"We won't know that without attempting to communicate with their gods, we'd expect the details of the afterlife situation to matter a lot. We cannot get back information the local gods aren't storing, for example."

Leareth nods. "I understand. How long do you expect it might take, for Abadar to open communications? And will he need - directions, or other help...?" 

"We ought to be able to observe your arrival here and follow what happened; if we end up requiring anything else we'll inform you of that. We would expect it to be obvious within a few days if we can't find Velgarth or can't communicate with its gods; if we can it might be longer before we have answers to your questions. Some gods communicate slowly even among one another."

"Thank you. Would you prefer if we stayed in the city in the meantime? If you like, I can offer the use of my magic anywhere it might be of service." 

"What I would like is to know the rest of what is going on but I imagine that if you wanted me to know it you would have told me. If it's likely to go on in a spectacular and explosive fashion in the next few weeks then I would rather you get away from the city, all things considered; if it's likely to be uneventful then we would be delighted to have you stay here and compare each others' magics; this palace has many scholars of arcane magic who will be sorely disappointed if they have to wait months to meet magic-users from another world."

Leareth's eyes narrow a little, then he smiles, equally small and brief. "I think it is very unlikely anything spectacular and explosive will occur at this point. There are further things I would say, but I think I prefer to wait until I know what your god thinks of my world." 

"Did you tell him I am not the god," he says to Hagan. He does not sound angry.

" - oh. Yeah. It seemed relevant."

"I see. You don't have to stay, you know, even if I am going to try to rustle up enough magic researchers to bribe Leareth to stay."

"Don't have anywhere else to be."

He looks away from his brother at Leareth. "Can I offer you a guest room here? We have an extensive library, magical artifacts you can look at and experiment with, and magical researchers who'd be very interested to meet you. I think in a few hours we'll know more about whether we have enough information to find Velgarth and whether we can communicate with the gods there; I can plan to update you this evening."

"Would 'here' be inside the dome? I am certainly grateful, and intrigued to study your magical artifacts and speak with your researchers, and I expect it is very safe, but - nonetheless I find it a little distressing, being unable to use my magic even defensively. I mean no offence, just, my world is not especially safe and old habits are hard to break." 

"Fair enough. Same offer, at the winter palace? It's outside the Dome and while you will still get in a lot of trouble if you murder anybody you can use your magic as much as is convenient."

"I would prefer that. Thank you." He doesn't bother to ask why the winter palace is outside the Dome at all; he can ask Hagan after. 

"Someone can show you there now. And Prince Telcar. Cicerone, if you would stay behind for ten minutes I would like to talk about theology."

"Of course, your majesty," he says, a bit faintly.

A servant appears to show them to the winter palace.

Leareth follows. Waits until they're outside the (terrifying) Dome to even risk Mindspeech. :I apologize for slipping up on referring to him not as the god: he tells Hagan. It is - kind of extremely obvious to mage-sight that he is neither a god nor currently being possessed by one: 

They are taken out by a different route when they went in, one that opens past the Dome into a small rotunda where a uniformed wizard waits to transit them over to the winter palace. 

He's supposed to be an aspect of the god. I don't know what that'd look like to mage-sight even if it was true. But - yeah. It's just him. 

I don't think he's going to ask Fazil to tell him everything else about what's going on but if he does then Fazil will do that.

:I know. I - expected that the situation would be mostly out of my hands, once the decision was made to involve him at all: He lifts a shoulder, lets it fall. :I just would prefer slightly more information, and time to consider it, before I make the call to tell him myself; I am not accustomed to being free with information: 

I get that sense. Miserymiserymiserymisery he hopes Leareth's not randomly catching all the misery that'd be so embarrassing.

Leareth is catching a lot of the misery! Though he's just a Thoughtsenser, not an Empath, so it's more the fact of it and less being buffeted with the emotion itself. Still. 

:Is there anything I can do to help?: he asks. :You - did something very costly to yourself, to buy us this meeting: 

Fix Cheliax.

:I intend to. I think we have a good chance - if I am right about Rahadoum, if our magic and yours combine as effectively as it has appeared so far from your work with Vanyel...: Sigh. :I think that fixing Vanyel is a prerequisite. We need him for this: 

I'm worried the resurrection won't work. It seems worth trying, but - if it doesn't - I don't know what else to try. 

I'm so frustrated with her and also worried about her because - because it didn't seem entirely voluntary - she was just suddenly in so much pain -