"...This is very awkward. I should probably try to figure out what the other Companions think of it, if he's giving them advice - if it's terrible advice... Gods!" He yanks at his hair, frustrated. "I'm sorry, just, I swear I mostly know how to be a King in general but - I feel so unqualified to make decisions about this bizarre mess we're in." 

"It's really out of scope compared to what you would have been educated for, I get that. Hm - I'm trying to come up with a term for Amshalan-style Companions who've broken through the - obstacle to thought - that Rolan probably can't break through because I think he may be made of a much higher percentage thought-obstacles than the rest of them. ...'jailbroken'? Amshalan is jailbroken. It took her fifteen minutes and she said 'ow' a few times and that was that. I think Rolan probably cannot get jailbroken. It's possible Companions without Heralds can't be jailbroken; it's likely Companions whose Heralds are suspicious of the process themselves can't go through with it; while I think Rolan is more exceptional than Amshalan, Amshalan is still unusual in several ways that probably made it easier for her, and I can't absolutely guarantee that anybody else trying to jailbreak their Companion won't wind up like Dara. I think Vanyel's choices are probably to try to jailbreak Yfandes - we'll help - or to keep avoiding her forever, though. And I think that anybody with a non-jailbroken Companion is going to be really limited in their ability to cope with the situation at hand."

That gets a very cross-eyed look from Randi. 

"I feel like possibly breaking thought-barriers on all of our Companions against the will of the Groveborn is going to cause some problems," he says finally. "Like, I don't know, maybe attracting divine attention." 

"So, I think there is already some divine attention flying around and actually one of my main hypotheses here is that the Companions were designed by committee and the gods on that committee were in accord hundreds of years ago and currently aren't. Major events that brought me here to this situation - the lifebond, the dream, Amshalan's Call - all obviously involve a god's thumb on the scales, and haven't taken long enough to unfold to be likely to have gotten perturbed from their original plan. I can't tell you that I'm sure whoever's orchestrating that expects us to have really smooth sailing, but it looks like we have already attracted divine attention."

"...What an entirely un-reassuring thought." 

"I know, right? Dealing with gods is kind of crazymaking."

Sigh. He exchanges a look with Shavri. 

"Are you wanting our permission or something to try to do the same thing with Yfandes?" Shavri says after a few beats of silence. "Since it sounds like the Groveborn both won't give it and probably shouldn't be the authority here anyway." 

"I feel kind of bad about not prompting them into attempting a jailbreak as early as last night but thought as long as I had an appointment with Randi I'd wait till then and try to get his go-ahead," nods Belrun. "Makes me look less like a mad vigilante."

"Fair enough. I need a moment to think, please." Randi stares past her at the window, exchanges a Mindspeech-y look with Shavri. Finally nods briskly. "All right. You have permission to give it a try. With Yfandes and Van specifically, no one else yet, and I'll want you and them to report back to me, separately, on how it goes." 

"That makes sense. Thank you."

"You're welcome. And I want to thank you as well, for - hmm - for being this level of courageous and flexible throughout. I bet you didn't ask to get dragged into this either." 

"I did not. But I'm rolling with it."

"I guess we're all trying to do that. You're doing a more graceful job than some of us." He nods to her. "We'll speak again later, I suppose." 

"Thank you for meeting with me." And presuming that's a dismissal, she goes. :Where are Yfandes and Vanyel now? Or uh, just Yfandes if she doesn't know where Van is:

:She's running the obstacle course by herself. She - can check where Vanyel is, she's been blocking him but could unblock him if you're very convinced them talking to us now is a good idea: 

:We have Randi's go-ahead, is there any other reason to wait?:

:Vanyel slept terribly and is, as usual, an emotional mess as a result, but I'm not sure that actually makes waiting until tomorrow any better: 

:He might sleep better tonight if there isn't a dream but delaying on that basis seems not necessarily to follow - in particular, we may need to be quick to stay ahead of Rolan before he goes and collects a hapless teenager - also, like, you were kind of leaning on me needing you to be clearheaded and capable? So it might not actually hurt if Vanyel is currently conspicuously in need:

:That's true. She does very strongly want to be helping him right now: Pause. :We can meet them down by the river, if you like, there are some nice private areas there: 

:Pick me up outside the exit?:

Amshalan meets her there. 

Belrun hops on.

They bump into Vanyel standing uncertainly in one of the rose-gardens near the Heralds' wing. "...We're talking now? I'm waiting for 'Fandes, I think..." He rubs his eyes. He looks pretty bleary but otherwise game. 

"It doesn't seem like putting it off would help much and I have Randi's okay. If you're not up for it it can wait?"