"Is that all? You don't need an appointment for a resurrection, the Abadarans run a rolling auction for us. The last ones were a little over forty thousand dollars each, and the next ones will be on Sunday." This won't work if the prisoner is trying to evade justice but it's really the Abadarans' job to explain that.

"I thought I'd need the appointment because she's not free to come here. They've got her in an antimagic cell at the moment and there's probably going to be some security complication with getting her out so she can be resurrected, for one."

" - the prisoner is currently dead, and in the antimagic cell in the dungeons, and wishes to purchase a resurrection for herself?"

"She's a lich."

"Yeah, all right, you might need an appointment for that. Is she urgently facing destruction?"

"I don't think there's a scheduled destruction date or anything but I really couldn't bet on her safety for any length of time."

Well, that's fairly important and she has no idea what Naima will say about it. "All right, go on then."

Laia goes on then. Waits for Naima's attention, then makes an unnecessarily showy curtsey. "Archmage, I beg your kindness in visiting a prisoner who presently occupies the Crown dungeons for, so far as I am aware, being a lich and no other crime, and stands ready to pay you out of her uncaptured bank assets for a remedy to this condition."

" - is this the lich that went to Osirion to publish a biography earlier this week?"

"Lady Eriape, yes."

"Ugh. What does she want, exactly?"

"...a resurrection. Or do you mean how did I talk her into it?"

"Ugh. I suppose that's an offered service. If the Queen permits her to buy one I'll sell it, but I'm charging her double for the injury to international relations."

That's not fair at all but you can't say that to an archmage. "Thank you for your consideration. How should I contact your office if my petition to the Queen is accepted?"

This particular lich has probably caused way more than five thousand gold in damages to Naima personally, and she's very annoyed about it. Also it's a massive headache to have to go to the dungeons and interface with lich security on what's supposed to be her day off. She's just mature and responsible enough to be willing to come up with a price for these things instead of denying services entirely.

"You can leave a message with the Abadarans here, they run the auction numbers and they'll get it to me. Next Westcrown resurrections are Sunday. I assume there are complicated security measures in place, so if necessary you can take one of my staff here to scope out the dungeons and talk to the queen's about what I ought to do when I get there."

"Thank you Archmage."

Off to petition the Queen.

The queen is usually available on less than a day's notice for convention business. (Audiences with delegates are presumed convention business.)

Curtsey! "Your majesty, I'm Songbird Solandra, and I've come to ask your tolerance of the resurrection of the lich Eriape," monarchs probably get touchy about it if you call people by their stage names that happen to have titles in them, "who is now in your dungeon; she can afford Archmage Naimah's" highway robbery "fee out of her bank account and I have achieved her own agreement."

This is why she usually doesn't allow imprisoned liches visitors.

"If returned to life, what do you expect her to do? What does she expect to do? Has she made assurances to you that she would not begin pursuing lichdom again within the year?"

"I didn't ask her for such assurances, your majesty. Many living men and women in your kingdom have committed terrible crimes before the amnesty and if they breathe they now find themselves forgiven for it. I should like to counsel her through atoning and seeing about the well-being of her badgers and believe this will be easier if she can think about it without the shadow of undeath."

If it works it will make beautiful propaganda.

"You have our assent, on the condition that she put money in escrow against any damages she might cause in the next five years if your counsel fails. Two-thirds of her assets after the resurrection, or fifty thousand Absalom pounds, whichever is less. If she is willing we shall allow and enable a priest of Abadar to interview her to determine the amount and arrange the escrow."

"A thousand thanks, your majesty!" There's that elaborate curtsey again.

"One will suffice. We wish you the best of fortune with your endeavor."

Aaaand back down to the dungeons to give Eriape the mostly-good news!