the lead, but not as much as he would have been a season ago. He'd always known that Sam was brave, as far back as their first meeting when the fearful redhead had given him the protective feather. Watching him grow into the stronger, more confident person he was slowly becoming was a pleasure and a gift, and Jigano smiled at his friend's back - no longer so narrow as it had once been. Isuma chirped encouragement to them both, leaving the bard's shoulder to perch on Sam's instead and peering down the spiral stairs with eager curiosity at this place her companion had been twice without her.
Though no poison rose to meet them, the walls of the Spire were cracked and wounded, the once-smooth surface of the stone rough with fissures and fractures in the black substance. The further they descended the worse the damage grew, dust on the ground and floating in the air amidst fallen rocks upon the steps that they had to pick their way around. There were no breaks in the walls, no openings to other floors or doorways, but once they neared the bottom of the Spire a jumble of rubble blocked the way into the underground chamber. Isuma hopped forward to perch on a shattered block of stone that stood nearly head-high, turning back to peep curiously at the two men who followed. There was no visible way through the debris without shifting it, but it looked unstable...
"This is... different," the bard said dryly, peering over Sam's shoulder. "It had fallen in the last time I was here, but the Fae had made a tunnel through the rubble so we could reach the chamber beyond. Now... I don't know." He eyed it dubiously, then looked to the bookmaker with an arched brow. "What do you think? We could start trying to shift things carefully and see if we can make a way through. Or we could try heading up and see if we missed anything on the upper levels first? I'd hate to ask Remi to come back here again... if he'd even listen to me," he added, lips quirking into a pained, humorless smile.
