He listened very quietly as Araceli spoke. There was no interjections of mm or mmhmm, only a very occasional head nod to show that Waver was engaged with the story and, indeed, quite intrigued by all of it. There was no doubt in his mind that there was material left out, but even so, it didn't matter. It had so much going on, what with recording oral histories, dealing with the matters of mages in the current environment, and just a hint of spreading the word about the Inquisition that it was more than enough on a fist listen.

"That's," Waver began, when the tale came to a close. "That's a lot to pack into one trip." A little smile flicked across his face, but it didn't linger. "Do you intend to go back to Rivain at any point?"


"No, that's the person who knows how politics work and how easy it is to upset a delicate balance," Waver said. It wasn't a correction, more a confirmation that such a thought was pretty much the best one to have in response to something that in theory sounded so lofty and secure. "Which speaks to a sound strategic mind."

In Waver's opinion, that was a compliment.