Mirrorball

Two men came through the portal back to Caido, and Jigano had led the way up the stairs and out of the Spire, shivering as they stepped from Halo-cold to Hollowed Grounds-heat. The temperature shock took some time to get used to, but he had also wanted to be out of the Spire before he checked the small sphere tucked into an inner pocket of his undertunic. He defied the Voice enough without taunting her in her own lair, and he waited until they had cleared the Spire's shadow and slipped into the Glade, seeking the tranquility and protection of the Shrine there before he shucked off the layers needed to survive Halo's summer and pulled the orb free.

He held it in his closed hand, looking at Loren rather than it, blue eyes solemn and worried as he arched a questioning brow at his friend. "Are you ready?" he asked gently. "If you want to wait, I'd understand. I'll still look but... I can hold off on telling you what I learn until you're ready to hear it." They'd been over it before, but Loren had been so unhappy and hesitant that the bard wanted to give him one last chance to back out before they took the plunge into knowing - and once they knew, could never return to ignorance.

loren

Loren had grown so used to not showing discomfort that he didn’t even realize he suppressed his reaction to the vastly different temperatures. Instead, he simply silently followed Jigano out of the Spire and into the much brighter Longheat day. Blinking against the sun, the summoner continued to pad quietly behind the bard.

As they came upon the shrine, the Launceleyn glanced at it, eyes troubled. He hadn't made an offering to Frey since Fiat Lux, not sure whether they wanted to see him, and definitely sure he didn't want to see them. The white-haired man's words came as a welcome distraction, and Loren quickly looked back at Jigano.

At the offer to wait, the summoner shrugged. "No point in putting off the inevitable. Not knowing won't change anything but plague me with uncertainty." He crossed his arms as he waited for the answer.

Never judge a book by its cover.

It was a pragmatic answer, and one the lorekeeper could appreciate. Loreseekers did their best to face the knowledge they sought, no matter how difficult it could be, and Loren embodied it well. With a nod he opened his fingers, holding the sphere up--

It was two inches in diameter, and had an inner glow that was very faint. Indeed, it was nearly extinguished, and Jigano felt his heart almost stop in his chest as he stared at the bauble. He hadn't thought to check it recently, assuming that Halo's sheer size would keep the Ascended busy in their explorations for at least another season.

It would seem that his assumption had been incorrect.

"Ah..." he said, expression stricken for a moment before he remembered what his goal was, at least for Loren. Wrapping his hand back around the sphere again he closed his eyes and tried to focus on his fellow guardians. Amalia was easiest, dearest to his heart, and he could sense her presence in the Infirmary. Phoebe wasn't far away, in or near the Sanctuary, he guessed. But Remi...

"He's... alive," the bard breathed, though there was a firm certainty there in spite of the distraction in his voice. "A long, long ways away... south... and west?" He blinked and opened his eyes again, relaxing his hold on the sphere as he looked to Loren, a little dazed. "I can't tell anything else but... yes. Remi lives, at least, if nothing else."

loren

As Jigano did...whatever it was he did with the sphere, Loren stayed silent. Although his eyes narrowed at the troubled look on the bard’s features, the summoner didn’t comment on it. It was only when the white-haired man revealed that Remi was alive, and far away that the Launceleyn responded. "Good. That's...good." However, his tone was obviously conflicted.

Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair. Giving first Jigano, then the sphere, an appraising look, Loren bit his lip. "I have no idea what's far away, and to the southwest. I don't suppose that thing tells you how we might get to him?" There wasn't really any hope in the question, but he had to ask it. Crossing his arms, he waited patiently for the bard's answer, which no doubt would be a no.

Never judge a book by its cover.

Loren had already told him why he was torn over hearing of the alchemist's fate, and Jigano didn't fault him for it. He had been through quite the wild ride of emotions since his return, and it sounded like Remi's well-meaning desire to make others happy had only ended up causing more confusion and pain for the Launceleyn mage. He gave Loren time to consider the ramifications of what the information meant to him, the bard looking back down at the mostly-darkened sphere with a frown of worry that had less to do with Remi than what the darkness within the orb meant for other things. He glanced up again as his friend's voice returned, and he found a crooked smile for the other man.

