[ Istredd snorts although it probably seems like a strange reaction at first. ]

They don't pay the Summoned anything. They like to supply us with everything.

[ And keep them needy so they have no where else to turn. That's always been one of the problems here, and people have found their ways around it with occasional side gigs or selling animal parts from Nocwich, but at the end of the day, they don't want the Summoned to have an easy time on their own. He's not going to go into great detail about that when they're out in the open like this. And if he does a sound spell in public they'll pay more attention to when he does it and the reasons why. He has an easier time doing that in private. ]

A little over a year ago, I was you, Miss Horne. I didn't go wandering because I hid in the library for a week instead, we all react in different ways.

[ Istredd probably would have stayed in that library if Lucifer didn't come drag him out, or his growing connections didn't manage to pull him into active life again. He just doesn't want her to end up in a dungeon. ]

I am not kidding about the dungeon.