If Richard were someone else, they could compare scars. Slash for slash, ugly gouge for ugly gouge. But Richard isn't a warden, and Ellis doesn't get the sense that he'd care to part with his stories so easily.

But Richard has those stories. Maybe they aren't about darkspawn, but there have been monsters. Ellis is polite, doesn't stare, but he takes in the marks and sets them against what Richard has said so far. All of it paints a particular picture for him.

"Six months," Ellis answers after a momentary, considering hum. "I was on the road before that."