Chapter 49
The inky blackness of Grima's gaze left him somewhat unnerved. Loki may be stronger than practically everyone in magic, but his physical abilities were quite low, particularly in response to those Elves. It was annoying considering that he was stronger than the average human, but these humans were not average were they? They were not the Midgardian riffraff that he thought of as humans. He had no clue what world he was in, only that he was somewhere in the in between. Naturally, there was much he was missing. Barring that, it was not as though he had been as strong as most creatures. As much as he may hate his heritage, it could have at the very least given him some giant strength. It would seem that he was bereft of that, unfortunately. He was not even as strong as most Aesir. Annoying as it was, he was far more powerful in ways the Aesir never could imagine.
He could tell it was the same for this Grima. Though Loki did not want to test the theory of how strong this individual was. He had hated being manhandled, and he hated it even more so now than ever before. He could tell the other was powerful, clearly a sorcerer, and his magic was tainted, black...uncomfortable to be around considering the nature of Loki's own. He did not let it get to him, though, as perceptions were everything right now. He had to come across as strong, or at the least as not as feeble as he felt. He had allowed himself to get worked up, and he was still reeling from it. Having visitors had not been what he had expected. Still, there was not much to be done about it.
"I just wanted to stop by...see how you are...settling." Loki drifted a bit farther away as the black haird sorcerer continued to peer about the room. "If you had anything you needed...the like." Loki bowed slightly, turning to look Grima in the eyes.
"Thank you for your concern." He stated. As much as he may be unnerved, he did know a political battle. It was a sort of subtle fincesse, and considering he was the main reason that they had been given room and board, he would have to continue playing the field as much as he possibly could, at least until they could figure out how to rip the king from the sorcerer's hold. It may take some sacrifice on his end, but they had a mission. One that was apparently necessary according to Aragorn, and vital to their success overall. While Loki hesitated to say it was necessarily vital, he knew that Aragorn was the de facto leader of their group, and saying otherwise would simply cause disorder. "I confess, I did have a couple of questions...I just was uncertain who to ask, or whether asking was allowed at all." The man looked upon him with more curiosity, and Loki simply tried to continue to look unbothered. He did not think he did the best job of it. His emotions had been all over the place for ages now, and it seemed to be getting worse with time, rather than better.
"Of course you are allowed questions." The sorcerer said softly. "I would never dream of refusing to allow you such a simple thing. Whether those questions will be answered...well that's a different thing isn't it." Loki merely nodded, allowing himself to look grateful, though now he had to come up with questions to actually ask the slimy actor. There were plenty enough of those, considering his own confusion over the general manner of this world, but he also did not want to look stupid.
"I, I wanted to know where exactly are we?" He asked the question, letting confusion flood his voice, something which was easy considering he was confused. "I have tried to go over the maps that Sir Haldir and Prince Legolas have, but...I am afraid I cannot read them easily. Their language is ever evolving, and beyond that I am not fluent in it either." He was ashamed at his difficulty, but regarding maps, neither Haldir nor Legolas have really perused their own, but he knew that they had them with their belongings, so it was not too farfetched. Lord Eldrond's maps were the ones he truly studied, but all he had managed to gather was some basic outline of the world. OR at least a part of the world. He had no clue if there was more to it or not.
"You are in Rohan, it is one of the few great kingdoms of men." Loki furrowed his eyes down.
"Kingdoms of men," He murrmurred, the sound heard by Grima. Loki may not be entirely up to date, but he knew Midgard only had few monarchies left, and they were of very little power. It would seem that it is quite different in this world.
"How many kingdoms do men have?" He wondered, turning his gaze once more to the dark midnight of Grima.
"There are two of great renoun, though there is also a trifling of smaller kingdoms as well. Rohan and Gondor are the main two, the greatest, though Gondor is quickly falling into ruin without their King."
"I heard the King speak something of it. It is not ruled by their destined leader. I suppose that could complicate things, particularly if the people of this Gondor dislike their current lead." Aragorn was destined to be a King...and yet it seemed, if what Grima said was true-and Loki was inclined to think that at the very least Grima thought it was-the kingdom was falling into disarrey, and yet he was doing nothing to fix it. He wondered just how long Aragorn intended to stay his inevitable rule. Was it when he finally managed to marry Arwen? That at the very least seemedto make sense.
"What else were you curious over?"
"Ah," Loki paused. "I wanted to know when we are required to wake...surely there is some sort of schedule we should follow." The sorcerer laughed heartily, leaving chills crawling up Loki's skin.
"No, no not expected of guests, of course. I shall leave you now, please do not hesitate to call for me if you have need. Simply flag down a guard."