"Is that your final answer?"
"Yes."
"Okay…" While leaning into one hand, the man used his other to rap his fingers on the tabletop.
"... What's your answer?" Jarrit asked, showing his usual calm and confidence.
But the man said nothing. He took some time to think in silence, not bothering to even look back at Jarrit or anyone else. Eventually, the man sighed and sat back up with his former, friendly grin.
Without a word, the man took out a quill and a piece of parchment. But both items were unusual and nothing like the others at the table expected them to be. The quill pen was made of a crystalline glass that shimmered in the light. It still had the shape of a large feather but was carefully crafted to resemble a hollow glass plume. And that hollow space was filled with an ethereal blue ink of some sort. The parchment itself was also eye-catching, seemingly being crafted from some sort of scaly leather that they had never seen before.
