Terrible? Yes. Rexanna's show of grief soothed some of his suspicion, though there was still the firework charring on the remains of the tree that was far from reassuring... and so few Ascended that he knew of who could have been sent to do the Voice's dirty work. He nodded at her knowledge of the place, but at asking why the Voice wanted it he only shook his head - and cleared his throat to give her a vocal cue of his frustration. "Honestly? No. Just before LongNight we found new information on the portals that used to cross this world... but there are at least two already within the Hollowed Grounds. There was no need for the Voice to attack the Fae and defile one of their sacred spots. Hell, one of the portals is in her own damn Spire... or didn't she share that?" And still working, too, since that's where Amalia, Deimos, and Kiada came out.
The question about going alone had him wincing, a guilty sigh escaping. "No, we didn't. She received the quest from Ludo, and I... well, I trusted her to know what they had told her, what limits were on it. I should have asked more of what had been said. I should have asked Deimos and Amalia to come with us, or at least follow us." He should have done a great many things that he hadn't, and never had Deimos's accusations of his lack of preparation stung so deeply true.
He raised his head again just as she turned away with Sam's name on her lips, and he winced, but patted her arm gently in agreement. "I've spoken with him briefly... he's picking at his own wounds. He lost three fingers and he's punishing himself by prodding that hand whenever he gets uspet. I stopped him while I was with him but I'm sure he's still doing it when he's alone." Which hopefully wasn't too often, between Remi and Nate. "But they're probably trying to make themselves stronger, strong enough to overcome the defenses we put up during LongNight and start breaking in to places," he added with a grimace. "It would make the bloodbaths from last year look like puddles in comparison. No. I agree that we can't make that trade in good faith... and truthfully, I don't think that beast would let Ru'in's soul go even if we did. We'd just bring it what it wanted and then it would attack us and try to capture our souls as well." And then there would be three souls lost in the dark, and the song and lantern with them.
The question about going alone had him wincing, a guilty sigh escaping. "No, we didn't. She received the quest from Ludo, and I... well, I trusted her to know what they had told her, what limits were on it. I should have asked more of what had been said. I should have asked Deimos and Amalia to come with us, or at least follow us." He should have done a great many things that he hadn't, and never had Deimos's accusations of his lack of preparation stung so deeply true.
He raised his head again just as she turned away with Sam's name on her lips, and he winced, but patted her arm gently in agreement. "I've spoken with him briefly... he's picking at his own wounds. He lost three fingers and he's punishing himself by prodding that hand whenever he gets uspet. I stopped him while I was with him but I'm sure he's still doing it when he's alone." Which hopefully wasn't too often, between Remi and Nate. "But they're probably trying to make themselves stronger, strong enough to overcome the defenses we put up during LongNight and start breaking in to places," he added with a grimace. "It would make the bloodbaths from last year look like puddles in comparison. No. I agree that we can't make that trade in good faith... and truthfully, I don't think that beast would let Ru'in's soul go even if we did. We'd just bring it what it wanted and then it would attack us and try to capture our souls as well." And then there would be three souls lost in the dark, and the song and lantern with them.
