It's more than a random person off the street would know, but not more than a [Mage]-school graduate could say. Ferris does not object.

"That's a strange way for it to work. Do a lot of your spells work that way? Anyway, very important people go around with anti-divination wards or have their homes and workspaces warded, but most civilians don't, even when there are trade secrets or confidential information to protect, because it's not worth the expenditure—to ward, or to scry in the first place. And it's illegal to scry inside private property most places, though it's obviously hard to enforce."

"Being resistable without necessarily being noticeable? Most spells that aren't themselves noticeable and target a person work that way there. ...that does sound hard to enforce."

"It mostly serves to inconvenience law enforcement, possibly by design. But back to the topic at hand—do you want your research exception or can we close it? Again, you can if you do, but we should talk about the details if so."

"We can close it for the time being on the expectation that I can talk to Voyager Silverfang about it and might need something like it re-opened if she doesn't know what I need."

"Of course. Is there anything else you would like to discuss?"

"The Wall Lady is still going to want me to travel to Manus even though it sounded like she'd be present here in Liscor?"

"—she won't be present in Liscor, did I say something to give the impression?"

"I must have misunderstood the deployment plan, never mind."

"Anything apart from that?"

"No."

"Shall I come back when the troops are here?" He produces a pen from his coat. "If you'd like to get in contact with me, snap this and I'll know. It also writes."

"Yes, that sounds good; thank you."

And Ferris leaves.

Next Llornas, the article about him goes out. Some people mention it to him and ask various inane questions like is there really a place ruled by the undead and is all of Chandrar a desert, their cousin said it was all a desert.

Much of it is a desert but he saw non-desert portions of it. It is not only ruled by the undead, it isn't even the only place, there's a country like that on Golarion too.

Wow, scary! (It's a little guy who looks possibly a little too excited about this.)

One of his chess buddies comments at their next game, "I saw the piece about you. I should have guessed you have a command background. You are exceedingly good at the game."

"I don't actually think of the two as being related like that. I sometimes used to think about battlefield movements in chess metaphors but I don't think it made me better at chess."

The blue-scaled Drake is probably the best among the locals Blai has played, and doesn't need a handicap, through he still loses more often than not.

"I know many a civilian who play a good game, but the best players I know are all [Strategists]. To an extent it's only a matter of practice, of course."

"On Golarion people don't level and skills don't work like the ones here. So I just played chess for fun. If I'd grown up here I might be more of a [Strategist]."

"It's never too late for a career change." His tone is humorous. "I hear they admit you to Manus' War College if you beat their [Commander] in a match. Though it's only hearsay—and your species might be a problem."

"Would it? Well, I don't urgently want to be admitted to the war college but it would be exciting to play someone who's good enough to make that offer anyway." This is both true and lays groundwork for why he might hare off to Manus in a couple weeks, he supposes.

"I don't know if they'd let you just show up and make an appointment for chess, even if the rumor is true. Perhaps you need to go up through a gauntlet of a teaching assistant, then a professor, and so on until you get to the Drake himself. I'm being fanciful."

"It's an amusing thought regardless. Check."

He interposes a bishop.

A few moves later, he says, "Do you mind if I pick your mind about this dungeon business? Most of the [Tacticians] I talk to—well, let me just say I would be pleased to hear an fresh perspective."

Blai might or might not remember him having mentioned in passing pre-kidnap that he's working as a city [Tactician].

"Go ahead, though a fortress isn't a dungeon at all and what I do know about dungeons is hopelessly contaminated with Golarion information."

"It's not exactly dungeon specific. Or it is, in a sense... the first attack, with the undead, was a shock, but there was no evidence that there would be a repeat to the event. Many of us believed Skinner was the boss monster of the dungeon, and that was it. Then we found more to the structure, and now, with the Face-Eater Moths... there are concerns whether Liscor's Watch is well-equipped to defend the city. There's talk of restructuring our home defense, similar to how Pallass keeps their 1st Army permanently stationed in the city with some of their best and brightest."