When Elizabeth and Desir returned, there was much to explain, involving many frowns. Elizabeth was distinctly not happy about the entire situation and reacted with great distrust towards an enigmatic trader, especially because of her father’s supposed stance. To the point there had to be interludes of argument before everything was explained in full. It was also, to everyone’s surprise, Desir who spoke up first for the peddler.“Unlike Irwyn, I have a much better read on the man and can vouch that he bears no malice,” he explained.“You are also one of his customers?” Irwyn exclaimed with some surprise.“And dealt with him much more than you, clearly,” Desir nodded. “So I can say that he has never broken word given and deals in trust, despite certainly having the option of selling me out for more than I could possibly offer this century.”“Trusting the word of a merchant is already not a great idea,” Elizabeth maintained a frown. “Believing a word someone with such clear expertise in divination is downright foolish. Anyone who dabbles in predictions tends to be a schemer.”“Perhaps. But you can trust self-interest and nature,” Desir immediately countered. “I have made hundreds of deals with Bhaak and I am almost certain that he holds some kind of Truth adjacent to either trade or exchange which he progresses by doing this.”Surprise passed visibly through the rest of the group. Waylan had the weakest reaction while it was surprisingly Elizabeth who seemed the most shaken by the proclamation. It was rare for her to lose composure at all but the sudden surge of nervousness was immediately apparent in her body language. Irwyn did not quite understand why. There was not that much difference between being smitten by a Domain or Truth mage for them, was there?“Elaborate,” she insisted after a moment.“I have three reasons for that conclusion,” Desir nodded. “Firstly, I have some anomalous (...)