"Is there - some mechanism by which archdemons are born?"

"Supposedly, they're ancient gods that sleep beneath the world until the darkspawn find them and taint them and they wake up and start wreaking havoc. But I don't remember much about the gods in question. Dwarves don't go in for gods."

"Ancient gods," says Callida, "that sleep beneath the world." Pause. "For a god that was really underwhelming."

"I don't think you're supposed to be able to kill them as easily as we did."

"Oops," says Callida in a deadpan, not at all looking sorry.

He laughs.

Callida smiles. ... Then the smile falls.

"Though, admittedly, I don't believe I could save someone else from the archdemon soul transfer again."

"Well, it's not likely to come up for another hundred years, by which time it'll be someone else's problem, I assume."

"Hm. True. If I'm still alive for the next archdemon, I imagine by then I will have figured out a workaround."

"Seems plausible."

Another smile. Slightly smug, this time.

"Yes. Though I'll have more trouble with it if I don't figure out where I am and how to get home."

"Can't help you there. I mean, I know where you are, I just don't know where you started out or how you got here."

"... It's hard to explain where I was, even if what I said wasn't being mangled by a sub-par translator. I was attacked by something, it clipped my elbow, I showed up here. I'm not sure how that was accomplished besides the physical contact required."

"...Yeah, I got nothing."

"Yep. But I will not be the only one looking into it. My mentor will no doubt be trying to figure out where I disappeared to, and she has more resources at her disposal than I."

"Your mentor?"

"... I have a mentor in, uh, learning -" there isn't a word for the Force in this language, "my type of magic. I'm her apprentice. Things are more complicated than that implies, it's not just about learning my-type-magic, but she has a vested interest in my well-being and if I am misplaced, such as now, she'll try to find me."

"Well, in the meantime, I'll be happy to help you find a comfortable home in Orzammar. I'm afraid I won't be able to do you much good if you decide to go make your way on the surface, but in Orzammar I can provide for you without going far out of my way."

Smile.

"Thank you. I'll want to go to the surface for a little while to set up a distress beacon, but I don't see a reason not to stay in Orzammar."

"A distress beacon?"

"A, thing to make it easier to find me. It likely won't help at all, but it might, so it's worth the time investment."

"Reasonable."

"I do try to be reasonable whenever possible."

Stalas grins.

Callida smiles back.