"Er, sure," Ashran says, resisting the urge to mutter that of course she knows how to read. "Who's written books about the gods?" 

<Pay attention here> Mhalir thinks to Carissa. <...What do you think of this? Where else should we be pressing her?>

Carissa wants to know what the laws are, whether there are opinions about the gods you aren't supposed to have, what sorts of things get you into trouble in the city. 

"I don't know who has written books about the gods because I have never read any," the woman says, a touch condescending with the precision with which she is at this point speaking. "I do not personally think it's very interesting. Probably the same people as write books about other things."

"Can you ask about laws in the city and what opinions about gods you shouldn't have and what would get you into trouble," Mhalir whispers into his earpiece, to be relayed via the shuttle to Ashran. 

"- Right, er, thank you," Ashran says, slightly distracted. "I - er - if I go to the city, I don't want to get in trouble, or - make people think I'm bad by asking the wrong questions? What laws and, er, cultural norms, should I be careful of?" 

"- you're different," she says, condescending again. "But that doesn't make you bad. If anyone thinks poorly of you just because you ask strange questions and your soul is malfunctioning, that speaks poorly of them, not of you. I would not expect you to be in any trouble just because you don't know anything and can't learn it or remember it yourself. And I can't imagine you would need to worry about the laws? If something looks valuable, you shouldn't break it, and you shouldn't take it without asking. That's about all there is, and no one'll be angry if you forget, what with your problem."

Is Carissa getting any discordant notes from this in her Detect Thoughts read? 

This woman more than anyone Carissa has ever met seems to just say what she's thinking, except when she thought she should be gentle to the brain-damaged stranger about the horrors of what Melkor did. It is reinforcing her conviction these people don't have free will; how, otherwise, would you end up with that habit.

Mhalir remains fairly sure that there are other ways to end up with this habit, but he's not sure they're going to learn much more from this particular person. 

"Tell her to move along," he whispers into the microphone. Ashran and Eliza should still have another seventy minutes or so of Tongues to ask more questions. 

"Er, thank you, I'll be going now," Ashran says. 

(Eliza thinks this is SO AWKWARD but, at this point, whatever.) 

The elf notices the crackle of sound from the earpiece and finds it unpleasant but doesn't have a theory about what it might be and is happy enough for the interaction to end. Then she remembers she shouldn't let this person wander off when they're this confused and disoriented. "Oh, must you?" she says. "I really ought to take you home and ask around if anyone lost you. Have you had anything to eat today?"

"- Er, I've eaten today, thank you. I don't need you to take me home, really." 

Ashran is now starting to agree with Eliza on this being SO AWKWARD. 

"And drank water? I guess you're taking care of yourself all right... do you live alone?"

"No, I live with my, er, mother..." Ashran accepts Eliza's help in very quickly making up a name and living circumstances for said imaginary mother. 

"And does she know you're here? Do you have any money?"

"Not here but I told her I wanted to go nearer to the city and talk to people there, I don't have money on me but it's fine, really - I should go back home to her now..." If this overly-concerned person doesn't give up soon then Ashran is going to start considering more extreme routes such as "literally running away." 

"All right," she says, thinking that probably he won't get himself badly hurt or killed, there are enough people here to see him if he yells, and he's clearly competent to do his own hair if awfully clumsily. "Have a good day."

"Thank you!" And Ashran escapes as fast-yet-discreetly as possible, and whisper to the shuttle for further instruction as soon as she's fairly sure that they're out of earshot.

<...Should we sent them somewhere else?> Mhalir thinks to Carissa. <The locals seem so absurdly - possessive, or overprotective, or something -> 

:I think they think of everyone as, like, their military unit. Their whole species. She just seemed to consider it her problem, even though she didn't like them and wasn't at all equipped to help, and also seemed to expect that if they met anyone else they'd do the same thing.

I don't know. I don't get it. 

We could do it ourselves, though. Whatever it is it doesn't seem immediately physically dangerous.:

<...Sure. I think we could get - higher-fidelity data that way, you are very good at this.> 

:I bet I could act like I had no free will better than your people can. And if I'm mindreading then I'm better positioned to adjust our presentation, too.:

<Yes, I agree.> 

And Mhalir whispers orders into their microphone for Ashran to back off, he and Carissa are going in - can the shuttle give them directions to someone else to talk to -? 

Sure, a quarter mile up the road there's someone with a wagon that has broken down; he's repairing it.