"Are you giving me time to prepare?"
"Yes." Kallen nodded. "Because I knew this would be boring, but I didn't want it to be too boring."
"Heh, boy, you're arrogant."
"The people close to me all think I'm cautious."
"Cautious? Perhaps. But I find myself appreciating your arrogance a little now. It reminds me of when I was young."
"I don't consider that a compliment."
"Then do you believe that one day, you'll end up in the same predicament as me?
"They want to push you into the spotlight as their public face, to make you the mask of this district's Whip of Order at this stage. But if the wind changes, when they need to change direction, the simplest, easiest method will be to peel that used mask off their face and toss it in the trash.
"In a few more years, you might be the one sitting here.
"They have plenty of ways to make you afraid to resist, just like me now. I clearly have the power to kill you, yet I can't actually do it. I can only watch you drive the spear into my chest."
Kallen looked at Dorf and nodded. "I believe people say a few somewhat sincere things before they die, and I sensed some of that in what you just said.
"But you're wrong about one thing.
"Perhaps one day I'll face the same situation as you, but I'll never end up in the same predicament."
Dorf's gaze sharpened slightly at those words. "What would you do?"
"I'd fight back."
"What about your family?"
"My family would want me to fight back. I'd do everything I could to protect them, because to me, family comes first. But I know even better that the family I protect will always support me from behind.