Palamedes leads Darlington into the kitchen, which is only more ordered than the rest of the house because Pal isn't about to let his books get covered in food. He takes down a couple of mugs and the little box of assorted tea bags he had bought during one of his adventures with commerce.

"I'm working on a way to exploit the link we seem to maintain with our former lives. We're not just dropped here--whatever is controlling this universe is also capable of sending us meaningful gifts, even memories, or so I've heard. Doing so must require a whole other mechanism, and if I can figure out what it is, then maybe I can find a way to reverse it. We could send messages home. Milk?"