It was a stab in the dark Jigano admitted wearily. At the time I suggested it, I knew that there were sick plants in the Greatwood, and plants that spewed poison in the Spire. There's water beneath it, too; I could feel it rumbling around us the last time I was down there. I thought maybe the poison was seeping into the water and flowing into the Greatwood underground, perhaps rising close enough to the surface there for the roots to reach. It was only a tenuous connection at best, but I was willing to try anything. Even before she was blighted, Safrin warned me that the Greatwood only had a year or less to live at the rate the blight was spreading. Trying something seemed better than doing nothing. And now it had become personal for him, as well, a clock that ticked down with inexorable steadiness.
He listened curiously at the recounting of the visit to the Voice, and there was a sense through the link of eyes being narrowed, a tendril of suspicion at the goddess's behavior. She doesn't trust us. Non-Ascended, I mean... though Attuned more than most, I'd guess. I visited a Shrine with Isla once as well, and found myself excluded. If she really was working for a peaceful coexistence and the benefit of everyone, why does she have so much to hide? ...A rhetorical question, he snorted - mentally this time. I don't trust her. Every time I learn something new about her, the more I want to stuff her back in that Spire and put her back to sleep for another few centuries or so. Preferably without catching the surrounding mortals in a barrier this time, of course.
I know. Thank you, he added, appreciating the honesty as much as the reassurance. Now that I know there aren't any answers to be found in the Atheneum's books, I'm... well, I'm a bit lost, to be honest. I don't know where to look next. I should speak to Arduinna again, he added with a sigh. I told her I'd share any information I learned with her, and what you told me about the Ascended is finally something concrete at least. I just don't want Sam and Rex getting in trouble with the Fae... Or anyone else, for that matter.
Remi's simple explanation gave the bard pause, a flicker of surprise dancing across the link as they flew. He'd never considered that aspect before, and it was an unsettling realization. One he would have to think over for some time to come, but the offered excuse only earned a pulse of rueful negation. No, I can't put the blame on that. Ever since I learned that I was... infected... I've been keeping a closer eye on my temper. I'd rather fight another Spire Monster, some days, but knowing that it's not me has made it a little easier. I've broken a few plates and mugs so far, but mostly I'm able to keep it leashed. A battle that he didn't like to admit that he was losing ground to a little more every day...
And wasn't that what Remi had just pointed out?
It's getting harder though, he admitted quietly. I hate this feeling of losing myself. Sooner or later... He hesitated, but Remi knew better than anyone what was happening. You might have to restrain us, he said softly. For our own sakes. So we don't hurt anyone by... by accident.
He listened curiously at the recounting of the visit to the Voice, and there was a sense through the link of eyes being narrowed, a tendril of suspicion at the goddess's behavior. She doesn't trust us. Non-Ascended, I mean... though Attuned more than most, I'd guess. I visited a Shrine with Isla once as well, and found myself excluded. If she really was working for a peaceful coexistence and the benefit of everyone, why does she have so much to hide? ...A rhetorical question, he snorted - mentally this time. I don't trust her. Every time I learn something new about her, the more I want to stuff her back in that Spire and put her back to sleep for another few centuries or so. Preferably without catching the surrounding mortals in a barrier this time, of course.
I know. Thank you, he added, appreciating the honesty as much as the reassurance. Now that I know there aren't any answers to be found in the Atheneum's books, I'm... well, I'm a bit lost, to be honest. I don't know where to look next. I should speak to Arduinna again, he added with a sigh. I told her I'd share any information I learned with her, and what you told me about the Ascended is finally something concrete at least. I just don't want Sam and Rex getting in trouble with the Fae... Or anyone else, for that matter.
Remi's simple explanation gave the bard pause, a flicker of surprise dancing across the link as they flew. He'd never considered that aspect before, and it was an unsettling realization. One he would have to think over for some time to come, but the offered excuse only earned a pulse of rueful negation. No, I can't put the blame on that. Ever since I learned that I was... infected... I've been keeping a closer eye on my temper. I'd rather fight another Spire Monster, some days, but knowing that it's not me has made it a little easier. I've broken a few plates and mugs so far, but mostly I'm able to keep it leashed. A battle that he didn't like to admit that he was losing ground to a little more every day...
And wasn't that what Remi had just pointed out?
It's getting harder though, he admitted quietly. I hate this feeling of losing myself. Sooner or later... He hesitated, but Remi knew better than anyone what was happening. You might have to restrain us, he said softly. For our own sakes. So we don't hurt anyone by... by accident.
