|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Wed Apr 26, 2023 3:33 pm
Ah, yes, that would be an important stipulation. If he skipped town now whoever he was reporting too might assume it had been Asa all along and the hunt would begin in earnest. His health may have been stable as of late, but his younger children....They wouldn't be able to handle the chaos of moving that much.
Asa hadn't had to be this clever in a long time and the stress of it was starting to make him antsy.
"Of course, forgive me. If you haven't received word from either myself or your father by the end of the week you may find me at the very same apothecary you met me at. I live just above it." It was a lie; a bold faced lie, but what else could he do?! Just lead him back to his home! "There is a set of stairs in the back and I'm always home before evening." He had no idea if those stairs existed, but if need be he would swing back around and use illusionary magic to fake it.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Apr 26, 2023 3:40 pm
(9/10) Later, Amon might look back on this entire conversation and scold himself for being so naive. But he was taken in by the visage of a respectable healer, and had absolutely no reason to suspect why the man would be lying. He, seemingly, would have very little to gain - it wasn't as if Amon was giving him gold or anything else, just a letter - nothing more. True, they'd gone through the whole conversation without Amon bothering to ask his name, but...
The same apothecary then? Amon nodded his head, considering the information, although - it felt strange that he should leave the letter here at the cafe when the apothecary was just as close. There were oddities here, if he cared to look, but hope made him foolish and easily misled. He relaxed, though, and instead began to consider what he would put in the letter to his father - what he could put to compel him to sit down and talk. If it was following through on the lie, and asking for 'tips in case my children get ill' then he might just get the instructions via another letter. He didn't want that, he wanted to meet the man face to face!
"Right... well. Thank you for pointing me in the right direction. A way to speak to Father is a great deal closer than I had before, so... I am very grateful." Amon didn't like sentimentality, but - he still felt it necessary. You didn't gain loyalty from someone by dismissing their helpfulness, after all. And - clearly the thanks made him uncomfortable, as he cleared his throat and finished the last of his tea as politely as he could.
|
|
|
|
|
|
scarlett arbuckle Vice Captain
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Apr 26, 2023 4:06 pm
Toast untouched, Asa finished off his tea and started to stand. The proprieties of Zena may not have been lost on him, but the sense of 'hospitality' was. This wasn't his home, nor was this a guest, so he had no qualms in leaving the boy.
And yet...even as he gathered his effects something tugged at Asa. This was a young man, barely older than his sons, and it just felt...wrong that another young life was tied into all of this. "...If I may be so bold," To that he looked the youth head on, "Once you have the information you seek I would advise you to leave Belrea and go home. The more you learn the more you stand to lose." Even in some weird, twisted way if this child really did think Asa was his father then what good would the truth do him?
"Is there anything else I can do for you before I take my leave?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Apr 26, 2023 4:18 pm
(10/10) Surely the gratitude was a clear enough dismissal. And yet, Amon didn't want to be rude to a man who, admittedly, knew his father's family well. He was the one Amon was counting on to pass his letter along, and the very last thing he could let himself do was offend him. And yet - as this healer gathered his things, he issued a warning that stunned him. It was... absolutely a bold statement, and for a moment the young man's mouth opened, but didn't speak.
Well - yes, Amon had come all this way to learn about Asa. Was the man giving some strange warning - perhaps... perhaps his father's health was more dire than he had expected, and he felt reuniting with him would be more painful for Amon?
Yes. That had to be what he meant. "... Advice well taken, sir." Amon said, a polite but firm dismissal though it was. "No. But let me take care of your tea, it's the least I can do." He had much more gold to throw around, thanks to Yngvara's stingier suggestions for travel - a fact he would never admit aloud.
|
|
|
|
|
|
scarlett arbuckle Vice Captain
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Apr 26, 2023 4:30 pm
"That's very kind of you." He waited long enough to make sure everything was taken care of before making his way as far from the other Zenan as possible. There were so many possibilities running through his mind that it very nearly took Asa's breath. Thankfully his lungs didn't betray him until he was quite a few streets away, very nearly home, before he started to cough.
They needed to figure something out and fast. If this had been an older, more experienced hunter...Spirits, he can't begin to imagine how terribly that might have gone.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
