>>6037992>>6038015>>6038167>>6038208>>6040859You grip the helm's wheel a little too tightly, lips pulled into a tight yet thankfully unseen line as you consider how to salvage the interaction. You already dedicated a good minute to the act of silence at this point, hopefully one that would give you an air of mystique, but you're unsure of how well it's working. Did you make the right call? Maybe you should have leaned into it to show confidence. Or maybe you should have changed the subject subtly, controlling the flow of the conversation.
You slowly start to frown under your mask, brow furrowing. Sometimes, you wish you were as socially capable as Ramza was. Or at least as carefree as Gigas, if nothing else.
<span class="mu-r">Meanwhile, outside of the Eye.</span>
You are Gigas, and there's nothing in the world that could upset you right now. It's going to be a good day, because you <span class="mu-s">say</span> it's going to be one. Who is the day to go against the mighty Gigas' wishes? Nobody, that's who.
Right now, you've been tasked with recruiting one of your fellow Gaoth that seems to be imprisoned by the local guards. You're not really sure how you're going to do that, but like always, you'll just play things by ear. For now, you think that visiting the guy and seeing if he's even open to the idea of recruitment first is probably the smartest move.
The prison itself is not, as you thought, in the Eye itself. No, it's actually entered through an unassuming set of stone stairs outside of the Guard's docks, as one of the Guards politely points out to you when you ask. Some kind of underground dungeon, then? An odd choice, but who are you to judge - you're sure they have some kind of structural or security reason for it.
"Halt!" The duo of guards at the top of the entryway say simultaneously. "State your business, sir."
"...Visitation?" You say with a shrug. "I'm here to speak to a specific prisoner, Doric."
The guards look at one another, before nodding. "You have five minutes then. And it'll just be you - we restrict visitors to one at a time, to prevent any funny business."
"Makes sense. What about the timer?" You ask curiously.
"People used to abuse the lack of one and kept everyone else waiting for their turn." One guard shakes his head with a sigh. "You can just go back down if nobody's come for visitation once you're time's done. Just consider it a checkup if that happens."
"Great!" You beam.
"Right, follow me then." The guard waves towards himself as he turns around and starts marching down the stairs. You fall in after him, noting that the stairs have a bit of a curve to them - you're going some kind of a spiral staircase, you think. A big one though, wide enough to fit three of yourself shoulder to shoulder.
