"I really need to pull the Flora and Fauna book for you to read," he murmured with a grin. Safrin had given he and Amalia knowledge of the Hollowed Grounds' animals and plants before the barrier had fallen last year, and he had recorded them all in the Guild Chronicle, but Loren had yet to fully explore the Hall. Something they really needed to rectify soon, this accidental adventure brought home. "It's a nasty thing. Remi and I ran into one once... they live in the Labyrinth and are shapeshifting predators. They take the form of something dear to you, but... nightmarish." He paused, feet almost stumbling as he looked at Loren's features more closely, then shook his head in bemusement. "This was actually the first place I saw you. Or at least, something that wore your face... more or less." The last time it had been a Loren risen from the grave to taunt and haunt Remi and try to scare the alchemist into running. Hopefully Jigano could be forgiven for not making the connection with a healthy and living Loren.
"Transplanting the Labyrinth seems unlikely," he chuckled, "but no, I haven't tried, so perhaps it's possible? Given how it moves around it's as much as animal as plant, I sometimes think. But I'll give you a hand if you'd like to give it a shot." They wouldn't be able to know for sure until they did. Just as long as the squirrels and boggarts didn't come along for the ride!
Jigano smiled wryly at his friend, but gave a slight shake of his head. "He's an old natural, and set in his ways. Magic from plants is one thing, but to be honest I'm a bit afraid of suggesting Abandoned magic as a cure to him. And besides, with his age there's no guarantee it won't be back within weeks or even days of being treated. Unless you've had better luck treating chronic recurring ailments?" he asked curiously. Jigano hadn't tried pushing his own Healing beyond immediate needs, so perhaps it was more effective than he thought?
Jigano said nothing to the mention of Remi but a quiet pulse of support. He'd caught the tail-end of Remi's mourning for his lost relationship with Loren when he'd arrived, but had little knowledge of what had passed between the two men since then. He only knew that exes could be awkward, and he hoped the two men had found a peace between them now that Remi was married to Ronin. The riddle that came a moment later was worthy of the Guild's Fiat Lux game, and Jigano blinked as they walked, turning it over in his mind. "Hmmm. On my world I would have suggested a large diamond or piece of jewelry that looked so gaudy you would assume it was naught but glass and paste - except, of course, that it was true. Here though... let me think as we walk," he mused, shooting an irate glance at the hedge nearest to him, where soft chitterings of "Yes!" emerged.
With a flick of his magic he boosted the growth of the thorns within the hedge wall, and was rewarded with a few loud shrieks of protest as scraped squirrels retreated again on his side of the path. "What illusion will you craft for the first thing?" he asked curiously.
"Transplanting the Labyrinth seems unlikely," he chuckled, "but no, I haven't tried, so perhaps it's possible? Given how it moves around it's as much as animal as plant, I sometimes think. But I'll give you a hand if you'd like to give it a shot." They wouldn't be able to know for sure until they did. Just as long as the squirrels and boggarts didn't come along for the ride!
Jigano smiled wryly at his friend, but gave a slight shake of his head. "He's an old natural, and set in his ways. Magic from plants is one thing, but to be honest I'm a bit afraid of suggesting Abandoned magic as a cure to him. And besides, with his age there's no guarantee it won't be back within weeks or even days of being treated. Unless you've had better luck treating chronic recurring ailments?" he asked curiously. Jigano hadn't tried pushing his own Healing beyond immediate needs, so perhaps it was more effective than he thought?
Jigano said nothing to the mention of Remi but a quiet pulse of support. He'd caught the tail-end of Remi's mourning for his lost relationship with Loren when he'd arrived, but had little knowledge of what had passed between the two men since then. He only knew that exes could be awkward, and he hoped the two men had found a peace between them now that Remi was married to Ronin. The riddle that came a moment later was worthy of the Guild's Fiat Lux game, and Jigano blinked as they walked, turning it over in his mind. "Hmmm. On my world I would have suggested a large diamond or piece of jewelry that looked so gaudy you would assume it was naught but glass and paste - except, of course, that it was true. Here though... let me think as we walk," he mused, shooting an irate glance at the hedge nearest to him, where soft chitterings of "Yes!" emerged.
With a flick of his magic he boosted the growth of the thorns within the hedge wall, and was rewarded with a few loud shrieks of protest as scraped squirrels retreated again on his side of the path. "What illusion will you craft for the first thing?" he asked curiously.
