Leareth considers it in silence for a few moments. “I think not,” he agrees. “We will still have communications if I am in the north.”

He sits up straighter in bed, squares his shoulders. “Before that, though, I ought to hear a report on how the talks have been going, if you can provide one.”

“Um, sure, we can do that. Anything else?”

Glance at Belrun. “You have a Mindhealer here, yes? We - would appreciate if they could quickly examine what is going on with the lifebond currently.”

Vanyel winces. “Is it, er, not fixed?”

"It's not fixed. I think maybe he's too young right now."

“I am not sure. It did not repair itself instantly, in any case.”

Shavri clears her throat. “Melody can have a look, I’m sure. I’ll find out when she’s next free.”

Leareth nods to her, seriously, which is a familiar gesture for adult Leareth and is very out of place on a small thirteen-year-old sitting in bed wearing a nightgown. “Thank you.”

"There's one up north too if she's not available before it makes sense for us to leave."

“Good to know. I’ll keep you updated. Do you need anything else right now?” 

Leareth shakes his head.

"Thank you, Shavri." :Okay, Van, what is it?:

:I’m not really sure how to say it, but...: He hesitates and then forges ahead. :Does Leareth seem - okay - to you - is he acting like himself? It’s just, it seemed really uncharacteristic for him, to just march right into Valdemar and get our attention, in a way that meant he was exhausted and vulnerable when someone found him. He’s so careful and paranoid normally. So I guess I’m feeling a bit concerned about him:

:I mean, he had fewer resources than normal and a broken lifebond he wasn't used to and he was pretty disoriented:

:Mmm, that does make sense. Do you think whatever’s going on will fix itself, now that he’s back with you and is going to have resources again?:

:Resources and notes, I think. And time:

:Right. Well, er, let me know if there’s anything I can do to help? I - I know what happened isn’t actually my fault, just, if I had Gated you both north sooner then maybe...:

:We are pretty sure a god tried to kill us, I don't think exact timing on your part was a major input:

:Why are the gods so terrible, anyway?: Sigh. :You know, this happening might’ve actually helped the negotiations along. Even Tran agrees that if a god did that, it’s deeply unacceptable and something we ought to fight back against. He’s still against Leareth’s methods, but, well... Some progress:

:I mean, even Leareth doesn't like his methods! They suck! They're objectively bad methods! He just has very few options because the gods themselves are against him and he has really big projects to work on!:

:I get that. I still don’t know what he’s actually planning, right, the diplomatic team thought that telling us was a decision Leareth ought to have input on, which makes sense. But - wherever it is, I really hope we can find a way to work together and do something better instead:

:Me too:

Vanyel hesitates for a moment. :All right, I guess that’s all I had to say, unless you’ve got more questions about anything...?:

:Did I miss anything interesting going on around here? With the diplomats or the jailbreaking or anything: