Cups his hand to his ear again, and then points to his sword.

He's deaf and he wants to send his sword by post that's probably not it.

Think it through. The man approached him because he's a postman. (Or because he carries a badge with an eagle? Anyway, he didn't walk away when he explained he was a postman.) 

He can't speak or understand him. He wants - something to do with his sword. What do swords have to do with the post? Sometimes... bandit swordsmen attack postmen? Sometimes postmen fight off bandits or monsters with swords? The man has noticed he only has a bow and wants to offer him his sword? 

Or - maybe he wants to offer him his sword less literally? But hiring guards is obviously not budgeted for this circuit. It's obvious because, if the post was going to pay for a guard, he'd already have one. (It's also obvious because if this was a dangerous circuit that needed a guard, he wouldn't be riding it.)

...nope, he's got nothing. Apologetic shrug. Can he go stable his horse now.

Pharazon groans.  He's humbled himself so far that he's seeking service as a common swordsman... and he hasn't been able to get it!

Well, at least he wasn't refused.  The Andoran officer(?) just didn't understand him.

He'd better work on Taldane some more... or see what Miriel has been up to.

He carefully wipes down his sword, obviously disappointed.

Miriel shows up just in time to see him sheathing the sword.

"Hello, Pharazon," she says with the shallowest nod.  "I hope you didn't find anyone worth fighting?"

"Just practicing.  We should show them a proper quoit... if they don't have them already; this town doesn't seem the most used to swordsmen.  And practicing my Taldane too.  I've been thinking about what to do here in this world."

"Me too.  And I've got some answers."

Pharazon doesn't let that disturb him.  If Miriel managed to communicate something to some new friends of hers, and find some skill they wanted... he'll see if he can learn enough Taldane to chart his own course.  Hopefully.

"What choices did you find?  Got a talent you didn't mention for sailing or something?"

His put-downs sting a lot less here than they did before, when her political position in Numenor really was at least half as fragile as he'd been insinuating.

Still, she almost wants to respond with Arien's healing magic... but it wouldn't be proper to use the Valar's gifts just for bragging.

"You could say a talent for prayer."  She holds up the sun from her necklace.  "It turns out the Valar were happy to give me the same magic they gave Wanda.  Why don't you try it too?"

The Valar are intervening right here with Miriel?  Well, that's unsettling.

Time to attempt to salvage something, while not letting on how much this bothers him... though that's probably a lost cause despite all his practice at hiding his feelings.

"They gave you the language-magic too?  What'd you find out?"

"Apparently magic is well known and common here; there're 'clerics' who get spells from the Valar everyday, and 'wizards'" (she uses the Taldane words) "who do it without any Valar.... maybe the 'wizards' are Elves?"  She shrugs.  "So now I'm a 'cleric' of Arien and I'll get magic every day.  As long as I pray everyday, apparently.

"And there's no king here in Andoran; everyone votes for who gets to be on the Council, and they choose the leader, and they chose someone who's some special sort of 'cleric' of Aule.  Apparently that works here!  And I think it's a good thing."

Well, part of that's worse (the Valar are giving her magic every day?) and part of it better (the Valar aren't singling her out uniquely).  And also interesting... he doesn't like the idea of working for a follower of Aule, even though he's not going to turn down the opportunity unless he finds a better one.  Especially since, if the people choose their leaders, maybe some years from now... well, he was popular at home, maybe he could be popular here too?

"And what're this Council and their leader doing?"

"Fighting the Siege of Angband.  Almost.  One of Morgoth's old lieutenants - it sounds like - has taken up rule over the country next door, Cheliax."

How do you even respond to that?

"How's that going -" no, nobody here is going to know, and the people who know won't answer honestly.

"What's that Maia planning to do -" no, nobody here is going to know or answer honestly to that either.

"Let's find out which side of the war we want to join -" no, Miriel swallows whole the Elves' propaganda line about the First Age.

Miriel continues, pressing her maybe-advantage at Pharazon's confusion.

"So we're in something that actually matters.  And I don't want the Valar to have to drown a continent again."

Oh.  Of course.  When the Valar fight... you really want them to be fighting through humans and elves and orcs, because the alternative is terrible for anyone caught in their way.

"Let's hope this lieutenant - what's his name? - is willing to stay put rather than scare the other Valar into responding more directly.  Maybe they've learned better and that's why they're handing out magic.  How do they choose who to give it to?"

"Wanda called him 'Asmodeus'; I don't know if he has any name we'd recognize.

"And - I don't know.  But they only give it if you pray for it for a whole hour."

"A whole hour?  Why?"

Well, it's not like that's going to stop him.  If he did want to take their offer of magic.  Which he doesn't.  Unless they're actually willing to offer...

Shrug.  She sees he's actually considering it, and doesn't want to push him away from it.

Pharazon stomps back across the inn's yard, glad that at least Miriel isn't pleading even though he guesses she intended exactly that response.

He was looking for employers.  Praying for magic isn't any different.  Really.  He can't usurp the Valar, but he wasn't planning to usurp the King of Andoran back until Miriel told him they didn't have a king.

Does he want to make the Valar aware of him?  Well, they're already aware of Miriel so it probably doesn't matter.

(He still doesn't like the idea.)

... Or there's an idea.

If the Valar - and Maiar, like Arien - are handing out magic here, maybe this Asmodeus is too?  Maybe Pharazon can find out if he's a better leader than the rest of the Valar, like he's wondered about Morgoth...

He walks around the corner of the inn to where no one's watching or visibly listening, stands with his hands held up high just like the Kings of Numenor at the Three Prayers, doesn't bother to brush off the beetle climbing up his pant leg, and speaks aloud in (whispered) Adunaic.

"O Asmodeus, if you are listening and wish to answer me - are you someone who is interested in things like this song?"

He sings one of the songs composed about his storming of the city of Tul-Varinis in the Dark Lands south of Middle-Earth, for his own wealth and glory and the survival and prosperity of the Numenorian Empire.

But does the song say he ate his conquered enemies? Well, eating ("looting") their stuff is also acceptable, as long as it's for his personal wealth. The survival and prosperity of the Numenorean Empire doesn't matter unless it contributes to his own, more than the risk he took in fighting a war.

And does the song say he procreated with his conquered enemies, that bit is very important! Urgathoa is worried that Her new cleric isn't focusing enough on that bit.

Anyway, it's not a very promising start. She notices his prayer because She has been watching her new cleric, but it's not especially targeted at Her as of yet. And She does want him to get spells, so She drops the lightest whisper She can into his mind. (Urgathoa isn't as good at this as some other gods; Her lightest touch doesn't mean something that's hard to notice, it means you don't get a headache afterwards.)

Pharazon abruptly feels something draw his attention to the joined concepts of IMMORTALITY and PROCREATION.

Oh, the Empire's prosperity is totally his, even more how he's thinking of it than how it comes through in the song.  When the song was written, he was still officially the viceroy's son; now he's King.

And procreation... doing that with conquered enemies was beneath the honor of a viceroy's son, not that he ever cared about it much...

... until now he suddenly does feel something in his head.

Pharazon quickly calms himself.  Wasn't he hoping for a response?

As soon as he thinks about immortality - just like the last several times he thought about it - he's yearning for it.  The Elves have it.  The Valar have it.  They haven't been sharing it.  Unless they do share it here?  Will Asmodeus share?

Procreation... yes, he wants Miriel.  In multiple ways.  Including in that way.  And he wants to see his son growing strong... (A few flashes of an old poem on sons growing strong, dating back into the First Age, dart through his mind.)