Palamedes has told me the poem, once, and some eh... interesting stories about the Third and the Eighth. The Ninth's verse to do with a tomb. [sounds friendly, the kind of place you want a kid to grow up. in truth he thinks something similar, that he wonders if perhaps the ninth and it's odd morbidity aren't terribly unlike growing up in zaun, or as close to that world's version.]

That is kind of you, in truth. It is difficult not to pry in matters that feel somehow connected to us. [her story is the beginning of ortus' after all. if it were him? he would have asked, regardless of the damage.

in fact in some ways he hopes the trench will find a way to reveal that secret to ortus, as it sometimes does with odd matters. does he not have the right to know that distant part of his history if he's to be stuck here?]

No. That isn't uncommon in the undercity. Most families are made up of people who find each other in some way, rather than blood. [it's a bit odd, to be speaking of his family at all. he's never spoken to jayce about it, or pal, yet it feels a proper place to speak idly of it. he's come to find ortus is someone surprisingly easy to talk to in matters he usually avoids.

he watches the sparks then glances over, smile crooked.] I admit it may be why I find the concept of cavaliers and necromancer pairs particularly intriguing. To have someone by your side for so long, that is a profound thing, is it not?