Hidden in Plain Sight

Jigano hadn't known which woods Sam was hiding in after his talk with Remi, but it turned out that his searching through the Woodlands of the Hollowed Grounds had been in vain. Then again, Sam was invisible, his Ascended body leaving no scent for Jigano's animal senses to track, and the bard had been in the disguise of Smith, the weather-worn older hunter with his darkened skin and hair. Even if they had crossed paths they wouldn't have recognized each other.

The wedding proved to be a boon in more ways than one, then. Not only was it a celebration of Ronin and Remi, but it gave fugitives and friends a few hours to meet and mingle beneath the rising Leafchange moon, enjoying the beautiful scenery and eagerly anticipating the ceremony to come. For a little while, at least, worries and cares could be set aside, along with disguises and invisibility upgrades.

Jigano excused himself from Rory's side with a whispered apology in his lover's ear and the faintest kiss brushed against the hunter's cheek before heading for a familiar ginger head in the gathering crowd of well-wishers. He had a mug in one hand and a smile on his face as he reached out to gently tap at Samuel 's shoulder with a polite clearing of his throat. Isuma chirruped her own greeting from his shoulder, looking around for Mia hopefully.

"Mr. Wordsworth, a moment of your time, if I may," he teased his old friend with formal words and laughter in his voice, mostly just relieved to see the other man well and unhurt in spite of the recent troubles that had plagued his home.

Sam was surprised to find he actually enjoyed the wedding. Social events were not usually his cup of tea. Anything above ten people in one place usually filled him with a kind of dread; with all the guests milling about there were certainly more than that. But he actually found that here, in such a moment of celebration and love, and with friends, it was actually quite pleasant. Sipping some wine and looking out towards the fields, he was beginning to consider going home (some habits were hard to break. He still wanted an early night) when there was a tap on his shoulder. When he turned and saw Jigano, for a second he felt intense guilt, worried that the other man was about to chide him for leaving without any warning. It would be fair - he had left in a moment of intense stress for the village, left the guild and his friend into the woods. But instead, Jigano greeted him warmly and he smiled with relief. "Jigano! I didn't know if I'd see you here." Sam nearly rushed forward to hug his friend, but then remembered Jigano tended to not like hugs; instead he just briefly touched his arm. "How are you? I heard the guild was...closed..?" Samuel He took a step but then felt tired He said, I'll rest a little while But when he tried to walk again He wasn't a child

He could see the way Sam tensed, was ready and braced for the hug... and then pleasantly surprised, a pleased smile lighting his face, as the bookmaker remembered. In the normal course of greetings he would have been perfectly content with that small display of greeting, but times had been tense and good men had died, and no one was guaranteed their freedom in these times. So it was that the bard reached out to clasp his friend's shoulder warmly - and then, if Sam allowed, to pull the other man into an awkward but sincere one-armed hug. He didn't linger, stepping back after a few seconds to clear his throat and straighten his tunic self-consciously, but his smile was still warm as he gave a rueful little shake of his head at Sam's news.

"I am alive and free, thank you, and not sure I can ask for more at the moment. The Guild is... in a precarious place," he admitted, smile slipping a little. "I closed the Hall after Zariah put the draft notice up, in order to buy us all a little time. It worked... to an extent." He sighed, offering his friend a shrug and a wry tilt of a smile. "It gave me time to get a backup plan in place, and she didn't know where to look for me... but I was removed as Guildmaster, by order of the Queen. Amalia is in charge now, at least until the current political situation gets sorted out."

He tilted his head at Sam, looking the redhead over more carefully for signs of injury or hardship with concerned blue eyes. "But how have you been? Remi told me he'd seen you a while back and that you were well then... but I was worried. I'm glad you've been able to stay ahead of the guards." He wanted to ask where Remi had been, but bit his tongue on the question just yet, not wanting to pry, especially if Sam had found a safe place to hole up and didn't want to risk compromising it.

To Sam's surprise, Jigano pulled him in and gave him a...rather awkward, but still sincere hug of his own, which he returned with a smile. Hearing that the guild was in trouble was enough to quickly take the smile from his lips, Sam listening with his teeth worrying his lip. Had he left in the peak of trouble for his companions..? Abandoned them in their hour of need, when Jigano had had to shut down his pride and joy? "I..see. I suppose I did not know the Queen had the power to do so, but..well. At least Amalia will look after it well." Jigano's concern was appreciated, but unnecessary. As far as Sam could tell, he was one of the luckier people to come out of the last month. "I'm fine. I've been doing work for The Voice in the woods." He looked about then leaned in to whisper as if revealing a great secret: "Exploring. I think it will be important." It was clear he was thrilled about this, the smile hardly able to keep from his lips. Samuel He took a step but then felt tired He said, I'll rest a little while But when he tried to walk again He wasn't a child

