"None within the Hollowed Grounds," the bard instructed, though his expression turned taut and grim at the reminder. He had been seeking signs of the blight creeping over the barrier scar, trying to find evidence that it was jumping from the Greatwood to the Hollowed Grounds, when Edy had found him and then the landshark had found her. He swallowed hard, but the sorrow drowned out the last embers of his anger that had continued to burn beneath the surface of his thoughts. "Within the Greatwood? More and more. Safrin guessed that within the next year the Greatwood would have succumbed, and that was a full season ago." Nor was that a conversation he cared to remember. He had been collecting far too many of those on his downward slide into guilt and shame, broken by his failures.
Perhaps ironically, now that he had found the strength to push forward again he was running out of time.
He waved off Loren's offer of help, not bothering to hide the grimace at the ever-popular 'are you alright' that was so well-meaning and so utterly useless. "I have tried not to advertise it." He was a bard, after all, an actor and a wearer of masks - most of which were of the 'everything is fine' variety. The hand he raised between them, however, trembled no matter how hard he tried to hold it still as he gave the Launceleyn a grin that held little humor. "I am better off than some. Most, even." Or at least, better at pretending that he was. "But until we find a cure I don't expect I'll be particularly comfortable." He shook his head, letting his hand drop. "But... thank you for the offer. I admit, I would not have expected it after the way we first met." His grin turned crooked, for he was not so noble that he had forgotten the jabs leveled at him that day, even if he had accepted the apologies afterwards.
It sounded like Loren had a good handle on what he wanted to do with the Manor, and Jigano wished him luck even if he made no promises to assist in that regard. He did tilt his head to the side, though, crossing his arms again to tuck his hands in his large sleeves to try and warm them up again. "Oh, I don't know if anyone would have told you... Edy was worried that Zariah had some way of spying on what happens in the manor. She didn't give me any details since we were in the manor at the time, but if you want to insult the beast or work on some way to stop her from coming back there, you might want to do it outside of that big house of hers." He offered a genuinely regretful shrug. "Maybe she just meant the guards and servants, or maybe something magical. Probably both, but since not even Edy knew, it's anyone's guess." It was the second reason why he wasn't planning on sheltering there over Long Night.
At least he could offer better information on the Spark Bird, and he nodded with a wry smile. "I'll get a message to Remi. Shall we meet at the oasis in two days? If you're going to summon something that could set the place on fire it might be best to do it where there's enough water to put it out if something goes wrong." He had stopped waving off gratitude a long time ago; he had no wish to disrespect those he had been able to help, even when he didn't always like them. However much a mess their first meeting had been, however, and despite his unfortunate family ties, he was finding Loren to be far from unlikable the more he was around him. Jigano tilted his head and found a small, wry smile for the other man. "We'll have to see how useful any of this will actually be to you; not all my ramblings bear fruit. But you're welcome all the same."
Perhaps ironically, now that he had found the strength to push forward again he was running out of time.
He waved off Loren's offer of help, not bothering to hide the grimace at the ever-popular 'are you alright' that was so well-meaning and so utterly useless. "I have tried not to advertise it." He was a bard, after all, an actor and a wearer of masks - most of which were of the 'everything is fine' variety. The hand he raised between them, however, trembled no matter how hard he tried to hold it still as he gave the Launceleyn a grin that held little humor. "I am better off than some. Most, even." Or at least, better at pretending that he was. "But until we find a cure I don't expect I'll be particularly comfortable." He shook his head, letting his hand drop. "But... thank you for the offer. I admit, I would not have expected it after the way we first met." His grin turned crooked, for he was not so noble that he had forgotten the jabs leveled at him that day, even if he had accepted the apologies afterwards.
It sounded like Loren had a good handle on what he wanted to do with the Manor, and Jigano wished him luck even if he made no promises to assist in that regard. He did tilt his head to the side, though, crossing his arms again to tuck his hands in his large sleeves to try and warm them up again. "Oh, I don't know if anyone would have told you... Edy was worried that Zariah had some way of spying on what happens in the manor. She didn't give me any details since we were in the manor at the time, but if you want to insult the beast or work on some way to stop her from coming back there, you might want to do it outside of that big house of hers." He offered a genuinely regretful shrug. "Maybe she just meant the guards and servants, or maybe something magical. Probably both, but since not even Edy knew, it's anyone's guess." It was the second reason why he wasn't planning on sheltering there over Long Night.
At least he could offer better information on the Spark Bird, and he nodded with a wry smile. "I'll get a message to Remi. Shall we meet at the oasis in two days? If you're going to summon something that could set the place on fire it might be best to do it where there's enough water to put it out if something goes wrong." He had stopped waving off gratitude a long time ago; he had no wish to disrespect those he had been able to help, even when he didn't always like them. However much a mess their first meeting had been, however, and despite his unfortunate family ties, he was finding Loren to be far from unlikable the more he was around him. Jigano tilted his head and found a small, wry smile for the other man. "We'll have to see how useful any of this will actually be to you; not all my ramblings bear fruit. But you're welcome all the same."
