∞ Chapter 12.

After Jaks song, the boy fell asleep in his arms. He lifted him and placed him gently on the bed. It was already late, and he doubted the Mayor would appreciate a visit at this hour of night Thus he made his way back to Mina and the zonked out Ves, found their room and quietly slipped in.

Mina did not stir as he entered. The woman was too confident in her wards. It had taken but a few simple sigils to reverse engineer a crack in the web of power, which he of course closed behind him, so as to not be impolite. He found Ves and Mina lying together in a single bed, wrapped around each other in a rather intimate way, their scantily clad bodies entangled in a sprawl of limbs. He chuckled to himself, then sat down in a corner and closed his eyes to meditate and rest.

Morning came, and with it a wide-eyed Mina staring at him awkwardly. Jak smiled, his eyes still closed. Of course, behind the eyepatch, his inheritance watched as Mina slowly and gently extricated herself from her friends clingy limbs and approached him tentatively.

When Mina was but a few feet from him, Jak opened his other eye and said "Good morning Mina." She jumped again, but then flashed her digits as he expected her to.

[Good morning. Puzzlement: How did you get in? I warded the room.]

"One should not trust ones life to simple wards like those, my dear." Jak said, getting to his feet. Mina looked a bit miffed, but there was a resigned sort of look on her face that told him she had probably given up understanding him and just accepted his oddities for now.

"I like you." Jak said, grinning as he stretched his limbs and his back cracked. It felt good.

Mina's cheeks acquired a nice blush and she flashed her digits a little more clumsily than what was normal for her.

[Don''t you think that is a bit inappropriate to say to a lady so early in the morning?]

"I was merely stating the truth. It's nice how you don't pester me about it, and accept that there are things about me I am not willing to talk about right now. Not sure how to explain them to you in any case." Jak said, gazing over at the still completely out Ves. Pale skin, long tangled locks of silvery blonde hair and such kissable lips. She looked so inappropriate and unlike a proper and decent and prudent princess, that he wanted to laugh out loud.

He still couldn't quite bring himself to believe she was a princess. If only because it would necessitate acknowledging other, more uncomfortable truths.

[About how you broke my wards? And that time you saved Ves with strange, amazing sigils?]

Jak nodded. "Indeed. I'm sure you have questions, but the fact that you respected my implicit request to keep it a secret from Ves has pleased me greatly. Thus, I like you." Jak said, and Mina once more turned a shade deeper red, her elegant fingers fidgeting with her dress.

Unlike Ves who was in her underwear, Mina had slept in the dress. It was a bit crumpled, since during the night it had climbed up her body to bunch at her neck. It was as if during her sleep, time had slowly unwrapped a gift for his eyes to feast on.

Jak felt his lips tug up into a vague smile. This blushing, slightly fidgety adolescent girl-like Mina, was quite adorable. There hadn't been many women in Sirion who had such a strange innocence about them, even the street kids weren't innocent, to say nothing of the palace maids, with whom Jak had had many an experience. He knew first hand of their 'lack' of innocence.

This kind of woman was refreshing once in awhile, he thought as his head tilted to one side then the other.

The sun had just begun peeking in through the windows, so it was still early, yet he had not the desire to wait any longer. He wanted to go and get information from this official figure called the Mayor, who no doubt oversaw this settlement and wielded the most local power and authority.

Atleast Ves' explanations during their trip had indicated as much. Time to see how much was truth, and how much was fiction. Jak was actually slightly uneasy, because he knew the more information he acquired, the more he started to see the truth before him, and it was an uncomfortable truth. A truth he wished could be forgotten. A truth against which his whole being protested.

"I'm going to see the Mayor of this settlement and see if I cannot wring some useful information from him. Would you care to accompany me or do you have to look after... that?" Jak asked, pointing at Ves with a gesture of his head and a grin on his lips.

[Exasperation: You really are something. I should tell you off for talking about the Princess of a country like that, and don't think I didn't see the way you looked at her earlier.]

"But?" Jak asked innocently, even though he knew.

[But nothing].

