"That's uh, neat.  Very classical.  Do you have more money related examples in this schema?"

"Vices of excess related to money include investing money in haphazard ways that won't pay you back, spending money you can't afford to make yourself look richer than you are, spending money on flatterers, or blowing all your money on drinking and gambling. Vices of deficiency related to money include never giving away any money even when you can afford it or those who try to earn money however they can regardless of the effects on their own reputation or the wellbeing of others. In this case it's better to be excessive than to be deficient, the profligate are closer to true generosity than the misers."

He takes detailed notes.  This is a part he needs to get down properly.  After taking a moment to get his notes in order, he thinks about his next question.

"Can... can money from a somewhat questionable source given generously the right way come out Good?  Can you give an example that comes up Good and one that still comes up Evil, so I can see the difference?"

"If you earn money somewhat disreputably-- such as by lending money at interest or owning slaves-- instead of very disreputably like stealing or committing fraud or trading slaves, and if you keep your word and never lie, and if you are fair to those weaker then you-- you forgive debts that the debtor absolutely can't pay, you make sure your slaves have food and recreation and rest and never sell them-- then any remaining taint seems to me to be washed away if you give as much as you can afford to a Good church or to the poor."

It was possibly a mistake selling off his loans so quickly, but how was he supposed to know he could break even on Good if he kept them?

"Could you operationalize 'can afford' a bit more?  Is there any equations on income to debts owed yourself to need for money to survive?"

"It would be nice if there were, wouldn't it? But basically you are supposed to want everyone including yourself to have enough food and a place to live and a servant and other such basic necessities."

Well... so much for being Good!

"Do you have an expanded version of that diagram I could have copied?  Or if it isn't that big I could just copy it myself now."

He paid for an hour, but he doesn't see any more actually useful questions.  He kind of wants to ask about politics, but that topic seems more dangerous...

Levrolurment has a number of interesting book recommendations. 

Fernando is happy with book recommendations!  He can read them later alone in a room without mind reading in a room without mind reading, no don't actually think about that.

And getting the titles and authors into his notes.

"Are you generally around here?  For returning the treatise.  I'm not sure how fast scribes are with making copies and I don't have scrivener's chant hung today myself."

He gets up to leave.

"I'll be around, the coffeeshop owner doesn't mind me holding court as long as I pay for my drinks."

Ester tried coffee because it smelled good. It didn't taste as good as it smelled, but it turns out she likes it a lot and they're paying her a damnfool amount of money that she can afford to spend on daily coffee if she wants.

"What does that say?" she asks the is-that-a-halfling about his sign.

"It says: 'ETHICAL and POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY CONSULTATIONS. All questions about the nature of alignments, axiology, constitutions, forms of government, etc. answered.  Personalized advice provided. Cost free to 1 sp/hour depending on how boring your question is. Pricing available in advance.'"

"What the blazes is an axiology?"

"It's a fancy word for some things being better than other things."

"Well, I already know some things are better than other things. What's a constitution, though, is that 'boring'? They hauled us here and didn't care to explain anything about it thus far."

"If I find myself bored I'll start charging you for it. A constitution is a set of rules the government has to follow instead of just doing whatever it feels like."

"Who's liable to make it do that?"

"Well, right now, the archmages who brought us here. I don't know whom they're expecting to take over once they retire."

"If they want to make the Queen do something what business of mine is that, then?"

"I think the idea is that the archmages want to collect all of us together to make a list of things for the archmages to make the queen do."

"Why? There's two due dates I've missed already just traveling here and some six or seven more if the fool thing lasts more than a month! Can't the archmages do their own chores?"

"I think they want the Queen to be limited in ways that the people of Cheliax think are good ideas."

"Couldn't they have sent 'round somebody to post their best guess in the village squares and wait for a letter?"

"Have you seen the pamphlets around here? Literacy appears to cause some kind of derangement. It's a good thing we have some illiterates around because it's our only chance to have a half-decent constitution."

"I only knew I was meant to come because one of the literates told me so. Could've told me too about some politer request."