It was rare that Bram physically looked up to anyone, and it always felt strange to him when he did so. One thing he did not envy the man was the armor he wore. As much as he liked to have good body armor, truly, it had saved his life in the past; the weight of it was never something he enjoyed. He wondered idly if there were enchantments to lessen the burden. He knew that materials, quality of construction and personalization could help in that regard, but it always seemed like whatever improvement was made, was countered by some other aspect of it. He liked being able to move easily when he fought, mobility being a major component of assault operations. But it was nice to be able to take a rifle shot to the chest and stand back up, even if it took the wind out of you for a second.<br/><br/>Drawn back to the guard in front of him by his reply, he nodded and gave a small smile at the man’s assertion regarding his potential as a warrior.<em>I’d better have some warrior’s aura about me</em>, he thought.<em>I’ve been doing it for a while with some of the best in the world.</em><br/><br/>He cocked his head slightly and narrowed his eyes as the man spoke of the Devils. More nods and acknowledging grunts were given as he did his best to give the man the attention he deserved for offering the information he had. Eye contact and active listening went a long way toward keeping someone interested in helping you. A small price to pay in Bram’s mind.<br/><br/>He even went so far as to indicate a certain level of reverence for Seriel as the man spoke of her, despite his own lack of personal knowledge of the priestess. “I see. So Seriel has a personal interest in ensuring their elimination. That is good to know, and a personal audience would be grand, indeed. I understand the nature of lack of resources. You can only do so much with what you have,” he said, doing his best without trying to sound condescending. He was being absolutely genuine, as he truly did understand their plight at least in some fashion.<br/><br/>He almost laughed as a thought went through his mind. Something he had heard in the Army.<em>We have done so much with so little for so long that we are now qualified to do anything with nothing.</em>It was funny and sad at the same time because of the core truth in it.<br/><br/>“Thank you for your time. I apologize for interrupting your duties,” he said with a slight nod and bend at the waist.<br/><br/>He watched as the man caught up to his section and thought about what he was going to do, how. It was still looking like he would have to fight elements of the Temple in order to appease the Devils. The flip side being he would have to return and try to eliminate the threat they posed to the area. He did not like the idea of either, really. He was one man against a fairly large and semi-organized band of brigands or he would have to effectively become a brigand himself and earn the disfavor of Soulspire. In his mind, the choice was not overly difficult, but the possibility of playing both sides did appeal to him at a base level in his mind.<br/><br/>The worst part was that he had no idea what kind of reach the Crimson Devils actually had. He knew of at least one little ninja type that was in the vicinity, likely hiding out with the intent to link back up with him when he got the manyte. But how long would she wait and were there others. Moreover, if they came back empty handed, how capable were they of finding him. He was likely safe as long as he stayed in or near the temple, but the idea of being stuck here just to save his own skin rankled him.<br/><br/>“Shit,” he said under his breath as he ran a hand through his hair.<br/><br/>He glanced around the area and figured he might as well get eyes back on the manyte chamber. If nothing else, he might find a way to get into the room without having to hurt anyone. Or, if bad came to worse and he was brought back to the Crimson Devils, he might have enough information to save his own skin. He did not like having to way out his own life compared to others, especially when it likely meant other getting hurt. He had spent his entire adult life being the buffer between the wolves at the door and those people and ideals that he cared about. He had even paid for that with parts of his own body. He glanced down at himself still in awe of the fact that he was whole again.<br/><br/>He did not want his second chance to turn him into something he despised, though. He would have to be careful about how he treaded in this new and fantastic world.<br/><br/>“Only been here a few days and already getting into ethical and philosophical conundrums…lovely,” he said quietly as he made his way to an inconspicuous spot to watch the manyte chamber.<br/><br/>He thought about his situation further and realized that he was going to have to figure out how to keep himself fed on a regular basis pretty soon. He hoped that he might find some kind of weakness in the guarding of the chamber while he contemplated how he might yet go about trying to take out the Devils. He hoped his stomach would not win the battle of wills in the contest of patience.<br/>