Brenda suspects that nowhere can be the least stressful place on the planet while Nenio is investigating it, but least stressful is different from most fun.

"Kyonin is the elf country that hates tourists, right? What's Hermea?"

"Indeed! On average, Kyonin only lets in 7.5 humans a year! Hermea is an island to the west of Avistan lead by the gold dragon Mengkare dedicated to what he calls the Glorious Endeavor, an effort to make a perfect country of perfect people, and he spared no expense building his vision for a Utopia. It's incredibly isolationist; nobody who isn't accepted in is allowed to leave the port city for the rest of the island."

"I guess it makes sense that the two calmest places are the ones that can keep out anyone who might cause problems." She's pleased to realize that she has no particular desire to hide in either one of them instead of working on becoming an archmage and fixing the Worldwound, though she does kind of want to see what Mengkare or his admissions process would make of her.

"Is Hermea succeeding at being utopian, as opposed to merely quiet?"

"People in the city of Promise seem very enthusiastic about it, but it's possible the rest of the island is less utopian and they're being deceived or are happy to lie about it."

"Oh man, people must be trying to sneak in constantly. But this is a tangent. Ember, I don't suppose I can talk you into letting me get you a room in the Defender's Heart where Wenduag and I are staying?"

"Why would I need a room?"

Apparently that's too much for the boy to stay quiet through.

"People usually don't want to sleep on the street."

Ember smiles at him, and he quickly looks away again to hide his embarrassment with slightly darkening cheeks.

"I'm used to it though, so I don't need that."

"May I ask your name? I'm Brenda."

"The name's Woljif, chief."

"Pleased to meet you." She's curious what he's in for but that's rude and she should mind her own beeswax. "Your horns are cool."

“Thanks, your ears are pretty nice yourself! Sometimes I think my handsomeness is as much a blessing as a curse, though; people assume there must be something wrong with me to make up for all my blessings. I mean, why else would an innocent man like me be in jail?”

“Woljif, you’re in that cell because you’re a thief, not because you’re a tiefling.”

“See what I mean? Always so quick with the slander, even though I didn’t do it!”

"Um. I'm not a lawyer and I'm not in charge of deciding who did what, but is there some reason you can't say you didn't do it under a truth spell?"

"It's a matter of principle. They get you under that truthspell, and what? They don't stop with 'did you do it,' it's all 'have you ever committed a crime,' 'do you know anyone who did,' what is the membership of the thieflings,' and then they don't even have the decency to trust what they get! I'm no snitch."

"Oh wow, that's really fucked up!"

"Exactly! So I'm stuck here until they admit they're wrong, find the real culprit, or decide they've kept me long enough."

Or he did it and he's stuck here until he's served whatever the sentence is. It doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things whether this particular person is innocent of this particular theft; the point is that Kenabres needs the US Bill of Rights.

"How long is long enough, anyway? I guess it depends on what they think you stole."

"They're blaming me for the loss of some jewelry from the ancientries and wonders shop. If they'd just investigate, they'd know it wasn't me; if I were free I could prove my innocence inside an hour - but as things stand if I'm lucky, they'll make me cool my heels for a few weeks or months before letting me go, and if I'm not it'll be hard labor or the penal battalions until they're satisfied."

"What would you do to prove your innocence, if telling me wouldn't mess it up?" Whether he's innocent absolutely does matter in the more immediate scheme of things.

"I'd talk to the owner and track down who really did it. They've gotta have seen something, since the eagle's watch took the case, which means I'd just need to talk to sister Kerismei and find out whoever was mistaken for me or foisted me the blame. That, or prove he was just making things up to get me put away, depending on what actually happened."

Nod nod. Unclear whether this is a task she has the ability to accomplish without knowing everyone Woljif knows; if it is, the plot justice requires that she give it a go. Or possibly offer to chaperone him while he does it or something.

"Who is sister Kerismei?"

"She's something of, a.... community leader for us Tieflings, so if I got a description she could help find out who it matched."

So probably not someone it would make sense for Brenda to talk to about the matter herself. "If you think it would help for me to take a message to her I could do that."