Sam was a champion when it came to feeling sorry for himself, and by now Jigano had learned that continuing to push at the topic would only make the redheaded bookmaker dig his heels in harder against attempts to coax optimism from his sad blue-green eyes (amazing eyes, really, that seemed to change color depending on the angle of the light).
Ahhh, there it was. "Was it a road he would have chosen if he hadn't loved you and wanted to be with you?" the bard asked gently. Though perhaps the point was moot. "Did he meet the Voice himself before you took him to Ascend? Or any of the other gods, to learn what the other options were?" Or had he made the choice based solely on Sam's brainwashed loyalty to a goddess who used him as a tool and a weapon? Did you tell him that she will ask him to kill for her? he didn't ask, a small mercy because Nate made Sam happy and, oh, Jigano wished the man had been an anchor for the bookmaker among the unAscended. No one had forced this Nate to Ascend, certainly... but there were other ways to manipulate and bribe a desperate heart, to lead it in the direction you wanted it to go. Sam himself and his recent devotion to the Voice after a decade of resenting and fearing her was proof of that.
His question was not an easy one, but this was not an easy conversation. He knew Sam's loyalties lay with the Voice, and likely would take priority over the Guild and any friendships with non-Ascended, if it came down to it. Would he attack Jigano the way he had attacked the Fae and the Mathair, if she ordered it? The answers were sweet, as the bookmaker could be, and Jigano found himself smiling a little at the confidence his friend had in the mysterious Nate and tilting his head in silent agreement and approval of the certainty that lay there.
The rest, though... "No one will stop you from making books," he said with a small smile. "That is yours, and yours alone. It's why I want to help you get your fingers back, regardless of who will repair them for you." He only regretted that his magic could not manage it, or he would have found a way to do so already without these dangerous quests. "And I told you at LongNight that I consider you my friend in spite of her. I don't trust the Voice... and after what she's done to me, personally, and the cost the blight took on my friends and family, and the deaths of the Fae and the killing of the guardian I had sworn to save... she has given me ample reason to hate her, and none at all to give her any benefit of the doubt." He sighed and turned to look at his friend again as lightning struck a little distance away, shaking the ruined room they were in with the force of the thunder that followed. He waited for its echoes to die away before continuing, looking at Sam intently "She is my enemy. But you are not the Voice, and you are my friend. Can that be enough for you?" he asked gently, knowing that it was not the answer Sam wanted, but it was the most honest one that Jigano could give him.
Ahhh, there it was. "Was it a road he would have chosen if he hadn't loved you and wanted to be with you?" the bard asked gently. Though perhaps the point was moot. "Did he meet the Voice himself before you took him to Ascend? Or any of the other gods, to learn what the other options were?" Or had he made the choice based solely on Sam's brainwashed loyalty to a goddess who used him as a tool and a weapon? Did you tell him that she will ask him to kill for her? he didn't ask, a small mercy because Nate made Sam happy and, oh, Jigano wished the man had been an anchor for the bookmaker among the unAscended. No one had forced this Nate to Ascend, certainly... but there were other ways to manipulate and bribe a desperate heart, to lead it in the direction you wanted it to go. Sam himself and his recent devotion to the Voice after a decade of resenting and fearing her was proof of that.
His question was not an easy one, but this was not an easy conversation. He knew Sam's loyalties lay with the Voice, and likely would take priority over the Guild and any friendships with non-Ascended, if it came down to it. Would he attack Jigano the way he had attacked the Fae and the Mathair, if she ordered it? The answers were sweet, as the bookmaker could be, and Jigano found himself smiling a little at the confidence his friend had in the mysterious Nate and tilting his head in silent agreement and approval of the certainty that lay there.
The rest, though... "No one will stop you from making books," he said with a small smile. "That is yours, and yours alone. It's why I want to help you get your fingers back, regardless of who will repair them for you." He only regretted that his magic could not manage it, or he would have found a way to do so already without these dangerous quests. "And I told you at LongNight that I consider you my friend in spite of her. I don't trust the Voice... and after what she's done to me, personally, and the cost the blight took on my friends and family, and the deaths of the Fae and the killing of the guardian I had sworn to save... she has given me ample reason to hate her, and none at all to give her any benefit of the doubt." He sighed and turned to look at his friend again as lightning struck a little distance away, shaking the ruined room they were in with the force of the thunder that followed. He waited for its echoes to die away before continuing, looking at Sam intently "She is my enemy. But you are not the Voice, and you are my friend. Can that be enough for you?" he asked gently, knowing that it was not the answer Sam wanted, but it was the most honest one that Jigano could give him.