"Well if we are talking about Ves, her body is very petite, almost like that of a child and certainly rather immature. You on the other hand, your butt is not nothing, is it?" Jak asked, wagging his eyebrows at the woman.

If she could've sputtered, she would have. Instead, the mute Mina turned bright red as though she was going to explode. Then she took a few steps and approached him decisively, glaring up at him.

"I know, I know. I can already hear it, what Ves would say, what she would yell as she kicked at me, seeking to put a literal foot in my mouth." Jak said, grinning down at Mina. "So do you want to come? I think the princess can handle herself here. Besides, she seems to be in no state to join us on our little adventure." Jak continued. Mina bit her lip, looking uncertain.

It was clear to him though, that she didn't want to leave her friend defenseless. Jak knew that Ves was a warrior, and not only that. She was able to use sigils aswell. That alone would be enough under most circumstances, but Mina still did not seem at ease with leaving her friend here alone, unguarded and vulnerable.

Perhaps her unease also stemmed partly from the fact that her wards had been infiltrated so easily by him last night, so Jak reasoned that he was also partly to blame for Mina's unease.

"Fine, I will ward this place so only Ves can enter and leave. Will this please the lady of the blue rose?" Jak asked, taking Mina's hand and dragging her from the room. Once outside, he closed his eyes briefly as he switched gears.

He did not want to use the Arahani arts to ward the room, for doing so might end up being counter-productive.

His style was violent and explosive, and this characteristic extended to their style of warding aswell. Fire to incinerate intruders and create traps and infernos triggered by hostile intent, to reduce everything but the protected area to a sea of ashes. Jak did not want to burn this fine establishment down. It would probably cause trouble for his companions.

He also didn't really wish to slaughter innocent bystanders if he could help it.

His second best style was that of Enthanahi, the ruling style of wind, since it complimented his fire well. Still, Master Drom'mel had taught him the Duruhani style of earth thoroughly enough and Jaks unique way of connecting sigils together in sequences applied to all sigil sequences regardless of style.

And so he drew, line after line, paragraph after paragraph of ancient sigils. They hung in the air like letters made of crumbling primordial earth, before sinking into the door and the walls and the ceiling with a buzz of power that made Mina's hair dance, buffeted by unseen winds of power.

He was creating rules and consequences for the ward by using the meaning of the sigils to give directions to the ward and the magical power he imbued in it. It was very important for a strong ward that one word the rules and consequences correctly, lest you unwittingly create loopholes like the one he had exploited to enter Mina's ward.

The only other way to breach his ward would be if someone possessed more power than he and brute forced their way through. Since that wasn't going to happen, Jak focused on shoring up the wording of the sigils, creating many many lines of sigil sequence code just to make sure.

He knew that this many sigils would discombobulate normal mages, make them groggy and foggy until they fainted. But he had trained since infancy to hold an almost unlimited amount of sigils in his mind, and this meant that he was the one who decided the scope of his own spells.

It had been impressed upon him from an early age that Jak was the judge, the arbiter and the architect of his own destiny. His mother had been adamant on this, always insisting, always teaching him to stand up for himself, to accept no authority but his own. This extended to sigils, to magic. He made the power his own, the sigils his own, for He was Jaka of the Arahani line, and perhaps last ruler of fire, wind, earth and water.

By his side, an extremely wide-eyed woman watched with bated breath, her hair gently dancing and fluttering. Jak felt her hand gripping his arm, clenching tightly. When he finished the ward, he turned to watch a completely stunned Mina standing there, clutching at his arm and shaking.

For a moment more, she was inert and frozen before finally stirring.

[Shock: What in the blazes was that? Those sigils... I have never seen the like. So many, and so much power. You're like an army of royal court mages, it's ridiculous. Just what the hael kind of ward did you put up?] Mina asked, her digits flashing frantically, her eyes still wide.

Jak smiled, patted her on the shoulder and said. "What? A mans gotta have some secrets, right? Hoho. Come now, maybe I'll tell you later." Jak gently took Mina, and guided her to grab his arm like a lady, leading her down the stairs and into the common room where the night before, they had their fun little drinking game.

