His lips tilted in a sad half-smile as he gave a small shake of his head, though his attention remained mostly on the pillar as it retreated from thirty feet down to twenty, the earth rolling and pushing back to where it had been taken from. "No, I won't hold it back from you, Sam. I did this for you, for my friend. But what you do with it after you have it will be up to you." Whether his conscience would urge him to throw it away, or whether his need to have his hands in working order again would encourage him to keep it, it would be his decision. What he followed with, though, had Jigano pausing to look over his shoulder, blue eyes searching Sam's face.
"I would prefer that as well," he agreed gently. "If you were doing this for any reason other than aiding the Voice, I'd probably be right out there with you," he added, the ghost of a crooked smile almost creasing the corners of his eyes.
Almost.
"But as long as no harm comes from it, Sam, we won't be at odds. If your lady is as benevolent as you seem to think - despite all the evidence I've seen and experienced to the contrary so far - I don't think the gods will push us to action." He would be very hard to convince after the blight and the killings, admittedly, but for Sam and Rexanna... for them, he would at least try.
He turned back to the pillar, working it down another five feet. The metal was still out of reach, but it was becoming easier and the work went faster as the thicker base of the earthen construct was sturdier and steadier in spite of the rain. Sam's offer had him pausing again in surprise, though only briefly before he hummed in thought. "I... might have something I would ask of you," he said slowly, thinking of his talk with Ludo. "Though I would understand if you don't want to, and it wouldn't change anything between us if you refused." It wasn't something he wanted to ask of his friend, in truth, and his voice was reluctant, but on the other hand... he would far rather gain it by free will of a friend than violence or deception of someone else.
"I would prefer that as well," he agreed gently. "If you were doing this for any reason other than aiding the Voice, I'd probably be right out there with you," he added, the ghost of a crooked smile almost creasing the corners of his eyes.
Almost.
"But as long as no harm comes from it, Sam, we won't be at odds. If your lady is as benevolent as you seem to think - despite all the evidence I've seen and experienced to the contrary so far - I don't think the gods will push us to action." He would be very hard to convince after the blight and the killings, admittedly, but for Sam and Rexanna... for them, he would at least try.
He turned back to the pillar, working it down another five feet. The metal was still out of reach, but it was becoming easier and the work went faster as the thicker base of the earthen construct was sturdier and steadier in spite of the rain. Sam's offer had him pausing again in surprise, though only briefly before he hummed in thought. "I... might have something I would ask of you," he said slowly, thinking of his talk with Ludo. "Though I would understand if you don't want to, and it wouldn't change anything between us if you refused." It wasn't something he wanted to ask of his friend, in truth, and his voice was reluctant, but on the other hand... he would far rather gain it by free will of a friend than violence or deception of someone else.
