"I mean, I'd be paid by the Crown either way, unless I wanted to go off on my own for some reason? And Valdemar already doesn't have enough Healers." 

"- huh. It's inherited, right?"

"We think so, yes. Or at least potential is, no one totally understands what makes it awaken in some people and not others, but that's probably what's going on when Gifts seem to skip generations." 

"It seems really weird that you wouldn't have enough. I think in Cheliax if we had a bloodline that useful they'd be aiming to have everyone have potential within a century."

"....Er. How?" 

"Attract immigrants, send some of your people overseas to hook up with guys who have it, pay everyone in the bloodline to have kids...."

"Huh. I...guess. I think people would - feel icky, about going to hook up with Healers in Rethwellan or whatever just to get pregnant." 

Carissa looks puzzled again. "Well, then they could stay home and other people could go who think that sounds fun?"

"I'm not sure I know anyone who'd want to do that!" 

" - oh, is this one of those cultures where if you do that people will think you're a slut and treat you badly about it forever?"

"...A lot of places, yes. Not everywhere - the Healers aren't as much like that, partly I think because we won't get pregnant unless we want to, but - even then it'd be pretty odd. To do it that, um - gods, I don't even know the right word for it. Transactionally?" 

" - I mean, I'm hard pressed to think of anything more transactional than sex, regardless of whether you get a free trip to Rethwellan out of it."

Now Shavri is giving her a very odd look again. "What?" 

"I guess outside, like, actual purchases."

"No, I mean - gah - is that how people think of it in Cheliax? That's...so sad... Um, I don't think that's how people here think of it. At all." 

"I guess maybe that's why you don't have enough Healers," she says, but she sounds not totally persuaded of this. "I don't - even know that you'd need all that, wouldn't Gifted peoples' kids be likelier to not get sick and die?"

"That's true. I mean, definitely if you're Gifted it's - easier to find someone who wants to marry you, it's popular I guess..." 

"Well. I'm not an expert but I'm curious what Leareth thinks is going on, there. Anyway, I don't see why you should stay here just because there aren't enough Healers? Is this the place that has the most scarcity of Healers, is that how you decide where to work?"

"No. I guess not. But - I'm Valdemaran. And I owe something to the Healers here, since they took me in and trained me." 

"And if you went and studied with other Healers you could come back and teach new techniques here! I'm not saying you should switch sides, just, you know, at the Worldwound I looked at magic swords from paladins, and I hate them and want them all to burn in Hell forever."

"...Um. Why do you want anyone to burn in Hell forever. That's horrible. Er, unless that's - some sort of weird backward compliment in Cheliax since you're all supposedly Evil." 

"Normal people in Hell get in line and get assigned something useful! Paladins - well, mostly don't go to Hell, because they're paladins, but the ones in Lastwall were very insistent they'd rather just lie there in Avernus being on fire, and I wish them as much of that as suits them, since I hate them."

"Why do you hate them that much? They sound - kind of like Heralds, is what I heard from Van. Do you hate Heralds too?"

Shavri immediately goes red, that came out as a much more awkward question than she'd really intended. 

"No, because they aren't at war with Hell. And didn't kidnap me while I was doing my job at the Worldwound."

"- I guess it's fair to be pretty sore with people for kidnapping you."