He nods slowly, not really one to push with a stranger. His hand falls back to his side but he still waits a moment before walking again.

"It's different for everyone," he ventures after a brief pause, glancing down the hall where they'll be headed. "Some are only here for a few weeks, a few months."

Some have been here even longer than him, too, but this he doesn't mention.

"Are there mages in your world?"

A slight topic change.