The scent from the herbs that Jintaru smoked could easily be smelled by the blind man. He could probably have caught this scent from the other side of the tavern, but being this close to the man as he puffed on that pipe, did make the silver-haired man's mind wander. The concoction of herbs within that pipe... It was an odd mix at that. It wasn't just your typical tobacco and even if it was, the blind man questioned where the 'monk' would have earned the coin to be able to purchase it. The answer was obvious and as clear as the blue skies overhead. If the man with the shaven-head was to earn money in any way, it was be via his profession, his way of life, the way of the sword. Nomi knew that the only man Jintaru would consider a lord, was no longer part of this world. It was the 'real friend' he had mentioned earlier on during their meeting. If that man was still alive, would the pipe-smoking man be in a suit of armour, a head full of hair, clean washed and tied back neatly, standing beside the throne of the man he called 'friend'?

[color=teal][i]What a waste...[/i][/color]
Nomi thought to himself as he 'watched' the man puff on his pipe, smelling the smoke seconds before the breeze took hold and cast it away into the air. His thought returned to him as Jintaru spoke up, asking why it was a surprise that he had an associate. The blind man just smiled and tilted his head slightly to the right, grinning wider when told he was the antisocial once. The 'monk' spoke the truth. Nomi always travelled alone, always fought alone. He was on his own side and no one else’s.
[color=teal]”Until recently you say? What of the time I joined your little circus fool and his large green freak, the pathetic woman from the castle and all those other imbeciles? I wouldn't call that being antisocial.”[/color]
The silver-haired man drummed his fingers of both hands on the tabletop, the wooden tapping causing the jasmine-scented waitress to peer over towards the table in case that was one of Nomi's ways of getting her attention, but she vanished back inside the tavern after she finished bringing some tea to an elderly couple who had moved outside the tavern to enjoy the sunshine.

[color=teal]”Was the last stranger Ornestoro met, you by any chance? Oh and I warn you not to say things as 'without a way in', because you don't know if I might be in the mood for a challenge.”[/color]
Nomi cocked his head back and flashed a bright but sinister smile at the 'monk'. The blind man tugged his right arm up and took hold of his sake bottle, tilting it over his white porcelain cup and listening to the liquor gently plish out. As the shaven-headed man spoke of him being able to draw, notch and release an arrow before the blind man could stand, Nomi nodded his head in agreement, a look of sincerity on his face.
[color=teal]”I reckon you could manage to do that, yes. Believe it or not, I've not fought since the war ended. I feel a little rusty.”[/color]
The silver-haired man rested both his elbows on the table, cupped one hand over the other and then lay his chin upon his hands, keeping his face in Jintaru's direction but his ears were locked onto the man with the hidden dagger, feeling him flinch ever more when the 'monk' spoke of men who hid weapons being cowards. There should be no more threat of him doing anything stupid from here on out, especially with two men nearby who were fully aware of what was hidden upon his person. The feeling made the blind man grin.

However the next set of words that spilled from the sake and herb smoked breath of Jintaru were words that did not belong to the man. Nomi frowned, visibly so at that and he pushed himself back off the table, sitting up straight where he crossed both his arms across his chest. Was this a lie to try and make the blind man doubt what he knew of his 'old friend'? No, he would not lie about things such as this. War had always plagued him and it was war that took his family from him. But there was something odd here, something that was nagging the deepest part of the blind man's mind, so deep that he was unable to scratch it. There must have been something that this 'Ornestoro' stranger had done or said to the 'monk'. Jintaru, going back on a Houses demands all because of gold? Since when did this man ever have need for gold?! Nomi didn't look impressed as his mind was clearly working hard on trying to figure this all out. Perhaps there wasn't anything to figure out and this man that sat before him was just as mysterious and unpredictable as the blind man himself was? No, that's not true. Jintaru was a gullible fool in the past. Something must have happened to him since the day everyone went their own way. Since before the last war had started.
[color=teal]”You're a sell-sword now? What's become of the honour, the respect, the loyalty? These words you speak, they are not of the man I once knew. What happened to you?”[/color]

After having 'watched' and indeed felt the change within the 'monk' upon the reveal of scroll fragment, Nomi's smirk once more spread across his face. He leaned forth and coiled his fingers about the fragment, gently picking it up off the table before folding it up neatly and carefully within both hands. The power resonating from it was indeed of magic long forgotten, the text in a tongue that too was long forgotten. With as much care as handling a new born child, Nomi returned the scroll fragment back into his satchel, which was closed and fastened securely before both his hands were returned to the table. The veins within his fingers and across his palms had turned a darker shade of blue, close to black, like ink was surging through his veins. They returned to normal when basked in the sunlight however and Nomi just couldn't stop himself from grinning.
[color=teal]”I didn't lie when I said I hadn't fought since the last war. No, I was within Mor Sgiathatch, the Black Mountain far to the north where the Gurtha Orcs roam.”[/color]
The blind man rose his right arm from the table and pointed a finger out across the farmlands that surrounded them. There was nothing on the horizon, just endless plains as far as the eye could see. Mor Sgiathatch was roughly a two month walk from here. Nomi redirected his pointing finger to the satchel beside his stool.
[color=teal]”I found that there. I wonder if Ornestoro can confirm my suspicions on what I think that image is of? This is why I revealed it to you. There was something telling me in the back of my mind that you had to this this scroll, at this place, on this day. Now I think Ornestoro is the man who can point me in the next direction.”[/color]