Throughout the whole, messy story Doul listens quietly but with rapt attention. He soaks it all in, the information and the way in which it was told. It's a messy thing, a thing that has already endangered his own interests and that cannot be borne.

"Give me three days. If I don't have it then, I won't have it at all." What else will he need? "I will need to be outside for some of it. Or somewhere I can spar. With partners."

"I'll need to work through the possibilities." It's an unusual request, but he clearly processes his ideas in odd ways. A cultivator or a native to this land comes at a problem in one way and Doul is going at it from a very different angle. "There's a hinge somewhere. The keystone that will cause collapse if it's moved."