Gilderien looked at Sunny gravely, hands clasped and resting his chin on his thumbs, elbows on the small, round table. His familiar smile was gone, and he suddenly looked much more... intense, formidable. All of a sudden, Sunny was reminded exactly why he wanted to avoid fighting this mystery character.
Of course, during the course of the evening, the force of his power never truly hid itself, such a thing was impossible due to the aura he projected. It had just become overshadowed by his kindly nature.
"Do you serve Galbatorix?"
The words carried a thinly-veiled weight behind them. Sunny could tell that this was, probably, the most crucial of Gilderien's questions. Meeting his eyes and trying to look as innocent as possible, a difficult feat while wearing a full seat of fearsome-looking armor that implied one to be the warlord of some tyrannical king, and replied,
"I serve none but myself."
Gilderien continued as though hearing no such reply.
"Have you ever at any time served Galbatorix, The Forsworn, his past or present allies, aristocrats of his court, or any person or thing which in any way made action to assist in spreading or keeping his rule in the land of Alagaësia?"
"No."
"Have you ever considered to"
"No."
"Have you ever been in contact with or known personally someone who is, or has in the past participated in such acts?"
"No."
"Do you harbor any form of ill will toward the Queen, the inhabitants of Ellesméra, or of the lands beyond, or indeed any of the races that dwell in Alagaësia?"
"Depends."
Gilderiens gaze hardened.
"Who?"
Sunny responded soberly.
"Do you consider the lizards that live in the small dens in the sad of the desert beyond this forest to be a race, or a species? Or do you not consider the terms separate?"
Gilderien stared.
Then he stared some more.
Eventually, he sighed, dropping his hands and rubbing the bridge of his nose tiredly. Suddenly, he fit the persona of an old man much better.
"I would feel the need to berate you and perhaps even take action for you not considering the graveness of the situation properly and speaking in jest, but you seem entirely serious, in thought and word."
Sunny looked slightly confused for a moment.
"Why would I? It is impossible for me to lie."
Gilderien's face looked up at him sharply, and his eyes were suddenly intense.
"Though, of course, my thoughts are my own. I merely am incapable of speaking a single untruth."
Gilderien's voice sounded weaker, and even a little feeble during his reply.
"Is that so... I feel compelled to admit, I can't make heads or tales of you, boy. I am at a loss, entirely. Never have I felt so bad at my job."
Sunny refrained from smiling, keeping his face perfectly emotionless as he inwardly snickered at the reaction of the inconceivably powerful mage.
'So I've been upgraded from 'child' to 'boy', huh. Not much in terms of improvement, but its a step.'
Gilderien closed his eyes and hunched forward in his chair, returning to rubbing the bridge of his nose.
"How old are you?"
Sunny raised an eyebrow.
"Are we done with the important questions already?"
Gilderien eyed him for a moment from a half-lidded socket.
"I consider this to be an important question, Spawn of Shadows."
'Spawn, huh? That's new as well. Doesn't sound all that flattering either, though. Kinda malicious.'
'...I like it.'
It was a good thing he did consider it important, as well, since Sunny's Flaw was already acting up from not answering the question about his age.
"Twenty seven years old. Well, technically, I'm twenty six. And around thirty four. Oh, and also a couple thousand years old. I'm missing a couple weeks in there as well, but those ones I haven't been keeping that great a track of time of."
He paused for a moment.
"...That's also considering the system used for measuring time from my own world. I'm not sure if the inhabitants of this world use the same."
Then he frowned.
"Oh, and there is a strange gap in my memory from shortly before I arrived here, in which little time or countless millennia could have passed. I'm starting to think I'll never know for sure..."