Food preparation was a nice distraction. Nanami was glad she'd included that sixth trial now - a bit of fun went a long way towards making an otherwise dull day tolerable.

Well, it wasn't like today was shaping up to be that dull either, though. It had been a while since someone had completed the trials. Things had gotten dreadfully boring since that annoying dragonclad man had started hiring others for his dirty work - he hadn't been good company when he'd attempted to fight her, but at least he had actually responded when she tried to make conversation. Hired assassins were inevitably grimly determined and determined to be grim, facing their ends in silence. That was fine if that was how they preferred to die, but it did leave her wishing somebody more lively popped up. Was it too much to ask that one of the Maniwacs had followed her along the cycle of Samsara?

She hummed as she lit the fire and left the pot to boil, setting about preparing the rest of the ingredients, cutting up the roots and berries into thin slices and separating out the leaves. If she wanted this to go correctly then this, that and... Oh, the cloaked man had even gathered a Toadberry - really going above and beyond there. It was a good thing he wore gloves, or that might have been quite dangerous for him. She carefully set that aside - it wasn't the kind of thing one put in a meal like this, much as its smell would help. Toadberries had a unique aroma with a rotting sweetness to it, so it was a shame - but she would have to stick to plants that produced the fragrances she wanted without poisoning her guest.

With the salad prepared, she set about grinding some roots into dust and sprinkled it into the mugs, then did the same for the Archleaves, and poured the now boiling water on top. The thin, bitter scent that wafted up told her she had prepared things correctly. She then separated out the salad into two bowls, and set the table. She wasn't actually hungry, and it was unlikely she'd bother to eat today at all, but leaving a guest to eat alone was rude, she was pretty sure. She had an image to maintain as the head of the household, even if only to herself.

She took a moment to examine her guest, or what little she could see of him, anyway. The enormous black cloak covered the man from head to toe, except for a large patch that was missing on his left side. She wondered what happened to it.

Thanks to that patch, she could see the man wore dark black trousers. Somebody had a preference. She could just about make out a pair of dark blue eyes underneath the cloak's hood, and a face that looked slightly sunken and gaunt. She eyed the object wrapped in white cloth that hung on his back with a little interest. A backup staff, perhaps?

The cloaked man - Garnet, maybe? - asked some inane questions about how she lit the fire and her sword swings, but then he noticed something interesting when he sipped the tea.

"How come I can taste this?" He asked, drinking of it a little more deeply.

"So you noticed," She replied. It had taken her a while to get that particular combination right - a scent subtle enough to not assault the nose, but dense enough that even an Undead's deadened senses could experience 'taste'. She was sure he'd assumed she knew already, but it was nice of him to confirm he was Undead too. "Well, even when you think you're tasting something most of it comes down to smell, really. Of course, those parts of an Undead's senses are deadened too, but if you prepare something with that in mind and prioritise scent and texture… It's not that impressive, honestly. I have too much time on my hands out here, and little enough to spend it on that I can afford to develop a recipe like this."

Though time could only help so much when she lacked test subjects… That dragonclad man wasn't even an Undead, and the people he'd started hiring died too quickly for her to try to make them drink tea. Undead rarely appeared in Yusi of their own accord, too. Something about the Inert Chaos, she supposed. Her musing gave Garnish enough time to think of another question.

"I guess that raises another question for me. If you have so much time on your hands, why do you spend your days in the Run-offs?"

"That's a rather insulting name, don't you think?" She noted, smiling. His movements stiffened immediately, and he'd left his right shoulder open too. Was that perhaps his defensive stance? How sad. If she and Garniture over here ended up travelling together, she'd have to think of a way to correct that. Maybe if she broke that shoulder… No, too indirect. She'd bring it up first and if he insisted on sticking with his bad habits she'd revisit other methods.

"My apologies. I've never been to this place before, and information about it is scarce in other lands. I can only go by the name I've heard others use most commonly." He responded quickly. Really, so much more polite than most of her guests. She supposed she should answer his questions in kind.

"Apology accepted. The local people call the area Yusi, though before all this formed, this region was called Melbion. One of three that were consumed by the swamp when it formed. As for why… It holds memories. That's all, really." Too many memories, if she was being honest. But some good ones, too.

She watched as Garnetiferous ate the berry slices, trying to recall what his actual name was. He'd definitely introduced himself, and she was sure it started with a G, but that was as far as she'd gotten so far. Poor manners on her part, honestly, but the cloaked man had looked so unsteady when he stepped into her clearing, she was honestly surprised when he dodged the final trial.

Stiil, she wanted to address the matter of why he was here directly, what he intended to accomplish, but doing so without knowing his name would be embarrassing. She wasn't prepared to ask a second time, either. Gar… something. Garth…? Garni…?

Maybe if she just moved past it fast enough, he wouldn't notice…

"Let's cut to the chase, though. Why are you here?"

Oh, that one threw him for a loop. They'd been sitting in silence for a while, she supposed, so she gave him time to collect his thoughts.

