the lonely mountain

Her stories of the lands she had explored came to him readily, and in a way Mordecai found he was less than prepared for the deluge of imagery that followed. There was more flair in Justice's life than had been in his own, though in a way, Mordecai could have probably told stories to match hers. He had never gone to Seahawk Valley, though in a way he wished he would have. He had tried to seek out the Salvajes and the Neve, but failed. All in all, the path that he had taken to the Wilds themselves went everywhere but where he had ever intended it to go. But only because he had never intended to go anywhere but where his feet led him.

So he let her speak, let her lie everything out across the proverbial table to gather what he could from her tale. Most of all, he gathered that she had been lingering near their borders for some time, if she had been able to ascertain his ability to take anyone in. The notion stirred a sense of awkwardness in his silence, which tapered quickly at her the end of her query. “I see you still don't waste any time,” he said with a chuckle. His memories of her were few and far between, but Mordecai could not avoid the insistence he saw in her now. She had direction and did not hesitate to reach for what she wanted to succeed with.

Pacing forward a few more steps, he gestured her to come along with a smile. “Tell me more about this Kadezj,” he prompted gently. Justice he had no qualms about taking, but given her story… he wanted to be sure what he was letting her get him into. Her oath was her own, not his, and as it were, Mordecai found he was trying very hard to avoid any more turbulence in the Spine.