The bard was glad that Remi had been close enough to help, though he wasn't aware of the magical stones. He forced the snarl from his face as he tried not to think about what the intruder might have done without the alchemist's interference. Would they have stopped at threats alone? Or would they have tried to make an example of the gentle bookmaker, taking advantage of his meek personality, as Sam had hypothesized? But Sam was not so meek as he had once been. Jigano remembered the story of the ghosts inside the Spire, and he hoped that his friend would have found the strength to fight back as he had then.
He settled back into his chair, but the topic remained a sober and difficult one for them both to face - Sam moreso than him. He exhaled a shuddering breath, nodding slowly at the admission and secretly glad that it hadn't been all Sam's fault, at least. The Voice had likely misled all her children into doing her dirty work, though hearing that Wessex had been as much at fault earned a faint resumption of the growl. He remained otherwise silent, though, trying to let Sam finish without interruption when he was so clearly struggling to get the words out.
"Would anything have been worth it if Ronin and I and the others had died?" he asked quietly into the silence that followed Sam's admission that he was keeping secrets. "For that's what would have happened if the Old Gods hadn't interfered directly. If Arduinna hadn't sacrificed herself. If the very ones the Voice claims are her enemies hadn't stepped forward to clean up the mess she made." He shook his head, shoulders bowed with the weight of what the Voice had done, and what Sam's attacker had done, and all the world's problems coming back to roost on his shoulders again. "She used you, Sam. Used you to hurt the people you care about. And still you keep her secrets? What would she need to do to lose that unquestioning loyalty you give her? Is there anything?" A hypothetical, but an important one. Would Sam become a weapon she could wield with impunity, turned against those he had once called friend? It was a terrifying thought, and it wasn't just the blight still in his system that turned his blood to ice with dread.
He settled back into his chair, but the topic remained a sober and difficult one for them both to face - Sam moreso than him. He exhaled a shuddering breath, nodding slowly at the admission and secretly glad that it hadn't been all Sam's fault, at least. The Voice had likely misled all her children into doing her dirty work, though hearing that Wessex had been as much at fault earned a faint resumption of the growl. He remained otherwise silent, though, trying to let Sam finish without interruption when he was so clearly struggling to get the words out.
"Would anything have been worth it if Ronin and I and the others had died?" he asked quietly into the silence that followed Sam's admission that he was keeping secrets. "For that's what would have happened if the Old Gods hadn't interfered directly. If Arduinna hadn't sacrificed herself. If the very ones the Voice claims are her enemies hadn't stepped forward to clean up the mess she made." He shook his head, shoulders bowed with the weight of what the Voice had done, and what Sam's attacker had done, and all the world's problems coming back to roost on his shoulders again. "She used you, Sam. Used you to hurt the people you care about. And still you keep her secrets? What would she need to do to lose that unquestioning loyalty you give her? Is there anything?" A hypothetical, but an important one. Would Sam become a weapon she could wield with impunity, turned against those he had once called friend? It was a terrifying thought, and it wasn't just the blight still in his system that turned his blood to ice with dread.
