Even with the joke about hiding, Hawke's practically radiating tiredness. And the complaint helps solidify Emmrich's certainty that this is a living being. A worn-out living being, who has been here much too long.
"People change, the world changes, and sometimes it's for the better," Emmrich says quietly. "She thought you were lost to the Fade, and sometimes loss can spur someone on. It was a reasonable assumption, because yes, unprecedented. This long in the Fade..."
He shakes his head. "I'm glad to have been wrong, as is she, and I won't hold you to making this worth my while. Protecting the living and otherwise is my life's work, my calling."
While fear of death trips him up and sometimes even holds him back, it's something he can move past when someone else's existence is at risk. Emmrich is at peace when there's someone to protect. And now he has someone to escort out of danger. Someone who is handsome and still half-naked, no less, which he's trying not to think too hard on. Even though Hawke is a mage, Emmrich knows trying to teach him how to actively manifest different clothing would be a waste of time. It's taken him years to learn how to summon an illusory cup of tea.
Emmrich takes Hawke's hand and shakes it, also trying not to think too hard about how firm and warm the grip is. "I'm a professor, as I said, and my students are in their late teens and early twenties. I believe any ineptitude you may possess will still seem like the epitome of competence itself. It's hardly like you're about to attempt to summon a spirit of memory into an exam hall and instead summon five spirits of mischief."
Now that had been chaos. Emmrich hopes the memory also helps a little with Hawke's exhaustion. Amusement can do a great deal for someone worn down, and he has countless more anecdotes where that comes from.
"The river's a beginning." Emmrich gestures again, another elegant, sweeping extension of an arm, and two of the wisps zipped off down the river at top speed. The remaining ones start to lead Emmrich and Hawke in the direction the two vanished. "Things in the Fade are ever-shifting, and rarely what they seem. But geography markers like that, large and seemingly never-ending, tend to be somewhat what they seem. And they also tend to be unclaimed, which is good news for us. Let's."
He sets off after the wisps, trusting their guidance. Enough of them had responded to his call that he can be certain none were sent by something wanting to feast or possess.
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"People change, the world changes, and sometimes it's for the better," Emmrich says quietly. "She thought you were lost to the Fade, and sometimes loss can spur someone on. It was a reasonable assumption, because yes, unprecedented. This long in the Fade..."
He shakes his head. "I'm glad to have been wrong, as is she, and I won't hold you to making this worth my while. Protecting the living and otherwise is my life's work, my calling."
While fear of death trips him up and sometimes even holds him back, it's something he can move past when someone else's existence is at risk. Emmrich is at peace when there's someone to protect. And now he has someone to escort out of danger. Someone who is handsome and still half-naked, no less, which he's trying not to think too hard on. Even though Hawke is a mage, Emmrich knows trying to teach him how to actively manifest different clothing would be a waste of time. It's taken him years to learn how to summon an illusory cup of tea.
Emmrich takes Hawke's hand and shakes it, also trying not to think too hard about how firm and warm the grip is. "I'm a professor, as I said, and my students are in their late teens and early twenties. I believe any ineptitude you may possess will still seem like the epitome of competence itself. It's hardly like you're about to attempt to summon a spirit of memory into an exam hall and instead summon five spirits of mischief."
Now that had been chaos. Emmrich hopes the memory also helps a little with Hawke's exhaustion. Amusement can do a great deal for someone worn down, and he has countless more anecdotes where that comes from.
"The river's a beginning." Emmrich gestures again, another elegant, sweeping extension of an arm, and two of the wisps zipped off down the river at top speed. The remaining ones start to lead Emmrich and Hawke in the direction the two vanished. "Things in the Fade are ever-shifting, and rarely what they seem. But geography markers like that, large and seemingly never-ending, tend to be somewhat what they seem. And they also tend to be unclaimed, which is good news for us. Let's."
He sets off after the wisps, trusting their guidance. Enough of them had responded to his call that he can be certain none were sent by something wanting to feast or possess.