The chuckle was unexpected, and surprisingly welcome given the weight of the blight that still bowed them both down. They were bent by it, but not broken. Or at least, not broken anymore. Jigano still struggled to find his memories from when it had devoured him completely, hating that he didn't know what he had done under the influence of the corruption, but he couldn't afford to let those doubts drag him down again. There was too much at stake, and he had too many people who he cared too deeply for to give up again so soon.
As the winter wind pulled the smoke away from Sunjata's shifted position, Jigano breathed more deeply and offered the other man a nod of thanks. His work looked strange, he knew, and Sunjata's question was only to be expected. He almost quirked a smile at the other man's admission, tilting his head to the side in acknowledgment. "Ludo is... unpredictable," he conceded. "Though not, I think, more so than Frey or Safrin. It depends on what sort of mood they're in when you meet any of them, and if they take a shine to you." He gave a wry shrug before going back to his measuring. He wanted to use stone, but he lacked a stoneworker's skills. There had been one among the townsfolk who had helped rebuild the Atheneum though, perhaps Andira could help...
Would it work? The bard hesitated as he repositioned the stakes into a slightly smaller square, trying not to wince as Sunjata accidentally touched on a sore point. "That... is a good question," he conceded. "There is reason to hope it might. A new Shrine was built for Safrin in the fields and she has come to it. Ludo and Mort might do the same here... if they like what we build. Whether it will be worthy of them is something we won't know until it's finished." He looked up, shaking the snow from his hair and cocking a brow at his fellow Blighted. "What were the gods of your world like?" Not knowing that there had been none he simply pursued the question out of curiosity, wondering if it would be closer to the gods that he had known, or perhaps to Caiside's pantheon, or, like the Northhaveners, if gods were a new and puzzling phenomenon.
As the winter wind pulled the smoke away from Sunjata's shifted position, Jigano breathed more deeply and offered the other man a nod of thanks. His work looked strange, he knew, and Sunjata's question was only to be expected. He almost quirked a smile at the other man's admission, tilting his head to the side in acknowledgment. "Ludo is... unpredictable," he conceded. "Though not, I think, more so than Frey or Safrin. It depends on what sort of mood they're in when you meet any of them, and if they take a shine to you." He gave a wry shrug before going back to his measuring. He wanted to use stone, but he lacked a stoneworker's skills. There had been one among the townsfolk who had helped rebuild the Atheneum though, perhaps Andira could help...
Would it work? The bard hesitated as he repositioned the stakes into a slightly smaller square, trying not to wince as Sunjata accidentally touched on a sore point. "That... is a good question," he conceded. "There is reason to hope it might. A new Shrine was built for Safrin in the fields and she has come to it. Ludo and Mort might do the same here... if they like what we build. Whether it will be worthy of them is something we won't know until it's finished." He looked up, shaking the snow from his hair and cocking a brow at his fellow Blighted. "What were the gods of your world like?" Not knowing that there had been none he simply pursued the question out of curiosity, wondering if it would be closer to the gods that he had known, or perhaps to Caiside's pantheon, or, like the Northhaveners, if gods were a new and puzzling phenomenon.