Sam must really have been out of the loop, Jigano realized, to know nothing of the threats against the Guild or the bard in particular, since they had been plastered over the notice board. He smiled wanly at the platitude, more than a little concerned that the bookmaker didn't seem to feel as though the changes affected him at all. It was Sam's guild, too, after all, that was undergoing such upheavals... but perhaps it was all the other man could do to worry about himself in these difficult times. Had his disappearance perhaps slipped Zariah's notice? Sam was a quiet and unassuming man usually, and if he hadn't drawn the tyrant's personal attention it was possible he was managing to avoid all the trouble and fear that had settled over the Settlement.

With Zariah gone, it was good that he was returning. "I didn't think so either," Jigano agreed, a faint frown marring his features. "But hopefully things will change now. And I have no doubt that Amalia will keep the doors open until I can return to it," he added, relieved that the baker had Sam's confidence.

As thrilled as Sam clearly was with his 'work,' Jigano felt a trickle of ice go down his spine at the words. "The Greatwood?" he confirmed first. "Then... surely you have seen evidence of the Blight?" Something the Voice supposedly denied a conscious hand in, yet which seemed to come from the very Spire that had been her stronghold. Something about the information wasn't fitting together right, and Jigano found himself frustrated at every turn by the strange disease. Gods and mortals alike seemed stymied by it, with the only certainty that it hadn't existed before the barrier had fallen, and now... now it was killing without regard for plants, animals, people, or goddesses.

"Yes. Any help you need, you can just ask me. I don't...know if I am back forever, but if I am here, I will do anything I can." Sam offered with a smile. Not that he really knew what was involved in getting the guild back on it's feet - he had not yet seen the guildhall. Had it been destroyed? Probably not, or Jigano would have mentioned it. Sam did not pick on Jigano's concern, just nodding at the question as if it was any other. "I think it's difficult to not see the blight, isn't it? It's all over. I asked the Voice about it, actually..." Here he frowned, still unsure as to why she had not had an answer for him. "...But...she didn't tell me anything. Why, have you been trying to find the source of it?" He asked ,with a polite interest, seemingly not too concerned. Samuel He took a step but then felt tired He said, I'll rest a little while But when he tried to walk again He wasn't a child

"Thank you, Sam," he spoke warmly, glad that his friend was still as steadfast and true as ever. "For the moment, it's Amalia who is in charge, but... in truth, with as busy as things have been, I'm afraid no one has had much time for Guild business," he admitted with a hint of sadness in his smile. Having the Guild be interfered with by Zariah had been a cause for anger at first, and later disgust, but for all that Amalia's assumption of the Provost title had salvaged the organization from official censure it had caused more problems that would need to be dealt with soon, at a price the bard couldn't be certain of until he actually made his move.

His smile faltered at hearing how widespread the blight was now, the chill in his spine pooling uncomfortably in his gut. He considered Sam thoughtfully; his innocent enthusiasm and trusting nature, and the bard sighed, unsure of how to proceed with his friend. "Yes, quite a few people have been trying to understand it. What it is, where it came from, and how to stop it," he agreed soberly. "So far most of what we know is that it came from bringing down the barrier and releasing the Voice. And that it will likely kill the Greatwood within a year if we can't stop it... and quite possibly the Fae with it. Safrin has been infected with the blight as well, after entering the Spire to try and save a creature that was trapped in the basement of it, so... yes, Sam, the current evidence to the Blight being related to the Voice somehow. That she won't speak of it even to her children... is not a good sign." A deliberate attack to weaken the Fae, who were staunch adherents of the Old Gods? An accidental release of a project within the Spire she had been working on and failed to properly contain? A side effect of her existence warping the world around her as she moved beyond the confines of the barrier? Something else? He didn't know, but he didn't like the way the scraps and fragments of information were falling into place, and he liked even less if the goddess was using his friend as a pawn to harm others, even indirectly.

"I just hope you've been staying clear of the Fae village," he said, trying to find a wry smile for his friend. "We've only just been granted the freedom of the Wildwood again. I'd hate for it to be revoked because someone promptly went and broke the agreement so soon!"

