He was a pest who knew how to play the game despite how under-advantaged he was.

I'm banking on that experience being a learning opportunity. There are things that we can tweak. Adjust. And hope the cards fall back into place, eventually.

I'm sure much of the time Thorne only sees us as pawns to move across their chessboard, but we are nonetheless a deterrent whether or not we mean to be. Self-centered? Perhaps. But had we been present we would have had eyes somewhere in all of it and now we're caught flatfooted.

But please, rumors? Please, oh please, do tell, Thancred.