He felt slightly bad for the Princess, for she had not a chance to compete with his inherited constitution. Still, it was her folly aswell. One does not simply try to trick a Sirionean prince to reveal himself, after all. Jak smiled to himself.

As they descended the stairs, walking elegantly and probably seeming rather out of place, the few early morning people taking breakfast below turned to stare at them. Mina clung to him a little tighter and the innkeeper looked up at them curiously as they came down.

Jak waved his free hand at the man, and he looked around confused for a moment before waving back.

"Morning, good sir." Jak called as they reached the floor. "Good morning my lord." The innkeeper replied and bowed slightly. Several patrons turned to look at the exchange, clearly finding the mans behaviour odd. Jak supposed it might not be every day that this innkeeper would act so with guests. He certainly hadn't been so polite last night.

Mina, who still clung to his side and leaned into him, brought a hand in front of her preparing to speak. Jak reached out and grabbed it. Intertwining his fingers with hers, he smiled.

"Now now my lady, we must give those fine fingers of yours a rest don't you think? After all, your use of them earlier was rather frantic. We still have a long day ahead of us, so it won't do for you to tire them out so early." Jak said, chuckling to himself as a few people spat out their drinks, while others simply stared.

He escorted a very red-faced, quiet and clingy Mina from the common room, thinking not for the first time that she was quite adorable.

Exiting the inn, surprisingly fresh and clean air filled Jaks lungs. For a city, this was quite the thing, but he supposed the air in Dorwine was just better in general, and the city's design allowed for the efficient disposal of excess waste aswell. Sirion would have no dominion of theirs reeking of piss and feces and horse dung, so Jak thought it was only natural that the streets smelled fresh and clean rather than inducing his gag reflex as was the case that one time he'd visited the northern territories and their barbaric tribes. Gods were those people filthy.

The subtle reminder that he was indeed not in Sirion any longer, but in foreign lands no more his own than the sun shining in the sky, made Jak uncomfortable.

At his side, Mina seemed to relax. He looked over at her and just smiled. One did not always need to talk all the time. Besides, idle chatter wasn't possible for the woman.

Once outside in view of the public, Mina gained an air of elegance an authority as she led the way, walking confidently down the cobbled streets.

The houses got progressively larger and more gaudy as they traveled. It was good to have a guide. This city was truly a maze. Jak wondered who'd designed it to be like this, like the fingers of a glove if you had thirty digits and several hands. It surely wasn't an architect from Sirion, for they would have designed it in a more utilitarian way, with grinds and wide roads, not these narrow, snaking yet cobbled paths. They did have a certain, cozy charm though, these narrow cobble streets.

Jak couldn't help but marvel at the houses. They had just entered another area of the city. He hesitated to call it a quarter, because comparing this to Heabury brought with it a sharp pang. He ignored that and admired the architechture for what it was. This areas houses were all several stories tall, and painted white and black. Quite often, gilded gold and silver decorations hung on the walls, which were of course surrounded by a fenced off garden area full of colorful flowers.

Jaks sensitive nose picked up the pungent scent of the flowers, and it gave him the odd sensation of walking through a forest, if that forest were made of stone and the animals were horsedrawn carriages and carts and caravans trondling past.

Mina would occasionally flash her digits to explain a detail here or there, but since it wasn't easy to just blabber her mouth like Ves could, she kept it short and sweet and relevant.

Jak appreciated this alot, because it meant he didn't have to sort the information she gave him. Merchants seemed to have a rather high status in this town, and many of the impressive buildings they had just passed, belonged to such merchants or lesser nobility even, though those were few and far between. They were just people with money in general, and to Jak it made little difference what title they toted, for in his eyes they were all beneath him.

Jak and Mina turned a corner and a sprawling estate came into view. The fence was made of metal, with interspersed white brick pillars.

The spikes at the top of the fence had a silvery shine and any would be thief would no doubt find it quite painful to be speared on those spikes. As if that was not enough of a deterrent, guards in uniform were stationed with regular gaps around the entire fenced in grounds. Though a few looked rather groggy at this hour of the day, most were vigilant enough to note their approach.

Jak felt their eyes on him keenly as he walked behind Mina. She knew what she was doing, so he let her lead the way.