"I see...well, with things improving, perhaps it will get better. I for one have a whole notebook of observations from the Greatwoods that I want to make into a small journal." He informed Jigano with a smile that was hoping to make his friend smile too. While his notes on the Greatwood were hardly in depth or scientific, they were probably more than most people in the Hollowed Grounds knew, he thought. As Jigano spoke of the blight, of The Voice and the barrier...Sam tried to listen neutrally, but he couldn't help but notice Jigano seemed to be implying that The Voice was the cause of the blight, or at least had something to do with it...instinctively, immediately, he felt anger rise in his chest. Swallowing it down, sure his friend was just confused, he shook his head and spoke softly. "I'm sure The Voice wouldn't do anything horrible like that. And if she did, it would be for a good reason. She didn't mention it to me because she's...busy." Admittedly he didn't know with what, but... "And I have been in Sidhe. But I was invisible the whole time, so no one saw me." He crossed his arms, clearly a little put out. Samuel He took a step but then felt tired He said, I'll rest a little while But when he tried to walk again He wasn't a child

"That sounds perfect," Jigano smiled at his friend, his heart lightening a little at hearing that Sam was still taking notes and making books. "I will be eager to read it! What new things have you found?" His own explorations of the Greatwood had of course been cut short by Zariah's proclamations, and he was looking forward to reading about what the bookmaker had discovered and witnessed in his own adventures among the grand trees with their dizzying spells of misdirection.

But Sam's defense of the Voice came unexpectedly, and from a direction Jigano hadn't anticipated. "If she 'did something horrible it would be for a good reason'...? There could be a 'good reason' for killing the Greatwood and all who live within?" He had friends among the Fae, and the bard looked at his first friend on Caido with a helpless sort of disbelief that the gentle bookmaker could be so callous. "Did she send you into Sidhe, too? Deliberately against the request and wishes of the Fae we're trying to befriend? Sam, even if you weren't caught, do you really think that makes what you did right, to go sneaking about someone else's home when you've been expressly told not to?" Was this the long term effect of her reaching into his head and removing his memories? Had she done something else to him while she was in there? Worries and doubts, concerns and anxieties about the newest goddess of Caido sparked a quiet fire at the thought of her manipulating his kindly friend, and Jigano remembered the question Safrin had asked him in the Glade, when she had brought him so low that he had broken beneath the final weight her words had laid on him.

It had been a long time since he had seriously considered standing with the new goddess, preferring to keep a place of neutrality between them all even as he had edged closer to the capricious Ludo, one favor at a time.

But by all the Old Gods and the ones of his home, fortunate and unfortunate alike, if the Voice was seeking to corrupt Sam, then she had crossed a line. He might be too mortal to do anything against her now, but that didn't mean he wouldn't try.

Sam didn't answer Jigano's first question, not after he heard what came after. He felt a heavy weight come down on his chest as his friend disparaged his goddess, rude and cold. Lies, too. He was sure. "Jigano. Maybe you don't, but I trust the Voice. Maybe there is something we can't see, that the Gods can, that would give a reason for her to do it. But anyway, I'm sure she isn't behind it. It's probably natural." Honestly, he had no idea why the blight was happening, but The Voice had always been upfront with him before, right? He was sure she hadn't said anything merely because there was nothing to say. As for Sidhe...he was proud of himself for what he'd done there. It stung to hear himself being criticised for it. "I didn't disturb anyone. I'm sorry Jigano, but..I have to do what The Voice asks of me. She's...the closest thing I have to family, now." His own mother had never loved him the way his Goddess did. Samuel He took a step but then felt tired He said, I'll rest a little while But when he tried to walk again He wasn't a child

Jigano regarded his friend with an aching heart as Sam steadfastedly defended the goddess who had caused his people to be locked in a barrier for three hundred years. "So she did tell you to force your way into Sidhe in spite of the Fae telling us to stay away. And would she still love you if you refused to do what she asked, because what she asked was wrong?" He tried gently instead. "Sam... before she took your memories you hardly spoke to her. And already she is closer to you than those who have known you longer? What about Remi?" What about me? he wanted to ask, stung and trying to remind himself that it was the Voice's influence on his friend that was causing this.

The bard didn't understand the changes in the bookmaker, but that he would so easily lose his moral compass, abandon the grace and maturity he had been developing in the wake of the difficult experiences he had made it through, and throw himself completely under the Voice's sway was terrifying in its implications. Safrin had implied to he and Amalia that the new goddess could take away the free will of her 'children' but would she even have to if she seduced them so completely that they gave it to her with such eagerness?

And wasn't that the point? So long as she could coax it from them, there would be those swayed by sweet words to join her in her plotting against those who had once imprisoned her. In spite of the joyous celebration around them Jigano felt his shoulders slumping. He raised his eyes to Sam, seeking reassurance on some familiar level. "If she asked you to change the Chronicles that you have written for the Guild," he asked quietly. "Would you do that for her, too? Regardless of the truth of it?"

