Jigano blinked at Sam's joke, then grinned. "One of the research rooms and the main hall should be safe enough for everyone, but that's still a good idea. Though, I think Amalia is trying to keep as much fire away from the books as possible," he teased back, remembering how badly things had almost gone when a swung lantern had set a paper wasp on fire. Which was reasonable, really. And Maea, who seemed to take his joke as a serious suggestion, responded with a practicality that had the bard chuckling. "The lady makes an excellent point. We don't want a whole pile of dirt and mud falling onto whichever unlucky soul happens to be using the room at the moment - or onto my desk!" Since he had claimed one of the windowed rooms for his office he gave Sam a teasing wink.
He had only meant to find a way for Maea to help them, without forcing her into heavy labor that her delicate arms seemed unsuited for, not to cause her distress. "You don't have to answer if you'd prefer--" he started to correct himself, trying to offer her a gracious way out of responding, but she seemed to come to her own conclusion, and a moment later a chunk of debris rose and shifted itself out of the way of Sam's shovel. The bard raised a brow, impressed, and gave her a half-bow of respect. "The old term was 'Acquired'," he said, giving her an encouraging smile. "One who has acquired power, rather than one abandoned by it. Though I understand the term fell out of use a long time ago." Around the time the barrier was raised, if 108's history was to be trusted.
Her own question in return was blunt enough that the bard had to hide a wince. He certainly deserved it, but that didn't make it any more comfortable for him to answer, even with his secrets slowly starting to come unraveled. "On my world I had access to magic both divine and arcane," he said with a lopsided smile. "But... unfortunately I lost much of what I was when I fell through the portal that brought me here. Now, I'm afraid, I have neither spells nor alternative forms which would be particularly useful in this endeavor." As a raven he'd be even weaker than as a man, and his dainty fox paws would get bruised and battered against the debris in the soil.
"I can, however, mark out the places we need to dig, and then see about finding a second shovel - or maybe an awning for Sam," he nodded to his friend with a wry smile. A number of shops were still cleaning up, just as they were. Surely he could sweet-talk one of the ones nearby into letting him borrow their shade for a few hours...
As he took a large stick and began to pace out the approximate shape that he guessed the first window well would be, he looked over at his two companions with a smile. "With the new year beginning, can you tell me what you two would like to focus your research on? That way Sam can keep track of which members have what specialties in the beautiful chronicle book he's making for us."
He had only meant to find a way for Maea to help them, without forcing her into heavy labor that her delicate arms seemed unsuited for, not to cause her distress. "You don't have to answer if you'd prefer--" he started to correct himself, trying to offer her a gracious way out of responding, but she seemed to come to her own conclusion, and a moment later a chunk of debris rose and shifted itself out of the way of Sam's shovel. The bard raised a brow, impressed, and gave her a half-bow of respect. "The old term was 'Acquired'," he said, giving her an encouraging smile. "One who has acquired power, rather than one abandoned by it. Though I understand the term fell out of use a long time ago." Around the time the barrier was raised, if 108's history was to be trusted.
Her own question in return was blunt enough that the bard had to hide a wince. He certainly deserved it, but that didn't make it any more comfortable for him to answer, even with his secrets slowly starting to come unraveled. "On my world I had access to magic both divine and arcane," he said with a lopsided smile. "But... unfortunately I lost much of what I was when I fell through the portal that brought me here. Now, I'm afraid, I have neither spells nor alternative forms which would be particularly useful in this endeavor." As a raven he'd be even weaker than as a man, and his dainty fox paws would get bruised and battered against the debris in the soil.
"I can, however, mark out the places we need to dig, and then see about finding a second shovel - or maybe an awning for Sam," he nodded to his friend with a wry smile. A number of shops were still cleaning up, just as they were. Surely he could sweet-talk one of the ones nearby into letting him borrow their shade for a few hours...
As he took a large stick and began to pace out the approximate shape that he guessed the first window well would be, he looked over at his two companions with a smile. "With the new year beginning, can you tell me what you two would like to focus your research on? That way Sam can keep track of which members have what specialties in the beautiful chronicle book he's making for us."
