"There we are, then."

"Is there some kind of suggestion box? Dear pharaoh for my birthday I want a silk shirt from Shazeun."

"There's no way to contact the pharaoh. You can write papers for the church, foreign policy's a bit outside scope but I'm sure someone would publish it if it was reasonably about trade."

"Think the pharaoh sits in his beetleshell with a wife for every day of the week reading theology papers?"

"Probably. Since he is an aspect of Abadar."

"I've never tried writing a theology paper. Maybe you should do it."

"Once I retire, maybe."

"I guess it's sort of an awkward occupation to parallelize with adventuring."

"A little! And I'll have to pick up some new hobbies. Lots of people report finding retirement boring and expanding their drinking hobby, which seems tragic."

"That's not even a hobby."

"Why, what is it?"

"I'm not sure it belongs to an entire class of activity with its own name like 'hobby' but you'd know better than I if there's an Osirian word for it or something."

"Some people taste expensive wines and I guess that's a hobby and not very tragic."

"My hobby's going to be finding a wife."

"Also not a hobby."

"Also if you keep it up too long you'll wind up having to work more than once a week."

"1100 gold a Teleport. That's three households, maybe four..."

"Or one very nice one."

"You could live in the Dome."

"But then you'd never visit me."

"Allergic to beetles?"

"Violently."

"How do you even find a wife, is it like the opposite of how we do it minus the explicit sale? Ask your friends for a sister or cousin they think you'd like?"

"Some people do that. Some people hire a matchmaker, they get to know lots of men and women and try to guess who'll be suitable. Friends in the church have started mentioning daughters to me, when I'm in town."

"Are the matchmakers a third miraculous gender or just above reproach somehow?"