"Halt. State your business." The gateguard said. He was a stocky man with a well trimmed beard tinged with grey, and sharp beady eyes full of watchful attention. Jak lowered his head in a nod. It was always nice to see someone who was competent, though what a surprise it was to find this particular kind of individual here.

Jak thought this kind of sigil art wasn't widely practiced in any dominion, but then again he was loathe to make assumptions about this strange land of Dorwine about which he knew so little, apparently.

Mina looked to Jak, then she flashed her digits while the guard observed the both of them warily.

"Lady Mina Bluerose of Rothinia wishes to speak with the Mayor of Midshear." Jak translated. The guard frowned, but nodded his head.

"I see, a priestess of Rothinia then? And a lady to boot. But why does the lady not speak for herself." The guard said, still frowning.

"It is not out of spite for commoners if that's what you think. She just can't." Jak said. The guardsman at the gate seemed to lose the hard edged scowl he had been directing towards them.

"Perkins, send a runner to inform the Mayor that Lady Mina Bluerose of Rhothinia wishes to speak with him." The guard shouted and Mina flashed her digits. "Privately." Jak added.

"Privately!" The gatekeeper shouted at the already retreating runners back.

"And now we wait. If you're anyone important then I guess Mayor Farnsworth will see ye. If not..." The guard trailed off.

"What's your name?" Jak asked as they waited.

"Simmons, my lord." The guard replied.

"The gates are tall and well decorated, and the sculptures of the white doves on those pillars near the gate are well done. But tell me, guardsman Simmons, what does an accomplished man such as yourself gain from guarding this place? I would think your skills would be better served elsewhere. You should atleast be a personal bodyguard, not standing out here where few can appreciate your talents." Jak said with a smile. Simmons eyes widened a bit, and he took a step back, a hand going to the hilt of his sword.

"What do ye know bout me." He said quietly. It wasn't quite a growl, but not far from it either.

"Only that you are far more skilled than your peers, and that your talents are wasted standing here infront of this gate. Just that." Jak said. Simmons harumphed, but still looked warily out at Jak. Mina said nothing as she waited with them, the perfect image of a proper noble lady and priestess. It was clear however, that while she tried to affect a countenance of indifference, her hand squeezing his own told Jak she wasn't all that comfortable with his taunting of the guards.

"You should do something more important with your life than just standing guard here." Jak said in a tone as though he was merely commenting on the weather, and Mina once more squeezed his hand, obviously trying to tell him off.

"What the hell do you know?" Simmons growled. "My lord." he added belatedly.

Jak smiled. "I know that you're the first in these lands I've seen using internal sigils." Jak said, making sure his voice was low enough that the other guards didn't hear him. Simmons stepped forward and made to pull his sword out.

Jak made no motion to attack the man. He merely shook his head and smiled once. Simmons froze. Then he took a step back, a bead of sweat slowly rolling down his face.

"Who... who are you?" Simmons asked, his voice now hoarse and strained. Before Jak could answer, the runner returned with an affirmation, allowing them to enter the gardens and see the Mayor.

Now he was very thankful that he'd brought Mina along. Seeing all these guards, the huge grounds of the estate and everything, it would've been a pain in the ass had he gone to see the Mayor by himself.

He might've had to make a bad first impression to get his way.

Things could still go south however, so Jak reminded himself to stay vigilant.

The runner from before accompanied them, but Jak intended to take his time. The garden was rather extensive, cobbled paths flowing between colorful flowerbeds and clumps of elegant looking white trees with long thin azure blue leaves and drooping branches. He had never seen that type of tree before.

Looking over at Mina, he smiled and she returned his smile. "A walk in a beautiful garden with a woman no less a work of art than those carefully planted flowerbeds, what's not to like?" Mina's only response was to squeeze his hand once, although she did turn a delightful shade of pink. They continued on their way, eventually ending up at the steps to a fairly sized estate. It seemed that this Mayor figure was not a man of few means, but he supposed it was natural enough for the Mayor of a prominent trading town to be well off.

