"Then maybe I won't break them out of monasteries if it comes up either."

"Still not totally clear on what you want, here."

"Answers to my questions. Also wouldn't turn down the treasure."

"All right, what're the questions?"

She reads them off again.

"He's dead. He's also dead, I think. That one's still alive last I heard. I dunno who he works for. Not even a good question. Everyone works for everyone. Yes, that includes Cheliax, why wouldn't it? Still don't have any reason to tell you what they're all after."

"What would be such a reason if you had one?"

"Ride out of here. Protection, maybe, if it had some plausible configuration that wasn't a ride out of here, but I'm not thinking of any. I guess you could credibly threaten me?"

"Hm. Are there visiting hours every day?"

"Ah huh. Dunno why, it's too far for families to visit regularly."

"Maybe a decade ago someone was like 'we will have visiting hours every day' and everyone is virtuously obeying them."

"Can you imagine the kinda person who decides this is what they want to do with their life? They're all horrible."

"Man, I have complicated feelings about what literally everybody decides to do with their lives, maybe all their other options were worse or something. It does sound like it sucks for you to be here but I hear they have an eighty-eight percent success rate and I assume that means Axis, you probably have an even better chance of getting that or Boneyard or Maelstrom. Or Nirvana if you get a decent advocate."

"Don't really give a shit, honestly."

"I guess that's a way to be."

"You can't just spend your whole life slavishly obeying whoever has the sharpest sword. So Pharasma's a bitch, that doesn't make us hers."

"What're you gonna do instead? More criminal geopolitics?"

"Gonna sit here and spin thread, apparently."

"I mean if you did get out."

"Pick up my stuff, retire somewhere very very far away. Adopt some dogs."

"Sounds nice."

"Could even dump some of the gold on a charity, if I decide to play the stupid game."

"Faster than this nonsense. Why were you in the piracy etcetera business to begin with?"

"It's interesting and it pays well."

"And you didn't know yet that you weren't getting paid enough?"