:I guess that's a good reason, though I'd expect there to be useful ways to... loudly... maintain an emergency army! He's hard to communicate with but will be able to direct or confirm strategies for the army?:

:I don't have the slightest idea.: 

:I think He could send a vision to His priest in Iftel if He wanted to. - come to think of it, the high priest in Karse spoke a prophecy a while back that we assume Vkandis wanted us to hear. I can look up the exact words but I would not describe it as incredibly helpful.: 

Shavri clears her throat. 

:Blai, I'm pretty sure you'll be fine. If your channel goes to waste if you don't use it today, then you might as well Heal yourself and as many people as we can find who need Healing from injuries specifically, though - if it were me making that decision, I might be inclined to wait until evening, in case anything else goes disastrously wrong and a lot more people need Healing. ...Savil, I can't fix the backlash but I can probably get you feeling more like yourself, if you absolutely need to be doing more magic today.:

Sigh. :Unfortunately I think we need to cast the pastwatching spell before tonight, and I know it better than Van does, I should lead. And there's a lot that should ideally also happen today, if we're preparing to hold off an invasion.: 

Nod. :Blai, if you think the spell that fixes poisoning might help, it sounds like Savil being in better shape would be awfully helpful.: 

:Of course. Now? It'll last a bit over five hours.:

:How much does it - fully cancel out the process causing more damage - versus just masking the symptoms of it? Could Savil end up in worse shape five hours from now than she would have been otherwise, if she's able to push herself harder on casting?: 

:I don't know at all how it'll interact with your casting; mine isn't tiring in the same way. If this counts as a poison, she'll stop getting worse for those hours, but a Delay doesn't in and of itself heal or clear a toxin.:

:...Well, since she's absolutely going to ignore me if I suggest not doing any more casting today, I suppose it seems better than the alternative if she's not also getting worse from a poison.: Narrow-eyed look at Savil. :Do what you've got to do and then come to the House of Healing before it wears off.: 

Savil nods, tightlipped. :Now is good: she tells Blai. 

"Delay Poison."

Shavri watches with Healing-Sight for a long moment. 

:..That definitely did something. You're right, it didn't get rid of any damage that's already there, but it's not getting worse. Savil?: 

:...I've felt better, but I've definitely felt worse. I can cast like this.: She still has a headache but that's mainly the backlash and she can get some willowbark for it. :Van?: 

:We need to decide where we're putting Blai, I don't want to send him back to the guest rooms. ...Actually, if you're just going to the House of Healing later, how about your suite? It's plenty shielded: better than almost anywhere apart from the royal suites, Vanyel often finds it soothing when he can't sleep to go reinforce the shields some more, :you have a spare bedroom, and I can hop into a Work Room and Gate him there so no one sees him go in. Blai, does that seem all right to you?: 

:I don't object.:

Vanyel very much appreciates how accommodating he's being, and - well, he probably is freaking out internally, but he's not making it anyone else's problem. He can't think of a way to say that that isn't patronizing, so he just smiles tiredly. 

:I think I would rather not bring in a trainee again, now that you're, er, more involved in our planning. Yfandes will be able to reach you, she can check in every so often and pay enough attention that she'll notice if you're yelling for help in surface thoughts. I have alarm-wards on the suite, I should know immediately if anything happens, but - hopefully it won't because no one will know you're there.: 

:Yfandes is -?:

:Sorry, my Companion - she gave us a ride earlier and walked you to the guest rooms - I think I forgot to properly introduce you.: 

:Ah, I see.:

And he makes no fuss about being ensconced in Savil's guest room to read and pray and, eventually, if left undisturbed, sleep.

They cast the pastwatching spell. 

They track the creature back to a tributee of the Terilee River, west of Riverford. It...was there for a while, apparently, happily feeding on fish. 

Four days back, and its magical signature moves again. Upstream. North - but only a little, and then west, west, west, until they can't follow it any further. 

It came out of the Pelagirs. It might have originated not that far from k'Treva Vale. 

That doesn't make any sense. 

The obvious explanation, of course, is that Leareth was lying about not being able to operate in the Pelagirs, because he didn't actually need to and it was convenient for Valdemar to falsely believe they had that advantage. 

Vanyel...is not sure that theory leaves him much less confused? 

The Heralds (minus Savil, at the House of Healing, and Randi who's in his sickbed) have a meeting. It might be described as a very long argument. 

Nothing disastrous happens before nightfall. 

It would be polite to update Blai. But they've spent nearly six candlemarks going in circles by the time Vanyel finally calls it a night, and he can't face it. What if Blai has questions. 

Shavri does try to Mindspeak him, eventually – kind of late at night, he may already be asleep – to clarify if his channel goes to waste if they don't use it today, and what the latest point is that he can use it if so. They don't actually have anyone with injuries that their Healing can't handle; it's peacetime, even if they have no idea how long that will last, and at any given time most of the patients at the House of Healing are there for illnesses or more complicated problems.

Also, while it's probably too late to prevent wild rumors, bringing him in to Heal more people won't help, and - one obvious thing for Leareth to do, if he did receive reports already of the miraculous Healing by the river, would be to have someone watching the House of Healing. Overall Shavri is inclined to say he should wait until he's about to get more and then Heal just himself? ...Maybe Savil too, it's not suspicious for her to go to her own suite.