Cullen laughs. "Are a dozen cookies a hoard? Why would I not have a sweet tooth? Who doesn't like cookies?" He says it as though it's unthinkable.

"There's a lady in Lowtown, the mother of a recruit we had here a few years ago. He was unhappy in Kirkwall. I helped get him a transfer to Ansburg. She has faithfully sent me cookies every week since and became quite irate with me when I suggested I didn't merit such an expense. So I've never said another word about it except to thank her."

He readies their tea cups and a strainer and pours each of them a cup of pale yellow-green tea. "There's also a bit of honey if you take it." Anything fancier is harder to come by right now and not something he'd waste resources on. He sets the small pot in reach of both of them.