"To… acquire the Imaginary Sword?" He ventured, and that was a fair enough answer. She hadn't been very clear.

"I mean why do you want to wield me," She clarified, "It sounds liked you'd scoured quite a few books just to find a location and a misshapen title. Not to mention going through all the trials. Nobody would do something like that for no reason, so you must have something in mind."

It was something she'd been keeping in the back of her mind for a little bit now. He had been surprisingly open about his status as an Undead, but otherwise there was very little to pick up on from him. A hood with a face covering, a black cloak that covered his entire body, and the faint traces of dark, hollowed skin around sunken eyes… The only thing she could be sure of is that he wasn't from any of the regions in Yusi, and that was also something he'd stated outright. Judging by the sorcery staff he carried, maybe he was from that library tower in the mountains, but if he was a scholar from there she'd have expected him to know about the insulting connotations of 'the Run-offs'. His apology was too genuine for that, so… A scholar from overseas?

"Oh, that makes more sense…" he muttered, relaxing a little, "Sorry, the journey here and your trials have left me a little tired. There's hardly any bonfires around, either."

"The Inert Chaos forms over where they usually would. It's too much effort to bother with, but if you damage it sufficiently, a bonfire will sometimes form afterwards… If the Chaos doesn't well back up first, anyway." She waved a hand dismissively, "So, your reason?"

The cloaked man paused to consider that.

"Do you wish for a quick overview for now, or the details too?"

"Anything and everything. I'm curious." About his story, and about why he was stalling like this.

Garton took a breath, and began his story.

"I'm sure you've noticed by now, but Caerdiaeth is in a poor state. Galou is hunting its own citizens, the underground of Bashiokan is as isolationist as ever, and the Archive still refuses to adapt, centuries after its Shatterfall. You're more familiar with the- Yusi's problems than I am, but all the same. It's, ah, rather hostile to newcomers. I'm not sure if you get correspondence from Drang here somehow, but let me assure you, they are not doing much better. The world is on a steady decline, and the Lords are too busy keeping their war going to bother doing anything about it. I… want to collect the four Lord's Blades, to do something about it."

He paused again. Nanami gestured for him to go on, as pointless as it seemed.

"I've been hunted for a while because of that. It made me desperate - desperate enough that I started looking for any advantage I could find. Researching the Empty Sword and its possible whereabouts wasn't easy, obviously. I wasn't expecting you, either. Still, that might be for the best… A strong ally would be a lot better than a powerful sword. So, will you help me?"

Definitely pointless. Between the pauses and dancing around the point like this, Nanami was sure now. Whatever his motives were, he was hiding something about his goals. It wasn't anything specific about what he said, just…

It was the way he said it, she supposed. The things he was saying were clearly self-justifications for his real goal, and he was exceptionally well-practiced at self-justification, she could tell. But if he was this used to justifying it, his true goal must be truly reprehensible to others…

Oh, she was really curious now.

…it was unlikely she'd get good results out of trying to press him, though, and he was an Undead - threatening him physically could only go so far. She wasn't that interested in doing so, anyway.

Garou had already passed her trials, after all. Still, she really wanted to know. If he wasn't going to talk about it to her, maybe he'd be a little more open if he thought he was alone… It was annoying, resorting to something like this, but oh well.

"Sorry, in that case I'll have to refuse."

He stopped, and then his expression crumpled in on itself. Even with the full face covering, she could tell. The way the firelight illuminated It was pretty funny, actually.

He went to speak.

"I judged your motives and found them wanting, but this isn't actually a courtroom, you know? You don't get an appeal or a retrial. Shoo. Go on. You're wasting night-light." Nanami got there first, dismissing him with a wave of her hand, and noticed he tracked the movement with wide eyes. Heh.

"Is there really nothing…?" He began, and his voice sounded small.

"Shoo. Go find yourself a better motivation, okay?" She replied. She was starting to get a little impatient.

Grant got up silently, cloak mostly trailing behind him as he walked out. She watched him go, and went up to the door to make sure he actually left. This would be a little pointless if he just decided to hang around, after all.

He did genuinely depart, though. Didn't even look back once, as he disappeared back out into the fog. Make them clear a few trials and some people got so dramatic, honestly. Nanami sighed. After all, she wasn't actually abandoning him or anything.

Time for step two of her plan. Covertly follow him around until his belief in his privacy made him let something slip, or until he got into serious danger. In the first, she'd get her answers. In the second, she'd save his life and then leverage his gratitude to get her answers. It was a good plan, she thought.

Probably. It was a little too late to get a new one, anyway.

Once he'd gotten enough of a headstart, she stepped out of the clearing and into the mist, ready to trail after him.

Now, which way did Garrote go…?

That way, Nanami decided, and confidently started walking in the wrong direction.

Estea

Tea brewed by Yasuri Nanami, meant for consumption by the Undead.

It has a slight, yet fragrant aroma that overpowers an ordinary person's sense of smell, and just barely manages to produce a sensation of taste for an Undead. A praiseworthy effort, and one that no doubt took years of careful fine-tuning.