"Part of the reason we are here is because of something I promised to help Cerulean with. The sultan in this desert has her as a slave, so I am going to go and ask him politely to let her leave with me. I am just hoping he agrees, otherwise, we are going to have a small problem, because once I give my word, it is absolute."<br/><br/>He shifted the topic away from the desert even as he cast an improved endure elements on those around him, and began asking what Nadriina had been researching, as well as what her previous topics had been. He carefully steered the conversation, before finally getting to the point. "So, you automatically assume you are superior to humans, just because you currently can outlive them, and since elves can't do anything of real significance within a mere century, neither can they?"<br/><br/>He gave her an innocent grin over his shoulder, a bit amused at how easy it had been to set up the question, he had just asked about her exposure to the surface cultures, and she had given him a scathing answer about humans being insignificant, short lived, and incapable of doing anything important in their own lifetimes. "Then how about a wager. This sultan has, in his lifetime, turned a blood stained desert into a massive empire, stabilized it, and has made it far more prosperous then even dragons had predicted possible. If you don't believe me, then come with me to the city. I am already going to have Ulwei come if she doesn't mind, but having a drow with me would definitely help speed up and smooth my time in the city."