"Make the igloo with your ice and then we can heal people inside it, rather than setting up a wooden stall," he explained, belatedly realizing that he hadn't been clear. "I'm not sure how much spare wood they have over there, actually. Given the weight of all that snow, stone is probably safe to build with, unless it's a temporary structure." He grinned reassuringly at Loren, tilting his head in a nod. "And it certainly won't hurt to try. Though other people might not be quite as excited by the thought as you and I are," he added a touch ruefully, thinking of how Adam had turned him down.
"Well, simple bows compared to crossbows with gears," he amended with a chuckle. "But ratfolk are a civilized race, though often given to more shadowy pursuits. Still, there are always exceptions, so you shouldn't stereotype too much." His teasing fell a little flat as a pebble bounced out of the hedge to strike his hand, a chittering swell of interest quickly going silent as he reached into the hedges again with his magic and increased the growth of the thorns enough to form an almost solid screen that not even a squirrel could eel through. "These are no ratfolk... for good or for ill," he grumbled under his breath.
"Ah, I didn't realize he'd been here so long," the bard replied, genuinely surprised. "I met him only recently and he seemed... still woefully unaware of local customs and deities," he chose the words delicately. "I assumed he had arrived after LongNight and was still finding his feet." Which was to say, Abasi had been dangerously demanding of the gods and had rubbed the bard the wrong way, but his instinct to wave it off as a newcomer's need to learn may have been premature.
But he'd made a good impression on Loren, clearly, so Jigano just shook his head with a wry smile. "I'm glad you were able to help him recover, though. He was lucky in his choice of nurses," he couldn't help but tease gently. "And perhaps you were lucky in your choice of patients?"
The offer was almost unexpected, so much time had passed since their earlier conversations, but Jigano nodded gratefully. "I'll do that," he said with a smile. Rory preferred being self-sufficient, but it was always nice to have backup, just in case. He looked around, frowning as he tried to get a sense of their direction from the sun overhead, then nodded to his fellow Loreseeker. "Keep an eye on the ground, we should be getting close. It looks a little like grass, but with brown protusions sticking out from it."
"Well, simple bows compared to crossbows with gears," he amended with a chuckle. "But ratfolk are a civilized race, though often given to more shadowy pursuits. Still, there are always exceptions, so you shouldn't stereotype too much." His teasing fell a little flat as a pebble bounced out of the hedge to strike his hand, a chittering swell of interest quickly going silent as he reached into the hedges again with his magic and increased the growth of the thorns enough to form an almost solid screen that not even a squirrel could eel through. "These are no ratfolk... for good or for ill," he grumbled under his breath.
"Ah, I didn't realize he'd been here so long," the bard replied, genuinely surprised. "I met him only recently and he seemed... still woefully unaware of local customs and deities," he chose the words delicately. "I assumed he had arrived after LongNight and was still finding his feet." Which was to say, Abasi had been dangerously demanding of the gods and had rubbed the bard the wrong way, but his instinct to wave it off as a newcomer's need to learn may have been premature.
But he'd made a good impression on Loren, clearly, so Jigano just shook his head with a wry smile. "I'm glad you were able to help him recover, though. He was lucky in his choice of nurses," he couldn't help but tease gently. "And perhaps you were lucky in your choice of patients?"
The offer was almost unexpected, so much time had passed since their earlier conversations, but Jigano nodded gratefully. "I'll do that," he said with a smile. Rory preferred being self-sufficient, but it was always nice to have backup, just in case. He looked around, frowning as he tried to get a sense of their direction from the sun overhead, then nodded to his fellow Loreseeker. "Keep an eye on the ground, we should be getting close. It looks a little like grass, but with brown protusions sticking out from it."
