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Deiter noticed the lack of response to what he had said to her, hitting him hard enough as if he had been physically struck. His own pain covered his face as he thought of what to say. "Why? Why any of this happened is a long story..." He let go of her then and motioned for her to sit next to him at the counter as he reclaimed his seat. Sitting close to her, he grasped her hand and gently rubbed the back of it with his thumb. A long silence developed until he felt confident enough to tell her.
"Jas had came to me in the middle of the night. The old elf had discovered some ruins in the forest out to the east and wanted to show them to me. We would continue to make trips out there exploring it, which explained why you saw me leave with him more often than usual. I couldn't tell you what we were up to though... I wanted to surprise you with what we found." Deiter fell silent then, focusing on Chani's hand clasped inside his own. Several minutes went by until he continued on.
"It was late one night, and Jas and I had found part of a door sunken into the ground. We managed to get it open and curiosity drove us on to explore inside. The runes etched in the walls soon made it apparent that the people who had built this were worshipers of Hextor." Deiter's expression remained oddly placid as he recited the event. "Not wanting to stay in a tainted place such as that, we quickly made our way out only to be ambushed. The men... I don't even know if I could call them men... They were strange hunched over creatures in ragged black clothing... We fought against them but were soon overcome. I don't know what happened to Jas... I was knocked out soon after and awoke to find myself barely alive in an unfamiliar forest. That's when Nefris found me..."
Deiter's complexion paled as he retold what had happened to him while captured by the mage. His green eyes were no longer looking at their hands, but at horrors staining his memories. His voice was low and his hand tightened around hers, though not enough to cause discomfort. Relief seemed to break his countenance as he moved on to the children finding him and the village he stayed at. He turned to her then, and grasped her other hand. "That's why."
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