Sett's sleep was rather fitful, though it calmed as the night went on. Good, then, that nobody else had shared a room with him to be disturbed by his motions. By the time he awoke, roused by the odd noises rattling around the Madame Alice's quarters, he was feeling much calmer. Indeed, he was more able, as he took care of basic amenities that morning, such as prayer, and for the first time in a little while bathing, to think back over what Nicademus had said the previous evening with a clear mind.

In the first instance, he remained annoyed at how readily the guard captain had just brushed off his honeyed words. He'd put quite some effort into that speech, after all. However, the annoyance was not that of mere offense, he realised, but rather it combined with how impertinently sharp Nicademus was. He had to be especially careful around him; he rather felt some of the other members of the party were already too suspicious of him, and he'd hardly done anything worth drawing suspicion to begin with. Nothing stolen from anybody, only items pulled from their place when he'd been sure nobody was looking... honestly, he wondered whether Fineki was annoyed with him for not taking [i]more[/i] chances.

And in the second, it struck him that perhaps he'd been a bit too cruel in his mind toward the guard's plight. Even if he hadn't technically been "tortured" as a prisoner- and that was a debate for a church, whether whipping and chains yet counted as torture, or whether such pains needed to be more protracted than that- he had indeed lost both his home town and his family to the Dark Elf scourge. To discount that merely because he portrayed himself as too much of a victim...

...yet, in the third instance, he found he could not forgive how he merely ignored the possibility that others had also been tormented by their foul clutches. Not that sympathy fell more handily on Aeryn for any reason of race or gender, nor that Nicademus' credibility was in question, but unlike the guard, she'd proven without doubt she was a victim to the group. They'd encountered her, in chains, about to be executed simply for being half-breed. Was he perhaps letting some aspect of her being reach him where Nicademus had failed to reach with his first impression? Well, maybe. He reiterated to himself that his first impression hadn't been the best, then resolved to try and find some spark of goodwill toward the guardsman.

Breakfast found itself a simple affair, fruits and bread and a small amount of meat. He wasn't used to exceptionally heavy meals, even whilst he was still ensconced at the Church of Fineki, for despite everything that branch of the cult remained only middling in wealth; his rations were about the richest thing he'd ever consumed in large quantity, to an extent reserved for the most action-intensive days of his trip thus far. And truthfully, whilst he was at least forced to shift his weight when it came to assisting the settlement, he didn't intend this day to be too rough on himself.

Well, at least until the message reached him about their meeting out front. Apparently, they were to go on a hike in search of any nearby Dark Elf settlements - or, perhaps, at least signs that they might be poised to strike back against the party, with the town as consequent collateral damage. Though Alice's statement made sense, Nicademus' next action was simply [i]weird[/i] - pleading, nay, literally begging on hands and knees that they help the people of the town, for they didn't deserve to be enslaved simply because those who had fought the Dark Elves before rested there. And that, despite his foul attitude just the day before!

[i]I... don't think I can read him at all, at least not yet,[/i] Sett wondered, frowning despite himself. What was he supposed to make of that sort of attitude? Incensed by their mere presence one day, fearful that they'd fail to help the next? Though, both could be explained by the common trait that was "protective of those he cared for", which was at least a positive aspect of Nicademus' persona. Even then, Sett rather felt the urge not to follow after him. Remaining in his presence seemed like it could well end in disaster, depending on how they turned out.

It turned out Aeryn was his saving grace there, citing very emotionally why she really, really didn't want to ever encounter another Dark Elf again, at least not on their home turf. Where one set a precedent, then, the second merely made the option more viable - and unlike her, he could in fact expand with a logical argument for leaving some behind at the village, based on something she'd said probably as an afterthought to her main point.

'Actually, Aeryn does make a fair point,' he began to speak, minding his phrasing just in case somebody had the gall to tell him off again the way Nicademus had previously - though in truth, the man had already vanished, seeking arms and armour for himself in preparation. 'Think ill of me as you will for saying so, but I believe it's fair to state that I am but a priest, and thus the least helpful in a combative situation... directly, that is. I can, of course, offer divine assistance, but there is only so much I can offer to a small group when the gods see fit to offer but a limited portion of their strength.

'On the other hand, of course,' he explained most reasonably, 'with quite a fixture of guards present in this town, one ritual cast can potentially go much further, distributed among so many. Enhancing their speed, their strength, their durability, their agility...' Their luck and fortune he did not say out loud. 'And of course, it could well be, as Aeryn stated, that the Dark Elves are waiting for us to leave before enacting a strike against a village they then perceive to be poorly defended, maybe even specifically to spite somebody like Nicademus. I say again, the effect of these rituals expands more effectively amongst many fighters than few, and there are very many guards within this village.

'That said, of course I would never deny anyone here a [i]long-lasting[/i] blessing of divine favour...' At this, he grabbed a nearby stick and began crafting such a ritual circle in the ground immediately, though technically the ritual was for Fineki-granted luck, rather than general divine favour. He lacked his ritual daggers at the moment, so the stick would have to do - and it wasn't doing so badly, after all. Really, any point did a decent job, though the daggers had special symbolic significance that he hoped Fineki would overlook a lack of just this once. He could only assume Captain Nicademus would want to receive this blessing, too, once he returned.

[@POOHEAD189][@Gardevoiran][@The Fated Fallen][@Fetzen][@Stormflyx][@Mortarion]