"Yeah, we have that problem sometimes too - nicer houses are built into hills."

"I guess you'd save on insulation."

"Yeah. It's also just - our tradition."

"I can think of worse ones to have."

"Definitely."

"What's your homeland like?"

"It's called Amestris, and it's... more or less a circle. There are cold mountains in the north, ocean to the west, and a desert in the south and edge of the east, but in the middle it's basically pretty nice. That's where the big city is, Central City. There's railroads cutting the country into quarters, so it's easy to get most places. The government is- kind of a military dictatorship? The fuhrer is technically elected but it's always the same guy and you have to either be in the army or know important people in the army to get anywhere in the civil service."

"Huh. That sounds - both nice for... Like amenities, and really unpleasant for politics."

"Things are efficient, at least."

"I dunno efficient's as important as a good place to live."

"I'd advise you not to join the army, then."

"Oh, yeah, I'd be terrible at it. War's horrible."

"Something Amestris does a lot of, though."

"...Why?"

"Complicated geopolitical reasons, if you believe the official histories."

"Ugh."

"Yeah."

Estel takes over questions after that as Russet mulls over things - mostly about Amestris's government and how far away it is.

El is evasive about giving an actual location but answers the other questions.

She has her own questions too, mostly about elves and books and magic.

He's happy to answer them, with the thoroughness of someone used to getting these questions from a rather intense teacher.

Well that's convenient for both of them then.

What does he know about rings of power?

"They were made in a collaboration between the elven smith Celebrimbor and a disguised Sauron. Of the great ones - there's a total of twenty, originally given to great kings of men, dwarves, and elves, with one held by Sauron. The nine rings of men made their bearers immortal, slaving their wills to Sauron and turning them into the ring wraiths. The seven rings of the dwarves greatly expanded their wielders' lives, but the dwarves' wills mostly remained their own. Still, the dwarf kings for a long time after were driven by greed and paranoia, until one by one the rings were lost and the curses broken."

Pause. "The elven rings are also lost or hidden, though it's harder to say if there was any impact on the elf kings, especially since Celebrimbor claimed to have forged them alone, after he began suspecting Sauron of treachery. No one's actually sure who he gave the rings to, even - 'the elf kings' is a somewhat poetic guess."

"Sauron's One Ring was taken by the human king Isildur after his death. Isildur was instructed by Lord Elrond to destroy the Ring, but the king refused. The Ring corrupted him and eventually betrayed him to his death. It was lost, then, and hasn't surfaced since."

"Some people think that the One Ring has to be destroyed to kill Sauron permanently."

"Lord Elrond's in that group - he believes Isildur ensured Sauron's eventual return."

"Given that he apparently is back..."

"Yeah. It's - worrying."