Ian had been a mess since returning to his original world, though he couldn't let it show. The others already had limited trust in him and he couldn't let them know he was affected by being back here or how close they were to finally accomplishing what he had been dreaming of since the moment he lost everything.
He had been instrumental in getting the dwarves to cooperate—goodness knows he had seen Azariel negotiate with them enough times—but it took so long! He couldn't believe how much had changed in the time they were gone.
Having a katzkin companion would certainly help boost Zeldris's magic in their fight against Venethan but it wasn't until after they completed the spell that he realized exactly how much of a problem that may turn out to be. The katzkin was very attached to Ava and he wasn't the only one.
