The eunuch shakes his head. "I only know what happened to me. I haven't been here long enough to see its effects apart from that one time. It lasted for an age, or so it felt."

He looks downstream, spying a vacant bench, and gestures for Remus to take the lead. This topic of conversation demands a certain amount of comfort. "One morning not long after I came here, I ventured outside to see the city, much as yourself. After some walking, I found myself at a bazaar, and everywhere I looked, I spied a familiar face. It was as though in that moment, I had been taken back to Susa, where I was born."