[ Rarely one to interrupt, Geralt says nothing while she talks. She's different from most he's met: not because she wants better, but because she's the first person he's spoken to who's brought up the common folk of Thorne. It's the one thing Geralt's been trying to find out—the reason why he'd asked Estinien what the people of Hayle were like.

He doesn't give much of a damn about what Thorne wants; his presumption, always, is that it boils down to power. Its people are another matter. If they care about the Singularity, if they've been brought to desperation, then it means Thorne has convinced them the Singularity will solve their problems, that it's worth giving up their lives for in bullshit experiments. Worth sending their children to war over. ]

Peace is temporary. So is change. Meaningful or otherwise. [ It isn't said unkindly, though there's no effort to be gentle, either. ] But I think you know that. And I think there are times when that's enough.

[ She's right: he is a survivor. And if there's one thing he's learned, it's that there are no real survivors in war. It's only that he knows some kind of conflict is inevitable: if not the Singularity, it'll be something else. But that doesn't mean he believes it impossible to stave off. For tensions to ease, for awhile, before another fire is lit. Right now, those tensions make it a hell of a headache to do anything about returning home. The last thing he needs is war breaking loose while he's still trying to figure out what the fuck he's supposed to do about Ciri's Elder Blood. When he has people he's trying to protect, in a world where he's only beginning to find his footing. ]

You can't return to Thorne. Doesn't mean the people of Thorne can't come to you. Solvunn claims they're neutral territory. They must have trade routes.