"I'm sure you'll think of something," Ellis says, a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

Even without much of an impression, Ellis is absolutely certain that Astarion does nothing at all for free.

"When I'm sent out next, I'll bring you along," cements the agreement. Ellis does what he says he will, and he can give this man a try. Partnership is a weighty term to apply to what feels like happenstance on his end and frivolous curiosity on the other. It's not the most promising start, but then again, Ellis has had worse introductions to people that managed to turn somewhere in the neighborhood of decent.