Only to be intercepted by the small, brown haired, mousey little man who snored like he was sawing wood. Druss gave him a polite smile and bowed, sweeping his hand out to one side as he indicated that Nevin should follow him.
“Lord Vitruvion would like for you to join him in his private study. If you would be so kind as to follow me, I will guide you there and then send someone to bring you both refreshments.” Well, this was concerning, but there was no way he could reject the request, not after the white haired individual had been kind enough to allow Stare to accompany him into the forest. Nevin didn’t doubt that if he had wanted to, he could have easily had someone else join Stare in hunting for that beast, at a later time. So, the redhead nodded and followed after Druss as the quiet man led the way.
Back they went, through a hallway and back into the library. This time, Nevin was guided to the set of double doors that was set into one end of the room. Druss knocked firmly on the door and waited until a soft, imperious voice said to enter - then the butler bowed to the alchemist and left, saying he would be back shortly with some small refreshments. Nevin looked down and adjusted his tunic, then took a deep breath and entered.
Vitruvion was on the left, sitting behind a desk that had papers strewn across it, the sign of a busy individual. He didn’t look up right away as Nevin entered, his long, well groomed white hair falling in a curtain around his face as he focused on documents on the table. Nevin looked around the room slowly as he waited. On his right was a bookshelf filled with what looked like heavy tomes, and a stool was set up near a large window looking out on the front walk. The wood in this entire chamber was matched oak, everything was set up neatly and orderly, and was a clear sign of a well-appointed room.
“You wanted to see me, Sir Elssmith?” Nevin waited until Vitruvion had paused in his work, setting the fountain pen down on a small stand. The man folded his hands on top of the desk and turned his gaze towards Nevin, staring steadily at the alchemist.
Slowly he breathed in and indicated to the door. It creaked for a moment, then shuddered closed as if on its own accord. Rolling his shoulders back he let a short silence continue as he studied the man, then, for the second time, and tried to poke at the mind. But once more there was a large amount of harsh resistance. Perhaps even more than before.
“I want to know exactly what is going on,” he said quietly. “You explained to Stare that you have powers from another realm, another world,” his eyes narrowed slightly with the reminder that there were other planets. “But you also have other magic within you. It got stronger in the church. Much stronger. And Stare's eyes never lie.”
Pressing his fingers tightly together he let his breath go on steadily, and prepared to do whatever magic he needed to protect himself.
