A wry grimace wormed its way across Jintaru’s face, he knew that Nomi could tell that his remarks and attempts at goading a reaction from him were sinking in but he’d be damned if he was going to make it easy for the blind man. 

[color=orangered]“Why does my having a business partner come a surprise to you. Until recently, you’ve been the antisocial one."[/color]

His own jibe released, Jintaru filled the small porcelain cup with more sake and took a sip. It truly was good sake but after knocking back three cups in no time at all, he decided to slow the pace down. He swilled the liquid around the ornate vessel, watching the miniature tidal waves roll around its edges. The liquid danced and roiled within the cup and he mused very briefly on how elegance could be found in the simplest things. Without looking up, he continued.

[color=orangered]“As far as visiting Ornestoro, I wouldn’t bother. Ornestoro doesn’t trust nor do business with strangers on account of the fact that the last stranger he met had been sent to kill him. Without a way in, he would never meet with you.”[/color]

Jintaru allowed what Nomi had said about seeking information on him being a waste of time to wash over him. He would come to roll the phrase around his mind for some time afterwards, however. Nomi had the habit of doing and saying things deliberately to evoke a reaction from him and this could very well have been simply one of those things. Nomi knew a lot about him, after all, they had known each other for more years than Jintaru cared to recollect, but he didn’t know everything. At least, he hoped he didn’t. Then came the challenge. This permeated the vague reverie in which Jintaru had momentarily shrouded himself. He was centered again. He placed the stem of the pipe between hi teeth and drew on it. The amber of the burning herbs pulsed within the bowl and he drew the fragrant smoke deep into his lungs before letting it billow slowly out over his lips.

[color=orangered]“Perhaps you could stop me getting to him, perhaps you couldn’t. But I know, as quick and skilled as you are, you couldn’t stop an arrow. I could have one nocked, drawn and loosed before you could stand. But don’t worry, Yanimura, I have no interest in harming this man on a whim. And I agree with you, only a coward would carry a concealed weapon. I’ve made no secret of mine, Nomi. I walked up with my sword belt on and my bow on my back. I have concealed nothing. However, only a fool would warn his opponent before he attacks.”[/color]

He smiled again, taking another sip of sake. He looked at Nomi’s arms and face. Despite being scarred and battle-worn, his silver-haired companion still had an air of youth about him, a look that he had found missing in himself when washing in the stream earlier that morning. The tracks and welts on his face were deep, in places, wounds that may very well have killed him on another day. The smooth, shining skin of scars ran roughshod across his brow, cheeks and jaw. A small sliver of his upper lip was missing completely and he knew his body told a similar tragic story. He wasn’t ashamed of them, rather the things he had done in order to get them. She would have been ashamed, her and Chahatsu both.

[color=orangered]“Your arrogance in ever matter is only matched by your ignorance in this one, Yanimura. I didn’t keep the Czentulu’s gold. I had no need for it. It turns out Ornestoro put a higher value on keeping his life than did those of had sent me to take it. I sent their gold back to them, along with the heads of the men they had sent to accompany me. I had no moral standpoint in that war or any war I have fought in since. I didn’t care who was victorious, I still don’t.”[/color] He drew on his pipe once again. [color=orangered]“What I care about is how much a person is going to pay me to aid in that victory. There is no such thing as betrayal when loyalty is bought.”[/color]

He sat back, calming the fire in his blood once again with another deep draw on his pipe. It was times like this that made his grateful that he had included lavender in his herb blend. When the man revealed the scroll fragment, that fire went out. It was replaced by a cold urgency, not fear, but a distant cousin. He was suddenly alert and things started to make sense. When he first emerged from the forest and felt Nomi’s presence, there was a pall in the air, subtle but noticeable. Now, with the source of this aura sat right in front of him, it was an onslaught for his senses. This wasn’t just magic, this felt like old magic, the type that was around at the time of the Gods. It practically bled power, its energy spilling through the cracks of the table. He sat back and let his hands fall from the table and into his lap.

[color=orangered]“Where did you get this and why in the Hells did you bring it to me?”[/color]