[A stony expression is more promising than a disgusted one, or even a surprised one. Stephen launches into an explanation without missing a beat.]

The mages here are running low on a specific ingredient needed for more things than I can count: Winterwhite. It’s a plant that grows on a specific mountainside just north of the Castle. I’ve already plotted the path we’d have to take to get there.

[Because of course he has. Stephen is a lot of things, but unprepared is not one of them.]

Figured I’d do them a favor and bring a few satchel-fulls back myself. There’s a problem, though — a bandit-problem. Area’s not exactly free of them, and I’d feel a lot better if someone else was there to watch my back.

[Stephen pauses, waits for a reply, seeing if he needs to give another nudge of motivation—to win a few favor points amongst the Thorneans—or if he can leave it at that.]