He raises an eyebrow. Even with the very limited geopolitical information they've gotten they know enough to know it's a blow; Rethwellen had been refusing to acknowledge the new government, and Rethwellen unlike Valdemar has lots of mages. 

He is surprised, that Maitimo can apply his skillset to toppling kingdoms, but maybe he shouldn't be. It seems like other people are less surprised and that's interesting.

Treven does not seem surprised at all. :This is exactly the sort of thing Leareth was worried about: 

<Two. There was an attack in force directed against Lineas, which is the only territory once part of Valdemar - well, recently annexed by Valdemar - that we still control. It seems that the goal was to reach the Heartstone and draw on it in order to drain the spell holding the fault-line below that region together. This would have caused an earthquake that destroyed the entire region and possibly worse. It was not successful, but...holding it off cost more than we can really afford> 

Jisa tenses, but relays it as calmly as she can manage. 

:That's weird, actually. I wouldn't have thought Vkandis would be on board with something that disruptive, given our understanding of how the Velgarth gods prefer to operate: 

Is it possible he wasn't?

And is Leareth ready - it sounds like our enemies are using the time better than we are -

I don't think he is optimistic about success of an operation now.

If we did get Maitimo, maybe. 

Got him and what - gave him to Leareth, as a useful captured enemy to question -

That is my impression of what Leareth wants us to do, yes. 

:Leareth is finding it pretty hard to get detailed intelligence from Valdemar. Maitimo clearly knows a lot, if not everything, since he seems to be planning half their operations. We have the Truth Spell, and compulsions - Leareth wouldn't need Maitimo to be cooperating, to get information from him: 

He turns to Jisa. :Do you and Stef have a plan?: 

:Not - yet. But we've got ideas. I think we need slightly more detailed information on conditions in Haven, in order for it to work, and...: She looks down. :And it's going to be really risky. It basically has to be us, we're the only ones Sauron won't see coming and specifically have taken precautions against. Since he barely knows I exist and certainly has no way of knowing I'm a mage. They'll still have taken a lot of precautions in general and - and I'm worried the most likely outcome here is still that we get in and I Final Strike. And if you lose Stef and I...: 

:Van survived a broken lifebond. If he did, I can do it. But let's try to come up with a plan that at least has an exit strategy. And get more information about Haven. Possibly Leareth can get us that: 

We also do not have a way to keep Quendi alive in captivity, even if you can use compulsions to keep Quendi alive when they don't wish to be in general.

:Oh, right, that thing. It's very inconvenient. And I guess we can't keep him unconscious the whole time if we need to question him: 

:You can't really do that anyway, it's bad for people: Jisa turns to Fëanáro and Macalaurë. :What exactly are the boundaries on the captivity thing? I mean, it's not like Leareth, right, he's way less dangerous, we'd have to use compulsions or set-commands of some kind but it wouldn't have to be as restrictive: 

It happens even with large areas though it takes longer. If someone were to walk around in the forest with him asking him questions I don't think that'd trigger it, he doesn't have to be able to get away from a person. You could maybe also do something with Mindhealing - if you could, I'd expect it to work off- spatial reasoning? I don't know if there's a neat chunk of the head where we keep track of our immediate physical environment but if so I would expect that we can't feel trapped without that.

:I don't know exactly how it works, especially for Quendi, but I think there must be? Melody and I treated a lady once who'd hit her head and she was mostly fine except she had no sense of direction and got lost constantly. Had a hard time telling if she was indoors or outdoors, even. Um, and also forgot words a lot and had trouble recognizing her possessions, but I think that was coincidence or because hitting your head damages more than one thing at once: She frowns. :I would, um, have to experiment first, though. So I would need a Quendi volunteer to do that with: 

I bet I can find you a brain researcher who would think this was a really interesting line of research.

:Sure! I could bounce my Sight to them so they could help guide what I was doing, even: 

Sure. I will try to find you some volunteers for that.

Nod. :And have we decided we trust Leareth enough to ask him directly for intelligence on Haven? We...need a way into Valdemar, and I don't think Gating directly to Haven is a good idea: 

Hmmmm.

If Leareth and the Tayledras are our enemies then - I think it's over. So probably we will need to proceed on the assumption that they are not.

Treven does not look happy about this at all, but he nods. 

So we should ask him about Haven. And about Maitimo, if he thinks he has any insight into how to get him out. 

Telumë will be very open with them about everything he knows. 

Haven is extremely well guarded. Maitimo is going to be expecting a rescue attempt, and it's also the case that, while Telumë can recognize his style in the decisions made by the new management of Valdemar, he isn't leading openly. Probably because it's a bad look given Vkandis' stated goal of preventing inter-world contact; also it means that Maitimo approximately doesn't do public appearances, reducing their opportunities to snatch him. He does occasionally visit Iftel and Karse, but usually has mages Gate him rather than travelling overland; Telumë isn't sure, his spy coverage is spotty in Valdemar and Karse and nonexistent in Iftel, but he suspects the Gates are directly between temples to Vkandis. Vkandis has the home-ground advantage on literal holy ground dedicated to Him. 

Vkandis probably doesn't have that advantage in Valdemar proper. The coincidences are subtle but there, and usually inconvenient for Vkandis' goals. Vanyel suspects the god behind the Shadow-Lover's facade is responsible. (He's offered to arrange another near-death experience in order to confirm this, but been vetoed by everyone else in k'Treva including Melody.)

Gating directly into Valdemar is out. Maitimo knows exactly who should be Gating where, when, and unauthorized Gates are responded to in force very quickly. Telumë has tested this. Entering from the west is an option, but a risky one, given the current tense stalemate between the Tayledras and remaining Valdemaran resistance forces and Vkandis' side.

Entering from Rethwellan might be the best bet, if they can arrange to get there in the first place. The border is less thoroughly guarded, since Maitimo is clearly wrangling for friendly relationships and mutually beneficial trade. And Leareth's organization has spies there. They've gone underground rather than fight and risk exposure, but if they're willing to trust him, Telumë can give them contacts, including with merchants who might well be able to smuggle warm bodies into Valdemar. 

...Not mages, though. It's extremely difficult for mages to enter Valdemar and particularly Haven, there are people who know how to test for Gifts checking, and Sauron can show up in person to cancel their magic and murder them. Also, any plan that requires Vanyel is doomed to fail, even if they can somehow get him back to Arda and healed. He's the most expected rescuer. 

Telumë isn't sure how one might stage a rescue without relying either on Arda's magic or Velgarth mages. He is very carefully not going to ask what Arda has in reserve right now.