"It would make Kirkwall seem so much friendlier." He snorted a soft laugh. "Until someone got the handshake wrong, and the streets filled with shades. This is why we can't have nice things."

He nodded, his look more thoughtful. "I know, many of them of this world and not beyond. I'm one of the things they fear, after all." It was never far from his awareness, always abundantly clear every time he was sent out to bring another in when they refused to go voluntarily.

His lips quirked a crooked smile. "In the water doing our best drowned rat imitations. I'm not sure I'd be able to climb back in if I fell out. I've never tried sober, much less drunk." He took the bottle for a deep swallow. Ale would probably be a better thirst quencher, but this was nice, particularly now that his sweat was drying.