[ Nikolai grins in response to the sleight-of-hand. He appreciates the trick itself, but even moreso he appreciates the fact that Astarion is showing off. The trick and the banter both speak to a resilience that Nikolai admires. Nikolai would bet good money that Astarion is not nearly as fine as he's pretending to be. He'd just been tortured and there is no guarantee it won't happen again. But here Astarion is, putting on a good show. It's exactly what Nikolai would be doing if he were in Astarion's shoes. ]

Faerûn?

[ A small furrow forms between Nikolai's brows as he searches his memory. He's sure there's no such place in his own world, but he's had time to do a little reading since arriving here. Had it come up in anything? Moments later he shakes his head. ]

Sadly, no. Which is quite vexing. I'm not accustomed to being at such a complete loss when I meet someone! I'd love to hear more about it sometime.

[ It's no mere annoyance; being able to befriend just about anyone is a crucial survival skill as far as Nikolai is concerned. How is he supposed to do that without the necessary information to lay a groundwork of small talk and pleasantries? Sure, plenty of the time he'll pretend not to know much about a place just so he can ask questions and give the other person the pleasure of explaining their home to him. But how is he supposed to know the right questions to ask without a thoroughly-researched foundation? ]

I'm afraid the real Ravka isn't quite like in that story I told you. Fewer mystical animals and more petty nobles endlessly scheming and squabbling. Although...

[ He makes a small noise of consideration, scrunching his nose and adding: ]

I suppose there are one or two mystical animals running around.