( a talented writer and gifted astrologist, left to fade into obscurity in a den of iniquity and sin. it seems a waste.

but the young lady seems unruffled by the goings-on around them, and indeed blends in with the atmosphere far better than he. who is he to assume her wants and preferences simply because this place does not meet his own? )

You have my thanks, Miss Megistus. ( a dip of his head. ) Please rest assured that I will repay you for any assistance to the best of my abilities.

( if not with chips then with any information he might be able to glean. and now, with the requisite formalities out of the way—he sighs once more, some of the tension ebbing from his shoulders, a wave receding back into the ocean. )

I admit, I am not well-versed with...diversions of this sort. Though they do feature quite prominently in numerous court cases I have overseen, there has been little need for me to engage with them on a personal level.

( until now. )