"Who said they were up my sleeve?" The bard grinned back, arching a brow as he deflected the question with matching teasing, not minding at all. "A-pear-ances can be deceiving, after all." Two could play the pun game, and Jigano was never one to turn down a challenge of wordplay. The world was dark and dangerous enough that he rarely had the opportunity to play such games, and since Edrei's death there had been almost no one to regularly banter with. Then again, there had rarely been the time or mood for it with one catastrophe leading into the next disaster presaging the following tragedy.
Harper's opinion of hostilities in and around the Hollowed Grounds wasn't wrong, and Jigano nodded soberly in agreement. "A number of the Ascended have proven willing to kill on their goddess's orders before, and recently," he revealed grimly. "To expand her power and domain. But the old gods' hands are hardly clean; a woman who died at LongNight had threatened to start killing Ascended as well... though so far I think she was the only one, and she never went beyond threats. The same cannot be said for Wessex and some of the other Ascended." His lips tilted into a wry, humorless grin. "Then again, she attacked me when I was trying to negotiate a way for her people to pass through a portal, so I'm rather biased."
He took Harper's musings on creation and breeding to mean the Wicker Woman, and at that Jigano could only shrug. "Pollen and seeds carried by wind or animals that evade their branches, I would guess. I've never seen fruit or nuts on one, but it's something to study for future reference." The bard chuckled, humor coming back again at Harper's easy attitude. "You'd know if you made it to the Greatwood, though. First, you'd have to pass over a large scar in the earth marking where the barrier once stood. It's pretty distinct. Second, the Greatwood is lush and vibrant. Compared to the grey and weary plants here its bursting with vitality and color - like day and night. It also tends to kick out newcomers their first few times beneath its branches," he added with a wry grin. "It's very disconcerting until you get the trick of it."
Harper's opinion of hostilities in and around the Hollowed Grounds wasn't wrong, and Jigano nodded soberly in agreement. "A number of the Ascended have proven willing to kill on their goddess's orders before, and recently," he revealed grimly. "To expand her power and domain. But the old gods' hands are hardly clean; a woman who died at LongNight had threatened to start killing Ascended as well... though so far I think she was the only one, and she never went beyond threats. The same cannot be said for Wessex and some of the other Ascended." His lips tilted into a wry, humorless grin. "Then again, she attacked me when I was trying to negotiate a way for her people to pass through a portal, so I'm rather biased."
He took Harper's musings on creation and breeding to mean the Wicker Woman, and at that Jigano could only shrug. "Pollen and seeds carried by wind or animals that evade their branches, I would guess. I've never seen fruit or nuts on one, but it's something to study for future reference." The bard chuckled, humor coming back again at Harper's easy attitude. "You'd know if you made it to the Greatwood, though. First, you'd have to pass over a large scar in the earth marking where the barrier once stood. It's pretty distinct. Second, the Greatwood is lush and vibrant. Compared to the grey and weary plants here its bursting with vitality and color - like day and night. It also tends to kick out newcomers their first few times beneath its branches," he added with a wry grin. "It's very disconcerting until you get the trick of it."
