"Thankee-sai." Both for the food and water, and for the information. He felt his heavy heart lift a fraction. He hadn't really thought Roland was dead - he felt sure he would have felt that, even with worlds between them - but it was still a relief to know that Nariko, at least, was here and, if not alive, then at least a reasonable facsimile of it. That was good. Roland had lost too much already, he ought to have at least that much joy.

He considered his next question just as carefully as the first, swilling water around his mouth to try and clear out the acid, dry taste left there, and took the pastry from her with a smile and another "thankee-sai." He wasn't hungry, or at least his hunger was buried under pain and nausea, but he nibbled at the pastry anyway, as much to fill his mouth with another taste as anything else.

"You called Kaine a halfling, earlier. What does that mean, exactly?"