Will, consciously or not, inserted another pause into his narrative, punctuating the drama. It might have been an old salesmanship trick resurfacing, but at that moment, Jake and his friends could nearly hear the Wendok mentally blasting their friend with a symphony of colorful curses, if the bulging, bloodshot eyes were any indication.
Jake considered himself to be fairly patient, but considering the severity of the news, his tolerance was on thin ice. As tactfully as he could muster, he said,
"I understand it's been quite some time for you since we last spoke, but for us it's only been a couple of hours. We've got a particularly sour Rank 3 Aetherist kindly footing the bill for this call. If you value your life, I suggest you spill the beans..."
Aware that every second burned hundreds of quintillions of Aether Points, Will froze on the other end of the line, breaking into a sudden profuse sweat.