Jigano continued to speak, to doubt, and Sam almost wanted to run away to stop himself from hearing it. When he found a niche that made him feel whole, he went into it entirely, and The Voice had become his world in a matter of weeks. To hear it questioned...the only thing that kept him there was his respect for Jigano. "I..I'm sure she would still love me." He insisted, though the memory of the slight tug at his hair when he had admitted to not exploring the whole Greatwood lingered, and made his voice less confident than he wanted it to be. "Remi...Remi has his own life now. He is a good friend, but...he's not..we're not family. His family is Aoife and Ronin." If asked, he would not consider Jigano family either; would not dare to. He did not want to assume himself that close to anyone, not when Jigano had better people like Rory and Amalia (his threesome buddies) around. The question though, that actually made him pause in his devotion. He hesitated and looked around, grabbing onto his arms, wondering when this conversation grew so tense. "I don't think she'd ask me to do that. But..I'd talk to you about it first, because it's your guild." Desperate to justify himself now, he turned his arms invisible and held up his hands, which appeared to float mid-air before his face. "The Voice has given me gifts like this, and love, and...she makes me feel like I'm doing something important. She only wants the best for us. And who else am I meant to follow? I'm Ascended, Jigano. I can't change that." Samuel He took a step but then felt tired He said, I'll rest a little while But when he tried to walk again He wasn't a child

Jigano wanted to wince at the faint flutter of weakness in Sam's answer, that ghost of uncertainty saying something very different from the words he spoke. He kept the expression from all but his eyes, however, listening with outward calm belying the inward anxiety that sparked and fizzled along nerves already stretched raw. Hearing Sam play down his relationship with Remi, complex and complicated as it was, finally broke the mask he wore, and he let his concern show through clearly. "People don't need to be family to care for you, even to love you," he said gently. "There are more kinds of love than the romantic kind, and you have gained that from more than just Remi."

He was pushing Sam too hard, too fast, he realized as Sam wrapped his arms around himself, and the lorekeeper swore at himself for falling back into his bad habits. At least the answer was one of thoughtful respect, not the blind devotion to the Voice that the bookmaker had been showing so far, and Jigano gave his friend a small smile, and a nod of gratitude. "Thank you, Sam. I appreciate that. But... it's not my guild anymore," he reminded the Chronicler gently, smile turning a touch sad before he chased the expression away at Sam's justifications. Taking a breath, he thought for a moment and then let it out slowly.

"You were doing important things before this sudden shift towards the one who took your memories of a man you loved," he reminded gently. "And you don't need to follow anyone, if you don't want to. But following her because you feel like you must, because you have no other choice... You may not be able to undo what was done to your body, but your heart is still your own." Hopefully, though it was sounding as though it had become clouded. His voice turned pleading, trying to get through to the man who shared much of his love of learning, who had stood by his side in difficult times and who was a friend as cherished as Amalia and Rory, if in a different way. "Just... please, Sam, think about these things she asks of you, and how you would feel if someone did them to you - if a stranger came into your home and snuck around, poking through your things without your permission or knowledge. And remember that even if she gives you a task - or an order - it is still you who can decide whether or not to follow it." And Sam who would bear the consequences if things went poorly, for surely the goddess wouldn't find herself constrained by mortal laws and lawkeepers.

"I...I know that. I just..." Sam shook his head. "Especially with Remi, I don't want to assume I'm at that kind of closeness, not after what I did to him. Ronin is good to him."And deserves him more than I ever did, his mind filled in. Maybe it wasn't Jigano's guild anymore, but...Sam still felt like he'd come to him when it came to Loreseeker-related matters. Jigano just felt like a leader, moreso than anyone else in the guild. He had made the group, brought it into what it was, found the members. He did patiently listen to Jigano. A part of him understood what it was the bard was saying; he was not stupid and it was hard to not agree, with Jigano's natural eloquence and persuasion. But Jigano had not felt the Voice. He didn't know the confidence she inspired. How it made you feel loved above all else. "..I..." Closing his eyes, he sighed and tried to collect his thoughts. "I understand you are only trying to look out for me, Jigano. But...maybe you're right, it was a..." Bad? No, not quite. "...Perhaps I should have thought more about going to Sidhe. The Voice, though...I trust her. In a way I don't think you can understand. She made the me I am now, and she is wiser than I'll ever be. Any other God would try to hurt me. I've spoken to her before, about her intentions for the other races, about what she feels of them." Hoping this might make things a little better, he brightened up as he spoke. "She said she does not hate the other races at all, and that she is perfectly willing to have a future with everyone living together happily. She's just trying to help us get there. ...You..you don't get to good things without having to do a couple of...risky things first." Samuel He took a step but then felt tired He said, I'll rest a little while But when he tried to walk again He wasn't a child