Again, uniformed guards greeted them, and again Jak wondered why the hell Simmons was guarding the gate like a common pleb. None of the other men even came close to Simmons in power, Jak was sure of it. Unless of course, they were so skilled that they could hide themselves from him, but Jak doubted that that was the case.

Alcos' razor stated that the easiest explanation was often the true explanation, and that such should be assumed until proven otherwise. Simmons could be a special precaution of this Mayor figure, if indeed he was prominent enough to hire such a person.

However, he thought it more likely that Simmons was a spy or insurgent of some kind. Simmons could be a kings man of this so called Dorwinian royal family he'd heard about though, Jak was not sure.

In truth he was still very uncomfortable with that. There was no way that a royal family could just appear out of nowhere and gain a powerful hold over the entirety of Dorwine, which was second to none when it came to the sheer size of its landmass, save perhaps for the wild northern realms beyond the blue reef, but Jak had little desire to think about that place of cold winds and tribal peoples.

Though their harsh nature had an undeniable beauty, it was still just as inhospitable as a desert to Jak, and he didn't much like the cold.

Of course, the counter to Alcos razor was that you should always assume the worst in any given situation, so as to be better prepared to deal with unforeseen complications. However, even if Jak was walking into a place guarded by a thousand Simmons, he didn't fear doing so.

A gentle looking, white haired steward greeted them with a bow from atop the steps. "Welcome, my Lady, my Lord, to Mayor Farnsworths humble abode." The man bowed once more. "I am Mikkel, your butler for the duration of your stay."

Jak took Mina's arm, and they walked up the stairs to the still bowing Mikkel fellow who had called himself a butler, whatever that was. Jak assumed it was some sort of personal manservant assigned to them, but he couldn't be sure.

Dorwine had acquired many odd things, and odd things made him uneasy. He would think about that later. Later...

"We are pleased to make your acquaintance Butler Mikkel." Jak replied, smiling. "Rise and show us the way please. As the runner mentioned, we have come to speak with the Mayor." Jak said.

Mikkel somehow managed to retreat to the open doors whilst still bowing, then he motioned for them to come inside.

"If it pleases you, then do follow. The Mayor is at present taking breakfast with his family, but when he heard that a priestess of Rothinia sought him, he immediately invited her to join him." Mikkel said, and Jak caught the butler eyeing him for a moment longer, as if to make him squirm.

When Jak did not budge, Mikkel merely said "And those who follow her aswell, if it pleases the lady." Mina nodded, and they followed the man inside.

Jak had forgotten just how annoying polite company could be after hanging out with Ves and those bandit-like men called Explorers. It was actually mildly amusing that the so-called princess of Dorwine did not inspire in him some deep and heart rending annoyance, such as the one he'd often felt for the court back home.

Jak gritted his teeth at the thought of home. The moment of truth was growing nearer, and despite his attempt to keep a straight face, he felt his heart speed up and his palms grow warm and slightly damp.

Still, Jak did not let his anxiety show as he and Mina were led down a few well decorated hallways of the Mayors mansion. The decorations were rather curious, Jak thought. He'd passed several marble busts of various figures, but instead of a full body, these statues only possessed a torso and head, which was very odd indeed.

He raised his eyebrows at them, and the nameplates below the sculptures too. He recognized none of the names, an irksome thing.

"So Mikkel," Jak said as they were passing a particularly bust-heavy corridor, "Is it common practice to decorate your halls with so many marble busts?"

"No my lord, I do believe that our Mayor has a particular interest in historical relics and among them, he likes to collect busts of famous figures from the past." Mikkel said, ever the efficient servant as he led them up a wide flight of stairs carpeted with a red and white and very soft looking carpet.

"Sounds like Mayor Farnsworth is an interesting sort, I look forward to meeting him." Jak said, then he remembered Mina and the roles they were playing. "The lady too, of course." He added belatedly.

If Mikkel noticed his slip, the man didn't let on, ever the professional manservant. "Then soon you shall, my lord. Mayor Farnsworths private dining chamber is just up ahead." Mikkel said, and Jak nodded, following with Mina in tow, their hands still locked together. It was odd, the kinship he felt with her.

