"Please, there's really no need for formality." A little insistent, and his hand is there to help steady Talcott as he stumbles. "And the short of it is that those within the Ring had some ability to see what its wearers were doing, if we broke the surface of what was otherwise a very long slumber. And I was very much awake at that point, though my attention was split and somewhat muddled."

He's not easily going to offer up why, though. Please don't make him go relive that thing.