"Thank you, Duke, Marquis, Melina. We are glad to have your help."

"All right. We're all here - who else do we want to call in? Voshrelka, do we want to ask Tuimfane or Feather for more spells before we go in? Do we mean to try to recruit Ibarra for another fifth-circle spellcaster? Should we be going to Sirmium or Gandisa to fetch back adventurers keeping the peace?"

"Dayram is a skilled burgler, if we need one, thoughI'd be worried about the forbiddance with him, and Tania can be called in if we need another wrestler, but they're in Sirmium."

"Tuimfane would almost certainly cast buffing spells," after telling them all they should instead be closing the Hell portal. This is very fair of him, and frankly she agrees, but the nobility of civilization are fickle and this isn't her operation, and she doubts she can persuade them to instead go do something that actually matters for more than political reasons, "he's specialized in crafting and would certainly have barkskin prepared, but I don't know if we could contact him subtly. Also, by now I expect he would have used them all. Bright Morning Feather is similarly difficult to get ahold of and unlikely to be much help." And also incredibly herself. Do you want to deal with that, Ardiaca? Because she's a druid and she doesn't.

"Thank you." Not remotely, but if you want to win you check this sort of thing instead of leaving it assumed.

Reasonable, but: yeah, no, it's a long shot that's not worth the risk in taking. Voshrelka herself was a long shot, really, here by the grace of a well timed wizard. (Who is still winning the wizard contest in this room. See: how he doesn't ask dumb questions.)

While they’re talking potential recruits, Lisandro did hear about some, from the Eagle Knights. 

“Rumor has it, her majesty has some anarchic adventurers in storage.”

His implication is as follows: In some places, the traditional thing to do with captured adventurers is to release them in the general vicinity of some lich or dragon. Perhaps one of you nobles has the standing to ask the queen about this sort of thing. 

He's really not inclined to let Rui out and is going to say nothing in response.

Carlota has noticed who Lisandro associates with because of how he made it very obvious. "If there are Eagle Knights you'll vouch for that's one matter but I'm otherwise inclined to assume everyone who managed to break the very few laws that exist at present is really probably quite a challenging person to work with."

“Imprisoned adventures are perhaps less threatening to public order and good governance than pamphleteering liches. Though certainly challenging to work with. Either way, I won’t vouch for anyone I only know of by rumor.”

"The situation with the Andoren adventurers is in the early stages of becoming a diplomatic incident," one where one of the parties to the diplomacy actually has no control over the situation even though he'll be blamed for it regardless, which is among the worst kinds of diplomatic incident, "and releasing them on the condition that they help and then go home seems better for all parties involved than waiting for the situation to become even more complicated, as it might," if Marusek 'rescues' them. "Although—I'm not entirely sure that they'll agree to murder someone for pamphleteering even if she is undead."

Wait, that's why they're going after the lich?? Not because she's an undead abomination, an affront to life itself, a horrific hollowed shell of a person that should be released to the afterlife so she can be whole again, and furthermore a danger to everyone around her? Or even for personal power and lich lair loot? But because she writes pamphlets?

Nobles are weird.

She's not saying this. She'll instead excuse herself to go change into her armor, since it's seeming likely they will want her along even if they don't have a tidy slot for her to fill.

"We're not killing her for the pamphlets," objects Carlota who is absolutely most proximately killing her for the pamphlets. "It is terrible for public confidence in Her Majesty's good government, in the rule of law, and in the safety of their loved ones in Westcrown to have a lich in the sewers; it's doing more and more immediate damage to public confidence because the lich likes reminding everyone she's in the sewers, but she was on everyone's to-do list before this, and if we could be sure she'd restrain herself to pamphlets she'd likely remain low on everyone's to-do list. It sounds like you know a great deal more about the Andoren adventurers situation than anyone else here, would you be willing to consult Her Majesty on the matter or should I do so in near-complete ignorance of it?"

"I don't object to killing undead," he clarifies. "I can consult Her Majesty on the situation," or more likely ask Montero to do it, "but I'm not sure anyone can do it tonight."

“If they have a spectacularly good burglar it might be worth trying to get an appointment on short notice but I don’t think it’s worth waiting until tomorrow.”

"If she was spectacularly good she wouldn't have been caught, but she might still be better than anyone else that's been discussed. I can reach out to my contact in the Palace to see if the Queen is available tonight."

Connecting some dots. The fact that it's the start of a diplomatic incident means he is now nearly certain about the true identity of these 'anarchic good adventurers'. The eagle knights told him that this plan was entirely in compliance with local laws, but what are the odds they stuck to the plan exactly? Slim. 

"Seems you know more of the situation than I do. From what you say, I now realize that I can vouch for these Andoren adventurers. At least, that they'll help with this raid instead of running off. As for whether they refuse to help out of free pen absolutism, I expect they'll make might make pithy comments about killing a lich for pamphlets and optics but go along with it anyways."

He says because that's also what he's doing. 

Now who is this mysterious wizard?? Contacts in the palace, knows about diplomatic incidents days in advance, clearly a major player. Lisandro suddenly feels out of his depth, but is also enjoying being on the other end of that question. 

"Perhaps those of us who need to prepare spells can do so, those of us who have personnel to call in can do that, and inquiries can be made about the assistance of anarchic adventurers. - and we can eat dinner." She'll have the Unseen Servants bring it in.

Fantastic. He's heard Mansion food is excellent but hasn't had the chance to experience it until now. Glaring at Voshrelka can pause while he tries some of everything.

This is made easier by how she left the room to find a place to change. It wasn't for her modesty, she doesn't have that particular flavor of handicap, but she's aware that civilization cares about it, so. Shuffled off to a quiet place to change out of the dress and back into her armor, even though she doesn't actually care if people get to see a larger percentage of uncovered skin than they're accustomed to.

.... She returns to see... quite a lot of food. With a place set out for her and the expectation that she'll gorge herself.

This is probably the first thing that's made her genuinely uncomfortable since arriving. She sits down next to Lisandro, and looks at the feast like it's potentially poisoned. Honestly, she wishes it were. As it is now, she's going to be socially pressured to actually feast, which is just worse than being poisoned on almost every axis. She's not going to, obviously, but. This elf is now uncomfortable.

She will have a single pastry and nothing else, thank you.

Carlota now has two tables at which she'd ideally be being sociable and also needs to carve out some time to prepare spells. She flits around thanking people and getting their feedback on the plans in progress and complimenting them personally and then goes to her study and locks the door.

He does not need to eat. He finds an empty room, locks the door, scans very thoroughly for scrying sensors or anyone within detect thoughts range, and takes the paired scrying mirror that connects to Lilia Ramona de Montero's out of its case.

She doesn't appear to be on her end of it at the moment.

Most likely she won't be any time soon. He could try to pass a message to the Galtan wizard she's probably pretending to be, but there's no way of doing that quickly that doesn't arouse enormous suspicion.

He could, actually, just get a short-notice audience with the actual queen. He's done it once before, apparently, though he was rather surprised when he found out. There is the argument that, as one of the only people aware of Alfirin's true identity who doesn't have unavoidable reasons to regularly be in a room with her, he should commit to never doing so, but—if she wanted to enchant him she could probably do so regardless.

He walks across the street to the palace, identifies himself, and says he has a somewhat urgent message for the Queen, if she's available.