Post by Deleted on Sept 14, 2023 6:19:03 GMT -5
“Oh.” Ber blinked at Ben, at the revelation that indulging his curiosity about new places counted as a hobby, then grinned. “Guess I do have a hobby then, though I don’t know about the books.” And no desire to change that, either. Thom and Temperance could say what they wanted, but reading was more of a headache than anything else and certainly nothing written on a page could be worth the effort it took to decipher it. People were far better sources - and it seemed the other man agreed.
Weathering the now-familiar dull ache at the mention of Dresmond, Ber listened and nodded along as Ben summarized the various ways he could learn about the other kingdoms. Not one for understanding or appreciating the political machinations of Nevermere’s elite, he had never quite stopped to appreciate how connected the royals were to other kingdoms. Even if he rather hoped that Princess Ophelia had forgotten him and their unfortunate encounter, Ber had no expectation that either Queen Iliana or Prince Akagi would remember the commoner soldier with whom they had so briefly spoken. But Dresmond? His lips twitched upward. “Believe it or not,” He said, aiming for casual but probably sounding a little more sheepish. He scratched the back of his neck. “I actually know a lot about Dresmond already, so, uh, if you’ve got any questions...” A shrug. In all likelihood, the many months spent in Zevran’s company had more than prepared Ber for answering them.
Hunting, exploring caves, and socializing. “You do a lot of different things,” He mused, impressed though perhaps not entirely surprised. Nobility had its perks, but he was in no mood tonight to linger on the unfair distribution of wealth. “I didn’t know there were many caves around here to check out. Thought maybe the woods just kept going.” Watching Ben take a drink prompted Ber to reach for his cup to do the same, only to belatedly recall that he had finished his a while back and had yet to refill it. Mention of the Midnight House and the opportunities for physical exploration it provided had something of a smirk ghosting across his face.
“So I’ve heard,” He said, remembering with some mixture of exasperation and amusement of the time when Duncan had sung his praises of one of the women there after his friend’s first visit. Ber’s only escapade into that particular establishment had been a disastrous attempt to figure out a little more about Ravin after Malsumis had destroyed Temperance’s greenhouse, but instead of discovering anything useful, he found only Lieutenant Abbott eating a meal, presumably having recently finished with some horizontal adventures of his own. “Though I guess you probably don’t get around there much these days.” Although more men than Ber could count undoubtedly stole away in the dead of night, the royal guard sitting beside him didn’t seem the type to be anything but loyal to his wife. A genuinely good man of the variety that the world did not often produce, one who wouldn’t hurt someone he cared about by cheating.
Grabbing his own cup, Ber showed him the emptiness and gestured to Ben’s. “Need a refill or anything?”