All on the Table

Tarmen stiffened at the man’s gaze, every fiber of his being demanding action as if he were under immediate attack. Those crimson orbs however, kept him still and he could only stare back his silent challenge to this man’s presence. His comment of something more… he didn’t like the sound of it, nor did he like hearing praise for ending the cult coming from him, especially with what sounded like a genuine interest to keep him on the side of the Inquisition and even join them.
He had to blink several times after the duke interrupted, getting his bearings and calming his nerves long enough to get the job done.

“As for the army, I am not sure if your own resources have informed you, but they are led by a Helian. We never got a good look of them though, as we were caught in a crossfire between the city guards and a rebellion. We were unsuccessful in retrievin’ the other piece of the artifact, but it was stolen by the rebels and last we saw it, it was headed towards Sentinel Island. Seems the savages worked out some sort of agreement, though without a reliable way there we can’t know what."

Tarmen had to work again at pulling his attention away from the man still standing in front of them, each moment under his eyes feeling like a full interrogation. It forced a memory that had been buried for a while, that of first meeting Voah. Being in her presence then had a similar pressure to it, but not nearly this focused, this... malicious. He focused on the Duke's scowl to ground him, reminding him of their purpose in being here.

"I was goin’ to inquire about venturin’ there, takin’ Greyriver with if things went sour. If the natives are workin’ with the savages, I might be able to get an audience since I learned a bit of their tongue and get the artifact there, as well as possible knowledge of the enemy army and their tactics.”

Tarmen wasn’t sure if it would be enough to convince them of their plan, especially with the man’s presence clearly making the Duke agitated. He only knew he could sell his report with the needed confidence and go from there, though he was now missing having someone to pray to.