ghhhrbhl blrrrghl mnnnrf. He's not bleeding out or anything, and starts to come when Cat attempts first aid. He has a horrible headache and a collection of bruises, as if someone hit him in the head with a rock moving at high speeds and then very nonlethally disembowled him with a magic sword of nonlethal disembowelment.

...They took his clothes. There go escape plans 2-5. He cracks an eye open. "What're you in for?"

"Industrial sabotage. You?"

"Not sure, nobody bothered to tell me during the arrest. Conspiracy to commit incitement to murder, maybe. Or maybe drop the 'conspiracy'. Or it could be insurrection, or - whatever the treason is that's in between high treason and petty treason -"

"Mmmhmmm. Do you think they actually mean it or are they trying to make a point to your friends."

"Hmmm? I don't know if the man who caught me even knows who my friends are. Probably they mean it."

"Who were you insurrecting against. Or treasoning. Or inciting the murder of. - promise I'm not a cop, probably can't promise I won't tell 'em, so don't answer that if they don't know."

"Asmodean nobles. On the third."

If Cat were from Andoran she'd have some thoughts about this but she's not going to disrespect the Queen by having her pretending not to be from Andoran be that transparent. She's doing an Absalom accent and everything. "I heard that was a horrible mess."

"Heard? You new in town... Augustana?" She's doing a fake Absalom accent. It's not that good.

"What in the world would someone from Andoran be doing committing crimes in Cheliax? That'd be a diplomatic incident right there. I'm a merc. And yeah, I wasn't here for the riots."

"There's people from across the whole world committing crimes in Cheliax these days."

"Sure, but there's crimes and then there's crimes, you know? And - they say the riots delayed the convention abolishing slavery."

He snorts. "Do they say that? It seems to me that if they're going to wait a year and a half they haven't got a leg to stand on, complaining about delays. The riots wouldnt've delayed it, if they cared, because if they cared they'd've gone ahead and done it anyways, riots or no; given that they manifestly don't care, it seems to me like the riots were just an excuse... they weren't even that bad, as riots go."

"I don't think they care about abolishing slavery. I just think they were probably going to do it. And now they might not. You been in a lot of riots?"

'Can't promise I won't tell 'em, so don't answer that if they don't know,' she said.

"Just the one."

She does not intend to cooperate with the cops in any way for any reason but Cheliax has archmages. "I fought when Andoran was freed. Can't say I distinguished myself especially, I was seventeen and had Grease and that was about it."