...he has the hottest girlfriend.

The hottest girlfriend has absolutely no idea that James is looking at her like that, because wow adrenaline is such a thing.

She grins wickedly and huffs with satisfaction. Yes it worked, haha she's brilliant!!!

"Thank you," she says to Lazarus, because she knows what manners are, actually.

"Sorry about the, ah, explosion you were just in the middle of, though I... suppose you ate a good portion of it, so. You're... welcome?"

.... Okay so. Look, it. It was brilliant, but also it had some downsides that she didn't think about at the time. Oops.

The mursaat slowly descends back to the platform. "Thank you," he says. "That ended much more swiftly than I'd expected."

And in barges Marjory, looking much more ruffled than fits her normal appearance, followed by Caithe. "Sorry, we got held up outside—I saw Vetareh, but was too busy to call out to her. I see she found you. What... happened?"

    "The barrier has been restored," says the exalted. "The scion of Glint is safe," it continues, gesturing at the dragon whelp.

"Not until that mursaat is out of here," counters James, looking directly at Lazarus.

Yeah, Vetareh thinks she's just going to sit down. She's very tired and did a lot of running, and jumping, and thinking, and then some very tiring and very complicated and crazy magic. So: sitting down. Okay? Okay.

"James, if he wanted the dragon dead he could have just done it then," she points out. She looks at the little dragon. "No offense."

Rrrraaaaar.

    "He is still a mursaat," says the exalted. "The tales the Forgotten passed on about these creatures... it bears not thinking if he has any plans like those."

"The mursaat I was in the tales of the Forgotten is dead," Lazarus declares in imperious tones. "I have been reborn, and rising from the void brings with it... a new perspective."

Vetareh does not actually have the energy to repress her skeptical face. She saw the fortress made of tortured souls, buddy.

Hey there little dragon, do you want scritches?

Ooooh scritches are new. The dragon think it approves of them, if the small purring sounds it's making are any indication.

"We previously sought power through treacherous means, only to save ourselves when the dragons rose," the mursaat continues its speech, ignoring the dragon. "But now I see we must all stand against the dragons to save everyone."

"Uh huh. You hope to become an ally."

"You have killed two of them, have you not? Our interests are the same. The fire dragon is rising. I cannot stand idly by and repeat past mistakes. My actions since returning prove me a useful ally."

"Like when you destroyed the Bloodstone?" asks Marjory, sceptically.

(And Caithe slowly makes her way to the dragon, too, more enraptured by it than by Lazarus's posturing.)

"The Bloodstone was destabilized by years of misguided White Mantle tinkering," Lazarus explains, managing to almost not sound condescending. "I did absorb the blast to repower myself, but also, how many lives were saved?"

Scritch scritch scritch scritch, here, Caithe, the little dragon likes scritches behind her swirly head decoration things, you can help too, there is plenty of dragon to scritch.

"Don't the White Mantle worship you? Doesn't that make you responsible for their misguided tinkering?"

Scritch scritch!

Rrrrrrrrrrrrraaaaaaaaa~

"I could not very well have guided them from beyond the grave, now, could I?"

"Well, yes, but 'Hey guys, it's totally fine to tinker with the big scary magic thing for power,' seems like the results of administrative decisions that are somewhat indicative of one's priorities as a leader. I'm just saying, it's weird to hear you bring up the number of lives saved in contrast to... everything else the mursaat are famous for."

(Scritch scritch scritch scritch, Who's a good dragon? You're a good dragon!!)

This dragon is the best dragon, it's sure of it.

"What's even your angle, with all that? What's in this for you?"

"The salvation of this world." He looks at Vetareh directly. "The White Mantle is splintering. Those who follow Caudecus, and those loyal to me. It was the former group that destroyed the Bloodstone. But if I can unite them—I can make them a force for good; another spear in an army against the dragons."

    "This is the same accord the mursaat struck with the Forgotten," points out the exalted. "Then, they simply broke their word and disappeared."

"That was a cowardly act of self-preservation, and something I will not repeat."