Technically, this wasn't disobeying.
For one thing, it hadn't been an order to stay in the Hallowed Ground. It'd been a suggestion, and, honestly a very reasonable one at the time... which led to:
ANOTHER thing was that Quanil had learned how to defend themselves (a little) with their staff (a tiny bit) and they'd remembered to bring it, along with some small amount of water, food, and a small roll of bandages. Just in case.
And, the third and final thing was that they had only discussed Halo with the provost, not Torchline.
So, therefore, this wasn't, strictly speaking, disobedience at all.
It still sat weird in Quanil's stomach though, like a heavy meal. They weren't, historically, a terribly obedient person. Not when the people they were supposed to be obeying didn't even understand them, anyway.
But Provost Silversmith was different, and even if he hadn't been, this was the Loreseekers' Guild. You were supposed to obey the guild master, right? That was part of the point of it.
So sneaking off to Torchline both thrilled Quanil and made them feel more than a little anxious. But what else could they do? Freina was still being distant, asking quietly to be left alone and thanking them for it. It made them restless to be hanging around, wanting to do something to help her and yet not being able to. They needed to get away, and their sister was safe enough for now.
This was their first trip through a portal, their first trip outside the area they'd been born in. They'd had no lecture to attend on Torchline's dangers, no clue of what to expect. So when they came out to a sunny, bustling port overlooking waters a blue they'd never even knew existed, all they could do was staaaaaaaaare, standing there with their staff held like a walking stick and their basic pack on their back.
Normally their mind ran faster than a man who'd sat on a candle thirty yards from the nearest water, but there was so much New, so much Strange, so much... WOW that it overwhelmed them and left their mind a peaceful blank of awe and wonder.
For one thing, it hadn't been an order to stay in the Hallowed Ground. It'd been a suggestion, and, honestly a very reasonable one at the time... which led to:
ANOTHER thing was that Quanil had learned how to defend themselves (a little) with their staff (a tiny bit) and they'd remembered to bring it, along with some small amount of water, food, and a small roll of bandages. Just in case.
And, the third and final thing was that they had only discussed Halo with the provost, not Torchline.
So, therefore, this wasn't, strictly speaking, disobedience at all.
It still sat weird in Quanil's stomach though, like a heavy meal. They weren't, historically, a terribly obedient person. Not when the people they were supposed to be obeying didn't even understand them, anyway.
But Provost Silversmith was different, and even if he hadn't been, this was the Loreseekers' Guild. You were supposed to obey the guild master, right? That was part of the point of it.
So sneaking off to Torchline both thrilled Quanil and made them feel more than a little anxious. But what else could they do? Freina was still being distant, asking quietly to be left alone and thanking them for it. It made them restless to be hanging around, wanting to do something to help her and yet not being able to. They needed to get away, and their sister was safe enough for now.
This was their first trip through a portal, their first trip outside the area they'd been born in. They'd had no lecture to attend on Torchline's dangers, no clue of what to expect. So when they came out to a sunny, bustling port overlooking waters a blue they'd never even knew existed, all they could do was staaaaaaaaare, standing there with their staff held like a walking stick and their basic pack on their back.
Normally their mind ran faster than a man who'd sat on a candle thirty yards from the nearest water, but there was so much New, so much Strange, so much... WOW that it overwhelmed them and left their mind a peaceful blank of awe and wonder.
