Zed, after resting long enough to have recovered decently, finds Dente sitting alone on the ground as if he were fishing. The young man awkwardly joins the old sage. The older man does not look at Zed, but ultimately sees it time to tell Zed everything that he wishes to tell the younger man.
"These are strange times, don't you think, Zed?" the older man begins.
"Um, I suppose so, yeah," Zed responds. "It's certainly no cakewalk to get by, but this is all I've ever known in all honesty." He focuses his gaze on Dente for a little more time. "Once again, I don't wish to be rude to the guy who saved my skin, but who are you, exactly? And how do you know my name?" The man finally turns to Zed, a look of eccentricity painted on his face.
"The legends paint me as the man known as Dente Fray: The Silver-Tongued; The Deceiver; The Master Manipulator; and the Sage of Light. With the legends all but lost, I am better addressed as Dente Fray: Old Geezer." Dente laughs somewhat loudly at his own joke, holding his head in place as he laughs. Zed, however, is less amused; and as Dente sobers up from his laughter to notice Zed's change in demeanor, he quickly rebounds the conversation. "Oh, and as far as your second question is concerned, it is my responsibility to know as much as I must, lest I be a sage in name only. Still, there is something about you that intrigues me, something quite strange indeed." As soon as Dente finishes those words, the ground pops up under Dente, the man squatting upon the surface, scanning Zed from above. The younger man scoots away from Dente's pillar rather quickly due to the sudden nature of its rise, a picture of concern on his face. What was Dente getting at?