He supposed it was partly due to the fact that she was quiet and considerate, a far cry from most of his old friends in Sirion, like Sienna, Borg and Klines. Not only that, but the woman had an exotic air about her. She was a unique curiosity, and someone he would like to get to know better.

Now was not the time for that though, since they stood before heavy-set deep mahogany double doors, the wood carved with figures doing battle, their swords crossed.

Mikkel knocked thrice in a practiced pattern before entering to announce them. Jak and Mina followed behind him into the room.

"Ah my dear Mikkel, I see you've brought our guests. Come, sit, the both of you, please be welcome." A man said. His voice was neither deep nor thin and weak, but somewhere in between. His rather round face and padded body told of a life lived in comfort, and his grey hair betrayed his age though his face showed not too much wear. Mina let go of his hand and performed an elaborate bow, its specific style unknown to Jak.

Deciding he did not want to try to copy Mina and fail, making an ass out of himself, Jak instead performed the Dorwinian court bow he had practiced with his tutors.

When he rose from the bow, he could see the round-faced man, presumably the Mayor, smiling from across the room. "A man of culture, I see!" He all but shouted, waving them forward to the table. Jak was amused by the mans behaviour, but did not let his guard down so easily.

The table was oval and not terribly large, though about half of its seats were unoccupied. From the walls hung red tapestries and large gold-framed paintings depicting scenes of nature and from the ceiling hung a huge, shining chandelier.

Jak and Mina walked to the table and took the indicated seats opposite the Mayor.

The Mayor sat with his wife, whose hair was a bit tangled and her eyes still a bit bleary from sleep. She was an elegant looking woman who, despite her clearly mature age was still rather comely. By their side, a young girl no more than 10 watched him with wide, blue eyes and mouth hanging open, a little bit of drool running down one cheek.

The girl was flanked by two even younger boys, who wore matching outfits and seemed to be twins, the only feature to tell them apart being the way their black hair was arranged.

"This is my wife, Eliana, and my dearest daughter Ophilia." The mayor said, gesturing with his hand.

"And those two rascals would be the twins, Adrian and Tomilius." The boys in question looked over at Jak, and so he directed a grin and a conspiratorial wink their way as he proceeded to make his own introductions before sitting down next to Mina.

There were already plates infront of them, and some servants soon emerged with food.

"Do help yourselves. The scrambled eggs are good, but by gods the bacon this year is fine." The good natured mayor said.

Jak was taken aback by how this man acted, as he had expected him to be a sour, aloof figure playing off of his own position of power and interrogating them.

Yet he had welcomed them in his home, even brought them before his very kin. The odd behaviour made Jak cock his head sideways in contemplation, a gesture that did not go unnoticed by the people at the other end of the table.

"He-hello." The wide-eyed little darling girl said in the silence that followed. Jak nodded his head to the girl, a lock of his hair swishing across his vision like a black shadow.

"Why hello there little princess." Jak said, the girl staring awkwardly at him for a moment before she blushed. Jak couldn't help but chuckle at this, though the roundfaced mayor seemed a bit less amused and cleared his throat.

"So, what brings you here, Lady Bluerose of Rothinia. You are a long ways from Colla." Farnsworth said. "It is not every day one gets a visit from one of such an esteemed status. Around these parts it can be years before one of your people comes round, but I get the feeling you're not here for the Krematus Rak'ni."

Mina lowered her head briefly to acknowledge the Mayors words, and Jak pondered what this Rak'ni thing was. Krematus meant to burn in Dorwinian, and Rak'ni was a fruit Sirion was proud of producing in their oasises. What a strange name for a festival, or whatever it was.

To business then, Jak reminded himself as he looked over at Mina. She met his eyes and just stared for a moment before seeming to shake herself. Jak wondered if there was something wrong with his appearance, but before he could inquire about that, Mina flashed her digits and Jak took the liberty of becoming her voice.

"I, Mina Bluerose of Rothinia formally greet the Mayor Farnsworth and his family. I am here on the behest of a friend, though I know not what exactly it is he wants from you, I gather that its important to him and so I faciliated this meeting." Jak said, acting as a conduit for Mina.

The family sitting opposite them looked with curious eyes at Mina, then over at Jak.

