Whether the future would be better or not would largely be up to them to decide, though the blight's heavy presence seemed to lean more towards the 'not.' The bard wasn't planning to give up again so soon, however, and simply nodded at Loren's neutral agreement with his words. Though with Edy's death and Zariah's cruelty as reminders of what else could go wrong, it was hard to be optimistic. Especially when he was still trying to pull himself back together from his own recent breakdown...
Jigano was getting a handle on his control, recovering from the flare of anger that mention of Zariah could cause in him and hoping the gift of the book would prove helpful to whichever poor souls chose the Manor for the hiding place when the question of his guild had him blinking in surprise. He had gotten used to them being, well, recognized after being active for nearly a year. Loren's odd mix of knowledge and confusion was keeping the bard off-balance, uncertain whether to treat him as a newly-arrived Outlander or a veteran of Caido, and he cleared his throat as he tried to slip back into his more usual welcome speech for newcomers. "We're a guild dedicated to seeking and spreading knowledge," he explained, the familiar cadence of the words soothing as he shared his mission with the Launceleyn man. "Some of our members spend their time reading and learning from the books in the Atheneum, seeking lore that's been lost or forgotten over the centuries. Others prefer to go out in the world to explore and learn new things to bring back. Others gather information from people, listening to the tales and myths of those who have lived here all their lives and writing them down so they won't be lost to time. We gather what we learn into journals and chronicles that are usually stored in the Guildhall, so if people have questions they can come to us and, ideally, either find an answer amid all that we've gathered, or else request that we seek an answer for them." He nodded towards the new stonework wall where the hole had once gaped in the side of the building, rubble collapsed inwards atop books and other secrets. "We repaired the hole, and we've found a few new rooms and places within the library, including our Guildhall."
The Manor was a different can of worms, but discussing the puzzle of the doors was a welcome distraction from his own state, and so long as his temper remained subdued Jigano was intrigued in pursuing the puzzle Loren had brought. He nodded thoughtfully at hearing about Zariah's lack of illusion magic, though he had once heard from Vervain that the Launceleyns had been great illusionists back on their homeworld. Just as he had lost his own magic, it was no surprise that the same had happened to others.
His suspicions that the other man had the blight seemed, thankfully, to be off target, though he raised a brow at the excuse of 'puddles' for the cause of the insults. He hadn't yet encountered or heard of the wonder puddles, and it seemed a weak sort of rationale for lashing out at a stranger offering aid. The continued apology and the mention of lack of food and sleep made far more sense, and he nodded grudging acceptance - though less grudging than it had been before. Few things endeared people to him as much as a shared interest in research and solving a problem together, and Loren's actions at the wake and in the Atheneum were quickly making up ground from their first terrible meeting.
"Something other than the blight?" Jigano asked back, a brow arching with a shadow of his old dry humor. "There was a fever a little while back, but most of what I have seen in the past few weeks... well. Have you tried using your healing magic on a blighted animal or person yet?" Curious again, though Arduinna had said her magic could only heal the Greatwood plants temporarily.
"Of course she kept them on her person," he sighed, slumping a bit as the initial hope of three unaccounted-for keys was dashed against the rocks of Zariah's (not entirely baseless) paranoia. "But the doors would be a start, certainly. I wonder if you could transmute a small door into the middle of the bigger one and get around the lock that way? Or just change what it's made of?" Idle musings, still stuck in the same useless spiral of leaning on transmutation magic. "If Zariah has truly taken all the remaining keys with her... is there no way of constructing more? A skeleton key that would bypass all magical locks, for instance?" He knew Remi might be able to make such a thing, though the alchemist was unsure of his own limits and capabilities. But since he had made the original keys he might have an easier time on something like this. Loren's point about not bothering the young man, though, held true, and Jigano gave a rueful shake of his head. "At least if you can locate the doors you can try and barricade them off until you solve the problem of the keys. Obviously no one will be wandering into them uninvited, but if you're worried about things getting out, that might be a temporary solution."
Jigano was getting a handle on his control, recovering from the flare of anger that mention of Zariah could cause in him and hoping the gift of the book would prove helpful to whichever poor souls chose the Manor for the hiding place when the question of his guild had him blinking in surprise. He had gotten used to them being, well, recognized after being active for nearly a year. Loren's odd mix of knowledge and confusion was keeping the bard off-balance, uncertain whether to treat him as a newly-arrived Outlander or a veteran of Caido, and he cleared his throat as he tried to slip back into his more usual welcome speech for newcomers. "We're a guild dedicated to seeking and spreading knowledge," he explained, the familiar cadence of the words soothing as he shared his mission with the Launceleyn man. "Some of our members spend their time reading and learning from the books in the Atheneum, seeking lore that's been lost or forgotten over the centuries. Others prefer to go out in the world to explore and learn new things to bring back. Others gather information from people, listening to the tales and myths of those who have lived here all their lives and writing them down so they won't be lost to time. We gather what we learn into journals and chronicles that are usually stored in the Guildhall, so if people have questions they can come to us and, ideally, either find an answer amid all that we've gathered, or else request that we seek an answer for them." He nodded towards the new stonework wall where the hole had once gaped in the side of the building, rubble collapsed inwards atop books and other secrets. "We repaired the hole, and we've found a few new rooms and places within the library, including our Guildhall."
The Manor was a different can of worms, but discussing the puzzle of the doors was a welcome distraction from his own state, and so long as his temper remained subdued Jigano was intrigued in pursuing the puzzle Loren had brought. He nodded thoughtfully at hearing about Zariah's lack of illusion magic, though he had once heard from Vervain that the Launceleyns had been great illusionists back on their homeworld. Just as he had lost his own magic, it was no surprise that the same had happened to others.
His suspicions that the other man had the blight seemed, thankfully, to be off target, though he raised a brow at the excuse of 'puddles' for the cause of the insults. He hadn't yet encountered or heard of the wonder puddles, and it seemed a weak sort of rationale for lashing out at a stranger offering aid. The continued apology and the mention of lack of food and sleep made far more sense, and he nodded grudging acceptance - though less grudging than it had been before. Few things endeared people to him as much as a shared interest in research and solving a problem together, and Loren's actions at the wake and in the Atheneum were quickly making up ground from their first terrible meeting.
"Something other than the blight?" Jigano asked back, a brow arching with a shadow of his old dry humor. "There was a fever a little while back, but most of what I have seen in the past few weeks... well. Have you tried using your healing magic on a blighted animal or person yet?" Curious again, though Arduinna had said her magic could only heal the Greatwood plants temporarily.
"Of course she kept them on her person," he sighed, slumping a bit as the initial hope of three unaccounted-for keys was dashed against the rocks of Zariah's (not entirely baseless) paranoia. "But the doors would be a start, certainly. I wonder if you could transmute a small door into the middle of the bigger one and get around the lock that way? Or just change what it's made of?" Idle musings, still stuck in the same useless spiral of leaning on transmutation magic. "If Zariah has truly taken all the remaining keys with her... is there no way of constructing more? A skeleton key that would bypass all magical locks, for instance?" He knew Remi might be able to make such a thing, though the alchemist was unsure of his own limits and capabilities. But since he had made the original keys he might have an easier time on something like this. Loren's point about not bothering the young man, though, held true, and Jigano gave a rueful shake of his head. "At least if you can locate the doors you can try and barricade them off until you solve the problem of the keys. Obviously no one will be wandering into them uninvited, but if you're worried about things getting out, that might be a temporary solution."
