"The ones that are in that area, yes," Jigano said, regret and sadness plain in his voice. "The ones not protected by magical means, at least. The remaining ones are mostly destroyed... but luckily the winds don't tend to blow the rain in too often. The rest of the Atheneum is better protected, thankfully." After three hundred years the books closest to the hole had indeed become largely bricks of melted paper and mildewed leather. "Though I keep meaning to try and organize a repair crew, even if it's just a simple wooden patch over the hole," he added wistfully. "Maybe now that the snows are gone..." The amount of labor required to repair the stonework was outside of the Settlement's power, he knew, but even a simple wooden enclosure would improve matters. Though that, too, would take an incredible amount of manpower to put into place.
Jigano glanced back wryly at the easy way Killian waved off his gratitude, but he nodded acknowledgment of the younger man's good manners. "It's a pleasure, as well as something of a self-appointed duty," he chuckled back. "It isn't easy, arriving with nothing but what you were carrying... if I can help others adjust a little more comfortably, it seems only good karma."
They reached an area where shelves had been knocked together, and the fallen stone rubble lay on the ground. It was small here, but as they continued walking while Killian talked the chunks of rock and broken shelving became larger and hard to navigate around. Jigano waited patiently while Killian sorted his thoughts and decided how much to say, and he listened intently, nodding along at the description of the young man's past. He winced at hearing of a way between gods, pausing to give his new friend another wry smile. "Your timing is either impeccable or unfortunate," he admitted, climbing nimbly over a large chunk of wall and slipping into a shadowed half-tunnel of masonry beyond. His voice dropped to a whisper as he eyed the way forward, trying to judge how stable it was. "There are gods here, too, and all is not peaceful. The Old Gods had imprisoned a mortal who had ascended to godhood - or something like it - here inside that magical barrier I mentioned. We freed her, for good or ill, and she brought the barrier down, but we were warned that the Old Gods would be angry about it... and the new one has given warnings as well, threatening people not to meddle in her affairs." He shrugged lightly, beginning to lead the way at a more cautious pace, though the rubble seemed unlikely to budge. "Careful who you pray to, here, if you decide to pray to anyone, if you want to avoid getting caught up in it all." He slid a glance back at Killian, curious but trying not to pry too hard. "Is that anything like the situation your country was in?"
Jigano glanced back wryly at the easy way Killian waved off his gratitude, but he nodded acknowledgment of the younger man's good manners. "It's a pleasure, as well as something of a self-appointed duty," he chuckled back. "It isn't easy, arriving with nothing but what you were carrying... if I can help others adjust a little more comfortably, it seems only good karma."
They reached an area where shelves had been knocked together, and the fallen stone rubble lay on the ground. It was small here, but as they continued walking while Killian talked the chunks of rock and broken shelving became larger and hard to navigate around. Jigano waited patiently while Killian sorted his thoughts and decided how much to say, and he listened intently, nodding along at the description of the young man's past. He winced at hearing of a way between gods, pausing to give his new friend another wry smile. "Your timing is either impeccable or unfortunate," he admitted, climbing nimbly over a large chunk of wall and slipping into a shadowed half-tunnel of masonry beyond. His voice dropped to a whisper as he eyed the way forward, trying to judge how stable it was. "There are gods here, too, and all is not peaceful. The Old Gods had imprisoned a mortal who had ascended to godhood - or something like it - here inside that magical barrier I mentioned. We freed her, for good or ill, and she brought the barrier down, but we were warned that the Old Gods would be angry about it... and the new one has given warnings as well, threatening people not to meddle in her affairs." He shrugged lightly, beginning to lead the way at a more cautious pace, though the rubble seemed unlikely to budge. "Careful who you pray to, here, if you decide to pray to anyone, if you want to avoid getting caught up in it all." He slid a glance back at Killian, curious but trying not to pry too hard. "Is that anything like the situation your country was in?"
