The world isn't kind. | No. Not yet.

"Not spells, no, but Apollo did carry a strong divine connection to him, thanks to Markus's oath. I wonder if it could be a trail..."

I might have found answers sooner, but if he's going to return, surely it would be [here.]"

Her nose wrinkles a moment and she diverts her gaze while he buries his bad habit. Her fingers drum against the tabletop as she gives more thought to his comment than he likely expected.

They don't give any more voice to their disappointment than they already have. It won't grant any greater revelation, and they don't need to keep showing Brash the depth of their frustration. No one before had seemed to understand it so well as he did.

"You understand why I stayed, then.

||M o l l y m a u k

...when you say, 'coming out of there,' where do you mean?"

With a deep, steadying breath, the continue with the last belief they ever could rely on, whispered in prayers to a god of legends.

"But unless I pick up the pen, the story will never have an ending, for good or ill. I owe him that much. You must understand why I have to... see this....

At times, they had been confident and reassuring, so sure that [this] time, they had finally followed the right lead.

But each failure had eroded a little more faith in their own abilities and choices. In turn, though, they hasmd cemented Gil's own feeling of responsibility for this loss.

"No. No, they don't. I'm sorry for what you've lost." The concession is most they'd knowingly show another how close they felt to defeat: it's the same hollow ring to their words as carried in the Sendings which never seemed to reach Markus.

Once, those messages had been desperate, frantic.

If there is a curse or ill that might befall him, he need not face it alone. There is much a talented healer might do to free him from such a thing.

...And if the threat is internal, a friendly ear can often reinforce the will to change.

Neither would my own inaction.

Look - if we stand against it, there's a chance we die. If no one does anything, it's a near certainty. I only trust my luck so far as it is carried by my actions.

"...'Chapter One: On The Crafting and Destruction of Artifacts and Relics'?"

||really truly 🥺 it always makes me happy to see u on bsky

||ilu

||SHAKES YOU

||GRABS YOU

I dunno, seems like eating your opponents doesn't always stick, either.

It didn't eat me the first time, did it?

Then I suppose [I] had better go out there and make a bit of noise to get the Gods' attention.

After all you've done, you expect me to forget you?

Its goal is to devour our sun. Such a place will not exist.

A lack of understanding promotes fear. Fear dissuades education. Add in the profit some would rather chase, and...

[Instant hatred]

I think we're meant to be silent in a library!!

Safer for whom?

||laundry and cooking dinner augh

Not the safest way to pass his days - but they're hardly one to speak.

Then they'll gladly return to their studies.

Hm.

Certainly the new arrival [instantly] suggesting extreme measures is trustworthy and holds every answer.

Well. Another would need time anyway, to reach out to contacts who might have other avenues. They at least have time to burn.

...Patience, increasingly less so.