Rathi sits with Vindur for several hours, letting the crippled man speak and reminisce at his own pace, but their chat comes to an abrupt end when Jerek discovers them. He calls Rathi out of the room, telling him to let Vindur get some rest. When he then attempts to leave the boy, saying nothing more than that, Rathi chases after him and asks if Jerek is really still looking for his adventuring friends.
“They’re dead,” Jerek tells him. “Dead and buried under a hundred tons of rubble and history and far beyond our reach.”
Rathi rightly discerns that whatever left Vindur so crippled is whatever killed their friends, but Jerek will not elaborate. When the boy asks why Jerek doesn’t adventure and do good deeds anymore, Jerek informs him: “That was then. This is now.”
When Rathi asks about the “great truth” Vindur mentioned, Jerek’s answer is equally useless: “You know that saying about ignorance and bliss? Well here’s a good deed for you, kid: I’ll let you stay blissful.”