"I mean, actual negotiations involved explosive vests and deadman's switch biological weapons that'd kill all humans."

"Yes, and actual historical uses of oaths as a signal of intent involve all kinds of horrifying shit."

"I will look forward to getting a history. Later." And to Bella mind meeting us on the Moon? I mildly expect Sovereign Ristrell to have more suggestions with more time to get used to the situation.

If someone who can teleport will pick me up.

Yes, I'm leaving Island. He has a interworld communications device and is writing up a summary for people - "Island, how should she find you -"

"She just thinks at me - I'm telepathic with a range of a couple hundred miles, obviously I do not use it -"

"I don't think I got the telepathy either - unless you do something clever -"

"If you're new with it you wouldn't be able to be selective anyway, continue not having it until we've taught this Bell how to block it. Though maybe it goes with the oaths, it never really occurred to me to wonder."

Apparently, he writes Bella, you can just think at Island when you would like a ride. He can read minds but isn't.

...but he'll hear me if I think at him?

"It's selective?"

"No," Island says, "Bells are just best friends with a lot of casual mind-readers. Yes, it can be selective. I'll teach her how to keep us out, too."

He conveys this.

Testing.

Yep. Elf telepathy is very friendly, the way to block us entirely is just to make a mental habit of distinguishing public and private thoughts. Most people use some kind of metaphor or visualization for it - like, private thoughts are inside your head, things you send me are pushed outside your head -

How do I tell if that's working?

You'd have to ask me to check - or Boots could probably tell you, actually, if you'd rather check with a Bell, but all of you get it approximately right away so I expect you will too.

Is that unusual, getting it right away? Conveniently Bella is already accustomed to telepathy. Things she wants to communicate are like thoughtspeak. Everything else: isn't.

It takes most people a few hours' meditation to get it in the first place and then a few months of practice to be in the habit, but Elves we teach at a very young age so that might be part of the difference.

Check me now?

He checks.

She's all set. Got the hiding her existence part on the first try, too.

You're good. I have a crystal ball here with which I am updating  the multiverse; is this building the place to keep your interworld communications, or should we move it?

How vulnerable are crystal balls to orbital strikes?

We could make you an indestructible one if you really needed it - indestructibility takes assembling 36 magic users who know the spell at the stroke of midnight, it's a pain but not impossible - but by default a crystal ball will not survive an orbital strike. 

So maybe put it somewhere else, assuming I can interact with it remotely.

Works fine remotely if you're willing to switch to the kind of computers we've got format compatibility with.