Vali clutched at her chest as he spoke. She should have chided him for his self-deprecation - always did when he was younger. But like the fool she was, it still moved her. Like a fool, she wanted nothing more than to reassure him that he was smart, capable, and good.

"You're not hopeless..." she whispered.

She listened to his speculation about the wrongness of the world. A shadow of dread filled her too - not because of the darkness threatening the world, but because her child was becoming aware of it.

Vali seated herself on a nearby bench. "No, you have the right of it. Oh dear God...you have no idea."

She groaned and dragged her hands down her face, lingering a few moments as if rethinking all her life choices.

"Ask the King of Riftgard about the Emerald Key," she said at length. "That is all I should say on the matter. Darvus...come back, you hear me? You come back home with your sister. If you die, so help me, I will drag your sorry butt back from the afterlife so I can kick it to hell and back. Promise me, Darvus!"