"Most of the rest of the continent is away to the southwest," he explained, remembering the rough map he and Amalia had found the previous year. "There's desert, and islands on the southern tip of the continent, I think. Getting there..." He grimaced, looking down at the sphere again. "Halo trades with other people somehow, so we could probably ask them how traders get to and from the Tundra, and where they come from. The fastest way would probably be to get another portal up and running to somewhere in that direction, though..." He lifted the sphere between them, letting Loren get a better look at it if he would like. "It seems like the Ascended have just about got another one open. Whether it will take us closer to Remi or farther away, I have no idea."

loren

Loren nodded along as Jigano explained a little bit about the geography of Caido, though the summoner gave the bard an appraising look. ”I’m curious how you know all that.” However, the Launceleyn couldn't even muster up that much interest in the white-haired man's sudden knowledge about lands they'd never visited.

Fingers tapping a beat against Loren's thigh, his brow furrowed in concentration. "So our options are either try to pry some information out of some no doubt tight-lipped merchants or wait for the Ascended and hope it brings Remi and Ronin home?" Neither option sounded that appealing, as evidenced by his tone. Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair. "Option three. I can ask my brother what he knows."

Never judge a book by its cover.

Aside from being the guildleader of the Loreseekers and having sources of his own? Jigano's smile was a pained thing with little humor in it. "Once, Safrin looked more favorably on me. Or at least, she tolerated me while I was in Amalia's presence. We learned things from her, last Flowerbirth, before the Barrier fell. I shared them at a public meeting, but..." He shrugged, for Loren had been long gone by then. "Few attended, and fewer seem to have remembered what I said." One could lead a horse to water, and all that.

Loren's options weren't great, but Jigano nodded unhappily in agreement as he closed his fingers around the sphere. Utilizing simple sleight of hand he made it disappear back into his sleeve, though it would look like magic to anyone not expecting such a simple street-magician's trick from a true mage. "There's a whole host of reasons I don't want to wait for the Ascended," he admitted with a grimace. "Not least that marble and what it represents. Nor the lack of guarantee that the next portal will conveniently go to our missing friends. Asking Neron might be the best option, if you don't mind approaching him? I'll be looking for mage glass for him soon, in an old mine at Whitebrim, but I doubt he'll want to speak to me before I get back from that little jaunt." Because what is a timeline?

loren

Giving Jigano an understanding nod, Loren’s eyes tightened, and grew distant and sad. ”I see. Yet another thing I missed.” Shaking his head, he forced himself to look at the bard. "Guess I'll just need to catch up, then."

The summoner couldn’t help but scoff. ”Funnily enough, he sent me to look for mageglass in the Fangs, and I was also waiting for that task to be complete before seeking him out.” Sighing again, his fingers continued their drumbeat against his leg. "If and when he deigns to speak with me again, I will ask him what he knows. No promises he'll answer truthfully." He shrugged, almost embarrassed by the latter comment.

Never judge a book by its cover.

Loren had missed seasons, but in a way it was hard to remember what all he hadn't been there for in the past, given how active and involved he had become since his return. It was as if he'd always been there, his keen mind and magic always ready to lend a hand to any task, even when his moods were bleak. Jigano found a wry smile and bowed his head in acknowledgment of his fellow Loreseeker. "We can do that. Whenever you have time to sit down, I'll pull out some of the old journals for you."

Somehow the bard wasn't surprised that Neron was trying to kill one bird with two stones. The tools had presented themselves, and the Warden didn't seem like a man to waste an opportunity. Especially an opportunity to let others do the work for him, given how Loren had described him before. That he might not tell Jigano the truth was only to be expected, but that he'd lie to his own brother, or at least shade or conceal the truth... that was more troubling, and the white-haired fox didn't bother to hide his concern. "Well, at least we can both ask him separately, and then compare notes afterwards? I'm not sure if he knows that we're friends and guildmates yet or not, but he hasn't heard it yet from me." And he might not be as careful about keeping his stories straight if he wasn't in the mood to be forthcoming with the truth, if he didn't think the two Grounders seeking mageglass were on speaking terms.

loren

Loren nodded at Jigano’s offer. ”Thanks.” The gratitude was there in the summoner’s voice. It was just buried under weariness. Thankfully, the slight pulse of it that he sent through their link was clearer.

Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair again. "Sure, but I'd assume the worst." Hesitating, he bit his lip. "I can't confirm it, but...I'm pretty sure I was being watched during my conversation with him." Still drumming his thigh, he shrugged a bit helplessly. "Our father taught both of us to be spies. I never thought Neron was listening but, well, it wouldn't surprise me if he had an information network and...I don't know. My instincts told me something was off."

Never judge a book by its cover.

The pulse of gratitude was more welcome then Jigano could say after the other man's weary resignation of earlier. A flicker of warmth in his eyes acknowledged that he understood, and he might have dwelt in the safety of old history longer, but the question of Neron and the portals remained, casting a shadow over the relief he felt at Remi's survival.

"Spies?" Jigano repeated, remembering Loren mentioning something about that before. He frowned thoughtfully, nibbling his lip as he considered the implications. "His spies... or Zariah's? She tried to rule by fear before. Spies and secret police would be an excellent way to do it again now that she's in Halo, especially if she's trying to steal more power from him." An unsettling thought, to say the least. "I trust your instincts, though. You know him better than anyone. What do you suggest we do when we approach him next time?"

loren

Loren nodded. Then he chuckled, though there was no humor in the sound. ”Definitely my brother’s.” Shrugging, he gave Jigano an unamused look. ”Say what you will about my cousin, but she’s pretty straightforward in her methods, and while she’s manipulative, she also prefers the direct approach rather than relying on or trusting others.” The summoner's scorn was apparent.

Then his lip curled into an almost cruel smile. "And if she is trying to pull one over on Neron, well, let's just say my brother can be as cutthroat as the rest of my family. Strangely enough, I have no qualms warning him again about her machinations."

Shrugging, he crossed his arms. "I don't know. I never knew him that well, and that was before he spent a year and a half on his own in charge of Halo. Treat him as you would any merchant you were afraid was cheating you, though, and you should come out alright."

Never judge a book by its cover.

"She does seem to view trust as a weakness," Jigano mused, thinking back to her solo rulership of the Grounds, with only Edrei to back her. "I'll trust your reading of them both, then. However little you know Neron now, it's still more than I do, and I only had one awful year of Zariah to your lifetime of her." He grimaced, sending a pulse of empathy through the bond, for Loren having to deal with that for so long. "Hopefully your brother is already aware of her games, but there's little we can do but wait and watch." And Loren would know best when and how to keep Neron updated on Zariah's ambitious encroachment on his power and privileges.

Loren's suggestion may not have been as personalized as Jigano had hoped, but it was solid common sense, and he nodded gratefully. "Loren... if you need to take some time away with Abasi, I understand. But the Guildhall will be happy for your presence whenever you feel up to returning to us. I'd like it if you stayed in touch with us, but you deserve a break. At last as much of a holiday as can be found here. That invitation to drinks and chatting remains open though, whenever you'd like a friend to talk to."

loren

Nodding at Jigano’s assessment, Loren sighed. ”Not my whole life, but long enough.” At the potential for conflict or division between Zariah and Neron, the summoner shrugged. "Unfortunately, as much as they might vie for power between the two of them, they will close ranks against outsiders. It's the Launceleyn way." His voice came out more than a bit sorrowful.

Although he smiled at the bard's offer, the Launceleyn's fingers drummed a nervous beat against his thigh. "I might just take you up on that. And even if I take a break, I won't go far." He glanced at the sky, shocked to see how late in the day it was. "Unfortunately, I'll have to take you up on that another day. I'll see you around, though. And...thanks for inviting me out today." With that, he gave the white-haired man a nod. Then Loren turned to trudge back to the Manor.

Never judge a book by its cover.