"Alright, alright, point taken," he says, knowing full well Caleb's decision is the right one. He could happily talk about Black Elm to the exclusion of nearly anything else; that had been true even before the forces that govern the city brought it to him here like some kind of gift, or reward, or bribe. He should be wary, understanding after all his years with Lethe that magical bargains are never as clean or beneficent as they appear--but it's Black Elm.

"Dining room first," he suggests, picking up the floor plans he'd drawn and offering them to Caleb. "It'll take me a minute to get down to the basement."