"I go back sometimes when we have a lot of downtime between adventures. Make sure the dates don't match up too perfectly, meet the new nieces and nephews, tell a lot of lies."

"So maybe you don't have much of an ear to the ground on foreign policy current events, okay. Man, I'm so sorry."

"You're - kind. It's not really - everyone's life sucks one way or another."

"...yes, I know, and it sucks and I don't like it so I'm going to become a god? Remember?"

"Yes, I do."

"So, y'know, man, I'm so sorry, no disclaimers necessary about how you'd place in a pointless depressing contest."

" - thanks."

"You're welcome."

"It feels weird for someone to know. I'm glad it's you."

"I will be responsible with the information."

"I know.

You can - ask more questions, if you have them. Nothing else I can't talk about, I don't think."

"- is the rest of your family okay in there?"

"I think so. I have six brothers. Pharaoh's - I don't think he's happy but he wanted the job and he got it, that's on him. Most of my brothers are really smart and happy enough researching music or magic or economics. Dunno if their wives and girlfriends are happy, it'd be - weird, if I made a point of talking to them alone. The pharaoh's wives are probably very bored because last I heard he exclusively liked men and kept putting 'heirs' on his to-do list and then not getting around to it."

"I've heard people remarking on how many kids he hasn't got, yeah. How bad is it and how fast if you get spotted in Sothis or if someone's traveling and spots you somewhere else?"

"Depends who? The thing I'm most scared of is just that someone will - kneel, and say 'Prince Telcar', and then everyone'll know. There aren't very many people who'd actually drag me home, just the - you know the pharaoh's personal guard?"

"Not personally."

"There's a couple hundred of them. To get in you have to die in Osirion's service. Then he resurrects you. They're supposed to - give up their previous lives, this one's for him."

"Yeah? Their insurance pay out for their families like they died and everything?"

"Yep."

"Ick."

"It's a great honor."

"Sucks to be in a position to die in defense of Osirion, which is, you know, a perfectly serviceable country worth defending, and then get drafted whether you would have ticked that checkbox or not!"

"I dunno how they feel about it, it's pretty much impossible to get them to talk."

"Maybe people are avoiding chances to die in defense of Osirion left and right and the ones who do it are cool with it."

"Maybe. I don't think everyone gets raised. Maybe they do."