His jaw clicks shut.

"Sorry." His voice is abruptly higher-pitched.

She lets go of his injured hand to pat him on the cheek.

"Do remember this lesson. I'd hate for my time instructing you to go to waste, after all."

And she's letting go entirely to walk away from him.

He turns smartly about and limps the exact opposite direction.

The Keres is smiling at her.

She grins back. "Sorry about the delay. I hope it was at least an entertaining show."

"It was at that. You have... a certain talent."

"Thanks! Being terrifying at people's one of my favorite hobbies."

"It is my hope I will be privileged to observe you ever new heights in the practice thereof."

She smiles, more softly than she usually does.

"Perhaps we may learn from each other, here."

Another, brief smile, and she turns back to their course.

They go past a marketplace, with stalls selling armor, weapons, fine dwarven crafts direct from Orzammar, and all manner of sundries. Each stall has one or two toughs lurking nearby glaring suspiciously at those who get too close without intent to purchase, except for one which offers a variety of herbs and potions and is run by a well-dressed woman with a tastefully made-up face.

What sorts of potions and herbs do they at least think are effective? (It's very telling about a society and its anxieties, that sort of thing.)

Elfroot for your ills and deathroot for your enemies. Embrium for the lungs and spindleweed for the bones. The stallkeeper introduces herself as Lady Elegant and adds that specialty items are available on request for the more... discerning customer.

Hisame honestly trusts her own poisons more (she doesn't say this) (she does briefly wonder if her snakes survived the universe collapsing).

She's fairly sure the specialty items are lyrium potions, which, no.

She does smile a bit but makes her excuses and moves on.

The Keres does purchase a handful of small vials before moving on, making them vanish smoothly inside her robes.

Hisame window shops some at the other booths - she likes the blades she has, but collecting new knives from this world seems thematically appropriate. Of course, she'll only go for quality.

For quality, she will have to look elsewhere. Some few of the items on display approach serviceable to the experienced eye.

Not acceptable at all.

She notes the general patterns - what blades might be useful for what tasks, to hint at what fighting styles people might use - but she moves on.

Past a run-down foundry district then, and another set of gates and stairs brings them to the docks. The buildings here are mostly warehouses. The most interesting thing they pass is the street that has been blocked off by a ramshackle gate with two seven-feet tall, horned, broadly muscled Qunari standing guard in front of it, arms crossed impassively over bare chests.

...Hmmmm perhaps something to investigate on the way back, given that she doesn't particularly want to dawdle nor waste chakra on a clone.

The Qunari give every impression they'll still be there, solid as stone even should the city burst into flame around them.

The docks proper are tightly packed with ships of all sizes, flying all sorts of colors. They're not the only people seeking passage to the Gallows; there are more than a few small craft for which ferrying people to and fro seems to be their primary purpose.

"Preferences on which ship?"

"One that won't sink halfway across the harbor," she says, eyeing two men bailing out a small rowboat with suspicion. She looks around. "There," she points at a bulky man with one peg leg standing next to a boat with room for six passengers. She marches up to him. "Passage to the Gallows," she says, tossing him two golden coins. "No other passengers, and you will wait there to bring us back," tossing him two more.

He catches them out of the air, bites down on one to test it. "Right y'are, missies. In y'get, then."

She boards, smiling briefly at the man.

"I think I've been on a boat all of twice - what, four, five years ago," she says to the Keres with a bit of a laugh.

"...We used to go out to the lake, when I was very small."

"Sounds peaceful. We had a river, but most of it was too swift for children to be playing in."