"Will Abadar still be able to—"

"There is very little that it is impossible for him to cleanse. But it will take a great deal of power for him to wipe three murders from your soul, and that will of course make the materials more expensive."

There is no chance at all she can make up for killing three children merely with good deeds.

"Is there anything else I might need to repent of, sir?"

"Among the righteous gods, there are also offenses against Abadar. 

Some people think that Abadar will not forgive them, if they speak of such things, but those people are mistaken. He cannot forgive you, if you hide such things from his sight, but if you cast aside those offenses against him, he can wash them away like any other, albeit requiring a bit more of his power. Do you understand?"

Nod. She is not entirely sure she could answer out loud.

"Theft. Charging unfairly high prices, or offering merchants unfairly low prices. Usury. Gambling. Deceptive contracts."

Her mouth is dry. "...Does it still count as theft if no one owned it, exactly?"

"You will need to be more specific."

"After the schools closed, and my husband was executed, I took the books from the schoolhouse, apart from the Evil books, and sold them to a merchant who was passing through."

"Who owns the schoolhouse, Penèlope?"

"The Crown. I think."

"To be sure I'm understanding you right, you are asking me whether it is wrong to steal from the Queen who liberated Cheliax from Hell?"

It's not like anyone was using them.

Probably that only feels relevant because of how Evil she is.

"I'm sorry."

"Guilt alone will not undo your crimes, Penèlope. How much did you steal?"

She quotes him the price she got from the merchant. She thinks he might have been cheating her but it's not like she had anyone else to sell to.

He looks faintly disgusted.

"I have also tried to offer merchants less than their goods were really worth. And gambled, when I was younger."

"Is that everything?"

It's everything she can think of but she keeps learning that new things she did were Evil. "Yes."

His face softens. "I hope for your own sake that you are telling the truth."

"How much will I need to pay, sir?"

He names a price. It is barely within the realm of what she can possibly afford, if she spends down all her savings.

Much more than her friend paid, but maybe she's just unusually awful.

If it keeps her out of Hell — and it's the only thing that can keep her out of Hell — it's obviously worth it. "Do you have an opening today, sir?"

He smiles. He'd honestly been expecting her to negotiate him down, but he's hardly going to complain. "I do."