"She does not speak?" Farnsworth said finally. "No, unfortunately not." Jak said. He felt himself scowling at the reminder. Perhaps this Mayor figure knew who had done this and where Jak could find him. He would gladly disembowel the fucker and choke him to death with his own entrails.

Farnsworths eyes widened, then he cleared his throat. "Ah yes, I see. So you've come at the behest of this friend of yous to inquire about something? Esteemed Lady Bluerose." The mayor said. Mina just nodded.

The steaming eggs and bacon that had just been placed discreetly on his plate by a servant, looked too appetizing to not taste. Mina had the same idea, and as one they wielded fork and knife to gently and carefully, and with great table manners mind you, take breakfast before the rather wealthy town Mayor. He was more like a duke, though Jak supposed that it would make sense for a wealthy merchant to be Mayor in a place like the trading city of Midshear.

"Good?" Little Ophilia said. Jak looked up to find her staring at him intensely and sighed. Although he was not one to shirk the attentions of any woman, one so young was a little bit troublesome.

It was good that there was a table between them, or Jak thought the girl might just plant herself on his knee. That would be a bit awkward, and he did not wish to incur the ire of a man from whom he wished to extract information.

Jak nodded and swallowed some nice, sizzling bacon, the smell and taste of the food causing him to produce more saliva than he normally would.

"It's very delicious, thank you." Jak said with a little smile to the girl. "Mina approves aswell." Jak added as he saw her digits flashing.

He decided he'd best get to the matter at hand, because although the Mayor had been nice so far, his family seemed a bit restless at their presence, and the guards subtly placed around the edge of the room were watchful indeed, hand never far from hilt or throwing knife.

"I will be frank, Mayor Farnsworth. I am the friend on whose behalf Mina has come and what I seek is information." Jak said.

"Nothing too confidential, I hope?" Farnsworth said, now more sober. "We are not exactly in a good state as of last week, you see. The only reason why you are here is because the kind of clout the priestesses of Rothinia have. Even out here we respect their ways and their healers above all else. And I may know a little something about a certain prodigious Bluerose healer."

Jak inclined his head towards the Mayor. " I know that to you I am but a strange, unknown man invading your home, but please be at ease, I swear in the name of my family that I shall not harm a hair on anyones heads whilst a guest in your home. "

Jak said, trying to reassure the man that he meant no harm. In truth Jak was surprised that this Mayor figure had so many guards.

His defenses were almost akin to those of a duke or duchess, and his grounds were impressive, so no doubt this Mayor mans holdings weren't insignificant.

He might even have the favour of whoever ruled Dorwine, since he seemed to be very well off and had command of a number of troops to boot. Jak gathered that this was probably highly unlikely for an ordinary Mayor, so his appreciation for the mans means only grew.

He was probably highly competent in his field and Jak was almost certain that that field involved trade and lots of gold.

Otherwise, how could someone of such low position have so many guards and such a large estate.

"I'm afraid that me and my companions have only just returned from the wilderness and so are ignorant of current events. That is part of the reason why I decided to come here in the first place. I knew a man of your stature must know a thing or two." Jak continued.

Mayor Farnsworth gazed over at Jak with a look of deep contemplation, his bright eyes shining with a cunning intellect that Jak could well appreciate, no doubt a merchants wily wit at work.

"My dear." The wife, Eliana said, speaking for the first time. "I think it best that we retire from the meal. The children has their tutoring to get to in preparation for the academy next year, and I'd rather not that they..." Eliana trailed off, her two elegantly trim eyebrows coming together in a frown.

Farnsworth shook himself, but then sat up straight. "Yes, you are right of course. Would the Lady Mina Bluerose and... lord Jak, care to join me for a walk in the gardens? We can discuss your needs there and I enjoy an early morning walk through the premises, especially when I need to think."

Jak looked over at Mina for her approval, she nodded and flashed her digits more for show than anything else, since she was going along with whatever Jak was planning. They still had to keep up the pretense of him deferring to her though, since apparently a priestess of Rothinia wielded considerable status.

"We will be delighted to accept your offer, Mayor Farnsworth." Jak said.