"Gallowsbait, huh? What were you, like a mercenary band?"

There's no judgement in her voice. Mercenary work is an entirely respectable life path, in her opinion.

In any case, she's glad to see that Greyjay is keeping up well. That taslk of being a city rat had Ikrie worked that shed have to carry them back.

"Ban-ur is... cold and harsh. There's snow there for more than half of the year, and there are lots of big, hearty trees around. It's not that different a place than here, really, it's just... colder."

This is not a coincidence. Geographically, Ban-ur is in what used to be Montana and Saskatchewan. Not all that far from where they are in Idaho - although that's a context that Ikrie isn't privy to.

"The people are... strong and competitive. They're all spread out - the weraks tend to move around, there aren't really a whole lot of structures like the ones in town."

"There's spirits and stuff too, of course, but the people are all human. I never met anyone who wasn't human until I got here - what about you?"