@thcmage
Starter with Siebren Sigma's Fable 2 verse.
Conjugal visits were a wonderful thing — though we used the term "conjugal" very loosely here. Of course, these were a courtesy Lucien only offered to the Samarkand scholar so he could mock the man. Sigma couldn't judge. Was he not about to do practically the same? So much work he had, and yet he made time for this. He generally only stole a glance at the cell Lucien had trapped Garth in while passing by, despite this part of the Spire being a detour from the way to his workplace. He didn't know why, and he didn't bother to figure it out. Today, however, was different. Sigma had paused. He stood there, only grounded because he willed it so, silently regarding the man he once considered a good colleague, perhaps even a friend. Friend? Colleague? A man whose presence he had enjoyed in the past.
It was quite the manhunt Lucien had sent forth to reclaim Garth. To think it had almost been interrupted. Sigma would not have sen this man anymore, outside his far too loud mind, and perhaps the violent confrontation Lucien would have sent him off to in retaliation.
"It seems Lord Fairfax is rather cross with you," Sigma noted, in a tone more calm and lighthearted than most would likely agree the situation called for. It wasn't as much an act of mockery as it was merely Sigma not caring about the gravity of the predicament Garth currently found himself in. Perhaps, he didn't even understand, not completely. It was almost as though he equated it to being put in timeout.
Sigma steeped his fingers together and a faint smile tugged at his lips. Maybe he had missed the man. "I cannot say I find it entirely unexpected. You do know, after all, how unprofessional it is to prematurely terminate one's contribution to a project."