He tries to imagine the quiet soldiers sitting over a book. Well, why not, really...

"What sorts of things are you reading?"

"...two romance novels and a book on chess, presently, there's not many choices already at the fort.  I hope to purchase some others in Kenabres."

That gets a laugh from him.  He turns to glance back at the dour Chelish men behind them - "I have to say, I'm trying to imagine them reading romance novels and it's not really working."

She winces a bit.  "I- wouldn't read such normally in mixed company, it's true.  They hold more interest than the chess book, though."

"Most things would, I expect."  He does not read much into her reaction, since he's imagining entirely different sorts of romance novels.  "What books do you want to look for?"

"One foreign romance at the least, if I find any in Taldane, they wished to see how they differ- but mostly not fiction, natural history perhaps?"

"That does seem very Nethysian.  I haven't been taught much natural history, but it does seem like something it'd be easy to make interesting, if the writer was trying.  Geography too maybe?  The sort with a lot of good descriptions of different cities and customs and landscapes, not the one that's mostly about lists of counties and how rich they are.  ... I suppose maybe I really mean travel journals, assuming you can find ones that aren't mostly made up.  Do Nethysian temples keep lists of which books contain real knowledge instead of being mostly made up?"

... Right, there's no reason for her to know the answer any better than he does, but he realizes that a moment after having asked, and taking back your questions makes for awkward conversations. 

"Oh, definitely yes- perhaps history also, that may be more likely to find in Taldane...  I'd never seen such a list, but I suppose the library tenders may share it with one another and not post it on the wall?  I wished mainly to read the math and wizardry books, I expect they have less that problem since a reader would notice if they tried a made up thing themselves."

"Now I'm trying to imagine the sort of person who writes made up math books as a hobby," he laughs.

And they can carry on in roughly that vein until they arrive at the next outpost in early afternoon, the demons along this stretch apparently being quiet today, or just elsewhere.  It's smaller than the one right at the junction between the two stretches of border, but on the same basic plan, there being only so many ways to build a fort in featureless tundra.  Marcus might recognize one of the gate guards from his visit a few days ago.

He waves to that one, but conversations during gate security proceedings are discouraged, and after that they'd all rather go indoors and sit down.

He did get to know enough people at this fort that one of them will join him and the Chelish contingent at the mess table despite knowing who they are. 

Marcus introduces everyone, and then only makes a little bit of a face when the first thing Argil says is:  "Well, good luck with not ending up in Hell! How is that going?"

(Well, it's not as if it's a bad question.)

The two Chelish soldiers are if anything extra unreadable in response, although Khalida winces a bit and gives Cambra a slightly worried glance.  "We don't get much news at the Wound," he offers.  "...they're changing out the money?"

"Oh!"  Khalida perks up at the mention of what is apparently scandalous gossip. "Did you hear about that?"

"Uh. No?... What's the money got to do with anything?"

He will give the cute girl an interested smile if she's going to make that sort of face about it, though.

"So they had paper money- you know how one might have a letter of credit with the bank of Abadar, and exchange it at a different temple, and not have need to carry coin between the two?"  She's perhaps taking the opportunity to carry the conversation and give the guys a moment, but that doesn't mean it's not fascinatingly horrible.  "Except instead of silver it was- I don't know the Taldane- tradable-in-theory for souls!  I thought it was just tavern rumors but it's true, I've seen it."

"So... Instead of taking a letter to an Abadaran bank and getting silver coin for it, you... take one to an Asmodean bank and... get a soul??"  He hadn't thought ahead far enough to be alarmed at the beginning of this sentence, but now he is.  He makes an avert-evil gesture before thinking any more about it.  "What are you supposed to do with that??"  It's probably something horrible.

Marcus looks more quietly horrified, but does not add any questions.  He thinks he can guess something of how it went.

Cambra shakes his head.  "Nah, y'take it to the cobbler and get boots, or whatever.  Wouldn't know what to do with a soul if I got one."

"...Oh.  Okay, I give up, what's the big deal then?  Doesn't seem very evil to get boots."

"Well, it remains trading in souls, even if one trades the right to a hundredth or a thousandth of a soul rather than one soul entire?  So it's technically necromancy.  Or uh, the paper money isn't magic- legally necromancy?"

"Huh. Sounds like cheating, really. Legally necromancy, who ever heard of that! I wouldn't've thought that'd work, but if they're changing it I guess that means it did?"

"I expect it did work.  Because... you could buy a soul out of Hell for it, theoretically, if you had enough, couldn't you?  It'd probably be hard – and suspicious, unless you were going to do something evil with it – but you could.  I think it'd make me a worse person, to go all my life thinking that instead of buying a house for my family I could buy a soul out of Hell, and I'm not."  Gods, what a thing to live with.

(Insofar as he's readable at all, Cambra looks like he's never once thought that and maybe assumes only a paladin would.)

"Well, the new Queen'd have the right of it," puts in Ferrer, "an' the last payroll came in coin.  So it must've done."

(Cambra is probably not wrong, that most people wouldn't think about it – anywhere, let alone in Cheliax.  Marcus doesn't think not thinking about it would make it work any less, but it's hardly going to do anyone good to bring that up now.)

Argil shakes his head at Marcus and catches Cambra's eye.  "Paladins are just like that.  But still, if you're getting proper coin without weird soul fuckery now, that's gotta be for the best."

"Any idea how long it'll take you?"

"...they'll probably send someone around to do sermons once- things're more settled.  So belike we'll know better by then."