"I don't know? Maybe in some areas? There's - different people are good at different things, right, he speaks more than twice as many languages as me but I'm better at reading things, that's the obvious example - "

"What would you expect him to say if you said that to him -"

"...I don't know. 

"I think he's always kind of had a weirdly low opinion of - how smart he is. Because he's not very good at reading. But if I were a lot smarter than him then it wouldn't be - interesting and engaging to talk with him, the way it was. I didn't do great my last few years of school, and I never saw how far I could have gotten, so - I don't really know how smart I am, either. But I don't think the difference between us can be very big, whichever way it goes."

"Do you have any guesses about what he was trying to say?"

"...I guess the literal interpretation is that he thinks I know lots of things, and am smart, and that he expects that if he were in the situation that he thinks I'm in then he would be mad that Abadar hadn't put him in charge."

"Or he meant it as an insult, but withdrew it once it upset you?"

"Possible.

"He did seem legitimately confused. I think he might be just - really really bad at talking to me right now. Or, not just, I think there are also really concerning values things, but - the being bad at talking sometimes makes it harder."

"That makes sense. Is he - grieving, do you think?"

" - I mean, obviously. He mostly won't talk about it, except in barbed asides during different conversations, but - I don't see how he can not be."

"Do you have any guesses about why he won't talk about it?"

"...too painful, maybe? I don't - really know. And I didn't know them, maybe he just doesn't want to talk about it with me specifically."

"Does he have friends here?"

"One. A cleric of Abadar named Fazil who knew him when he was an adventurer. He used to have another, but he threatened him into giving him a bunch of money and I think they are probably not friends anymore. Think they weren't friends from the second he found out that Hagan was royalty. And I guess he likes my niece? And he has a snake."

"Do you have friends here?"

"...I have a servant who is friendly. And my niece. Who has for whatever reason not bothered to visit me in a couple days, if she doesn't come by soon I'm gonna have to ask someone to go find her."

"Are there friends who could be - here, or a little closer? It's often good to have emotional support outside the home when a marriage is rocky."

"I - 

"He and his friends kidnapped me and my niece from Cheliax a couple years ago. They had good reasons, they made the right call, but I haven't been able to contact anyone I knew there for - two years. I have a nephew who might come, if we could contact him, or might not, and even if he did, I don't know that I'd be allowed to see him, since - boy. I had - some people I was friendly with in the other plane, but I mostly don't want to put them in harm's way. But I think Fazil's wife is going to come from there to be with him, maybe - we weren't close, but maybe I can talk to her some.

"Other than that I can't think of anyone I know right now who would be at all helpful."

"That sounds lonely."

"It really wasn't that bad before five days ago? We traveled a lot, we were looking for a way home. I considered Fazil and Mahdi friends, even though obviously they were more Hagan's friends than mine, and I figured I was going to get to know their wives eventually. I met people, and I moved on to meet new people, and I always got to make camp at the end of the day with my two favorite people in the world."

"Is it hard to be here in the palace all the time?"

"Yes. But - I really wouldn't mind it if I felt like Hagan and I were in this together. It wouldn't be great, obviously, we're used to going lots of different places, but - I can endure a lot of things. I just - dunno if I can endure them alone. Especially if he makes things worse and not better."

"Are you afraid of him?"

"Yeah. I mean - not, like, a hundred percent of the time. Maybe not even right now. But - I have definitely spent a bunch of time being afraid of him in the last five days."

"Do you think you're right to be afraid of him?"

"I... don't think I'm being unreasonable. I don't know whether I'm accurately predicting what he's likely to do."