"...I could spy on his extant written works if he's the type to take notes? Uh, but if this guy isn't necessarily trustworthy I can also just wait longer for someone else from a world with more resurrection-friendly magic to come by. I'm immortal."

"You can do that? ...Right, your maker magic just needs a label. That's an excellent idea, he's definitely the sort of person who keeps records. If you can find the right query to get his personal journals or something, that'll tell us a lot more than his historical record-keeping, which is all I've been able to track down. Um, not to mention that you might find out more things about magic in this world."

Vanyel stares into the fire and tries to think. He really, really wants Cam to agree. He...isn't sure why. He wants Cam's problem to be solved, obviously – but, as Cam just pointed out, there are other worlds, and one of them might be better suited. It doesn't matter if Vanyel, personally, is the one to help bring back a million dead people, only that it happens.

He wants to know if he can trust Leareth. 

"It would solve my biggest problem," he admits. "Knowing whether I have to fight Leareth or, I don't know, help him fix everything in my world. So I guess I have a motive here. If it helped both of us, it would be a good trade."

"You're immortal?" Lissa breaks in. "How did you get that way? How old are you?" 

"I am a hundred and seventy two and in my original world people have afterlives whereupon we're indestructible. If we did certain magic in life, which I did, we also get to be a magical creature. I personally got that way when a guy murdered me."

"That's awesome! ...I mean, sorry, not the being murdered part, that's horrible and that guy was a bastard. But being immortal and getting to be a magical creature! Can people from other worlds do the magic? Because I want in." 

"At least sometimes. I don't know if it'd get you the afterlife situation."

"Lissa," Vanyel says, "can we, maybe, figure that out later? Cam, would you need any more information to try to grab Leareth's notes?" 

"No, but I do hesitate some about digging into people's personal writing without permission. What exactly is the deal with this guy, how are you acquainted?"

"Oh. I can ask him if permission is the issue. We've been speaking – in the dreams – for fourteen years. Um, you're welcome to grab my notes on the conversations to get a summary. We've made a lot of progress in building trust, just, not enough. It's a good test, actually. If he's been telling me the truth about his goals, I think he will agree, maybe with some caveats." 

Vanyel frowns. "My only way of talking to him is through the Foresight vision, which I don't control the schedule of, but it tends to happen if I've just gotten new information and this sure is that. But I'd need to sleep out in my world for a night." 

"Which would inconvenience your sister. Uh, you are... communicating via foresight? I'm not sure I follow."

"Fair enough. It's pretty weird and I think I keep not explaining it properly." Vanyel folds his hands carefully in his lap. "I have the Gift of Foresight. Right after I got that Gift, I started having a vision of myself fighting a powerful mage and his army, in a pass in the north. Straightforward enough. Then some months in, I was, um, practicing lucid dreaming, and something really strange happened and suddenly we were both in the same lucid dream and had a conversation. Then it kept happening. I've done enough external checks that I'm pretty damn sure it's real." 

"...sounds useful but confusing. How do you check whether a dream set in the future is real?"

"Oh. I mean, I don't actually know if the events depicted in the dream are going to happen. Sort of suspect they won't, given that I've got warning and it would be stupid to go meet him at the pass without my own army. But I'm convinced that me, in the present, is talking to him, also in the present. We've exchanged verifiable information that way. Um, Foresight doesn't normally work like this and I have no idea why mine is different either." 

"...huh. Well, you can tell him my mailing label. If he writes 'letter to Cam' - uh, hm, translation effect may spoil that. If he writes me a letter and puts 'letter to Cam' on it I will use the translation effect to sort it out from anything else he's writing."

"Sure. I can do that. Wish it worked the other way round – it's very inconvenient that I can't get messages to him except via the dream. Since I don't actually know where he lives except 'very far north'." 

"I don't mind holding the door," Lissa says brightly. "As long as Bar doesn't close at night. I've got money, I don't need to keep spending yours." She looks around. "Can 'Fandes and I take turns? I mean, she doesn't have hands but she can sort of stand in it." 

"Should work. Uh, Bar takes counterfeit, so you should absolutely continue to spend my money."

"Oh. Lovely. You're wonderful, did you know that?" 

Vanyel smirks. "Lissa, you have fun – er, maybe not too much fun, I know you're on vacation but this is kind of important." He's wishing he could think of a way to say 'please behave and don't try to seduce Cam, I'm pretty sure he's not into it'. "I, um, I guess I'm going to go get some sleep now. I'll see you in the morning." 

And he pauses to stroke Yfandes' mane, and then slips out through the door. 

"- there are hotel rooms upstairs if you want to try for useful time dilation!" Cam calls. "Though I'm not sure how horse-compatible the design is."

"Oh, hmm, I was worried the dream won't actually happen if I'm in here and not actually in my world, but I guess my other magic does work here – at least, I've tested mage-gift, and I can Mindspeak with 'Fandes."

Vanyel closes his eyes and focuses. "Farsight works, I can See the infirmary. Just a moment..." He Fetches his note-paper to his hand. "Check. I don't know if Foresight is different, though, or if I might get the dream but have Leareth shut out of it if we're in different worlds. But...maybe worth trying, for the time dilation part. What's your experience of different kinds of magic from other worlds working in here versus not?" 

"Uh, I can make stuff fine, I don't have much else to try. The healer's magic works. So does the Security guy."

"What sort of magic does the security guy have?" 

"It's very high powered and generic but only works in his world and here."

That's a bit vague but Vanyel lets it be. "All right. Hmm. If, er, he were standing right where I am, with the door open to his world, could he cast with his magic through the door. Or, maybe better question – if he was outside and had a friend inside holding the door, could he cast and affect this area?"