Seeing that his first attempt to reach Iris had failed, Ian saw no other choice than to send his ever-trustworthy underling with another missive for Iris. Whilst he reluctantly agreed to the task, even though he'd already been set upon it, Ian was adamant about having the missive delivered into Iris's hands this time around.
Nobos nodded, understanding his assignment. He already knew Ian wouldn't be so lenient if he failed to accomplish his task again. The lack of tact he had used upon his face-off with Iris wasn't a good option, so he had to reconsider his tactics carefully.
" Well? What are you waiting for?" Ian urged him to complete the task looking at him with a tinge of irritation on his face.
Nobos nodded and finally opened the portal. Somewhat reluctant to go through, and looked around, stalling. Ian picked up the book off the table and bonked Nobos on the head, and Nobos rubbed the spot glaring at him.
" Do you expect any special invitation?" Ian quipped, placing the book back on the table " I'll be watching this time, so make sure you don't do anything stupid." Ian warned and waved his hand at the obsidian wall.
Iris appeared sitting in front of two men with a similar build as Dakran's, although he had to admit that the one standing was handsome and very easy on the eye. But his eyes told a different story. It was a look easily recognisable. A worthy competition compared to the lanky caricature of a man called Gaelin. Ian shook his head. He was running out of time from all sides. The Hollow Lords would be on his back sooner rather than later, and Iris had met a suitable match.
Nobos stepped out of the portal just a few paces away from Iris while the sturdy man stood straight and drew his sword at the sight of Nobos, as Iris stood up from her seat and drew her sword as well, to which Nobos raised his hands in, surrender and waved the piece of parchment in the air.
" That should get him to back off," Ian said to no one in particular as Nobos cautiously approached them and placed the piece of paper on the ground, said something to Iris and turned around. At the same time, the sturdy man charged towards Nobos as Iris said something to him, and in the next moment, Nobos stepped back into Hollow and closed the portal behind him.
" It is done," Nobos curtly announced and sighed, maybe relieved that he hadn't screwed up this time.
" This is the last time I'm doing your dirty work", Nobos surly said " Next time, send Guyhirn." he decisively said and vanished out of the throne hall without allowing Ian to tell him that he'd already done that.
Ian frowned and looked around for the soul collector. He himself couldn't go, and Nobos backed out of their deal. He was breaking every rule of the Hollow, and he could already see the outrage plastered on their faces.
Ian turned his attention back onto the wall as Iris read the missive he'd written for her. As she read through it, her lips trembled, and she closed her eyes and fisted the note, and nodded in agreement. That was all he needed. Now he needed to find the right time to send Guyhirn to get the blood from her. While the tall, sturdy man observed with a curious gaze, probably having a lot of questions on his mind.
Ian slumped on his throne and continued observing Iris's interactions with the man who'd placed his arm on her shoulders and gently urged her to move her feet, saying something to her while Iris meekly smiled and looked ahead without replying.
He was definitely running out of time, and if he didn't decipher the blasted book in time, he would lose Iris, and he would soon become a memory and an unpleasant one at that. Jealousy quickly crept into his heart, and it was a heavier feeling that he remembered, along would the fear of losing the only woman he'd ever truly loved.
As Iris and the man accompanying her walked back into camp, the man said something to Iris and somehow succeeded in making Iris smile again, and that was all Ian could bear to watch. He waved his hand at the obsidian wall, and everything sunk into the murky darkness, just like his mood, which took a sudden plunge from fairly hopeful to scorning hopelessness.
Ian tapped his fingers on the armrest of his throne, restless and a little contrite at the fact that Iris had already forgotten him and was ready to move on. Of course, she did; you abandoned her and took Ettrick's place. What else could he expect? Ian stood up from his throne and began impatiently pacing in the empty solitude of his throne room, desperately trying to find a solution to prevent Iris from coupling with that man. The Hollow would crumble if he stepped back into the living realm, and he had no clue what would happen if the Hollow would collapse. That would be irresponsible. Faith, he needed to have faith that Iris hadn't given up on him, on them.
Ian halted his steps and raised his hand, tempted to watch Iris for a little longer but dropped his hand to the side and stared at the obsidian wall feeling lost for the first time since his parents had died. Cornered with not many options left. Either accepted his fate and took his role as the Hollow Guardian seriously or stepped outside the bounds a let it crumble into nothingness without knowing the consequences of his actions. Everything could spiral out of control. Balance was important. He knew this after what had happened when Iris got dragged into Hollow and left Ellora unattended.