"I wasn't expecting this either! It's on so many levels so very weird!"

:At least you knew what that place was! It seems like it could've gone a lot worse if you hadn't!: 

"Yeah that would have been bad but it was a very recognizable aesthetic."

:It was hideous. Would it be weird of me to say Melkor has no taste?: 

"You may feel free to insult Melkor."

Mental chuckle, which trails off quickly because the situation is not actually very funny. :That was honestly very depressing. Also I'm confused how they held onto Leareth for more than the five seconds it'd take him to fight his way out or decide to Final Strike if he couldn't: 

"Valar could suppress wizardry, maybe they can do his kind too and I was only able to get in and out because he wasn't expecting it for some reason."

:...I mean, if you're right and you actually went back in time from when you were in Arda, he wouldn't know to expect it? And you didn't dawdle:

"Yes, but we found him now!"

:Right. Hmm. I mean, even if Utumno is still active, we're pretty sure Melkor was actually defeated by the other Valar, right? If so, presumably it'd be just his Maiar running it, and maybe they're not powerful enough to suppress wizardry or don't know how. Do you know if the other, er, non-evil Maiar could?: 

"I asked my friends to make extra sure that Melkor is in custody like they expect. It might be Maiar can't do the thing."

:Mmm: 

Sayshen is quiet for a bit. 

:...People really get better from that?: she says finally. :He seemed, er. Pretty damaged. It must be so disconcerting for the other Leareth: 

"Not all of them get better. Mandos still has a lot of them. But sometimes. After years and years."

Sayshen doesn't have any answer to that. 

A while later, Leareth - the local one - taps at her shields. :Bella, do you have a moment?: 

She looks up from the scroll of her interplanar transit. Yes?

:It actually seems rather high priority to know what happened, and in particular how he - how I, I suppose - ended up a prisoner there against my will. I am not sure I wish to wait a week. However, I sort of doubt he will answer my questions about it. I could go read him with Thoughtsensing - I was doing that a little, already, I am endorsedly comfortable with past or future versions of me reading my own thoughts. I expect that in the present he would find it very stressful, though, so I am not sure what to do:

A pause. :I thought you might have advice, and possibly more context on Arda that could help me answer some of my great many questions: 

Melkor can read minds. I guess I don't know if he can do it through shields but if he's aware of whether or not he is shielded he'll already have to be coping with the expectation that his thoughts are up for grabs. I can give you Arda context though.

:...If Melkor knows everything I know, that is in itself extremely worrying! He is currently shielded; I can cheat because it seems it still counts as 'my' shields, though it is definitely noticeable to him when I do so. He may not have been shielded before, since I would assume Melkor had a way of blocking his Gifts, or else he would not have remained a prisoner for very long: 

Sayshen and I were just talking about that - She summarizes the considerations.

Leareth absorbs that quietly for a while.

:That makes sense. Whatever the explanation, Arda sounds like a dangerous place to be currently, especially for a Velgarth mage and for me in particular. I will have to leave it to your friends to figure out what precautions to take there. However, it occurs to me that if Melkor or his Maiar can block the magic of Velgarth, they may be able to replicate it. In which case it is not impossible they would show up in pursuit. I do not know a way of tracking your teleport spell but that does not mean it is impossible: 

My friends are going to warn the other Valar, but it can take time to get an audience when you want one.

:Noted. This reinforces my impression that I had better try to read the other me to learn as much as we can about the context here. Do you have any advice for making it less stressful? For example, I am having difficulty predicting whether it would be better to explain why I am doing it, or better not to say anything since that indicates things happening: 

It might depend on what he was in the middle of when I got there, but it didn't look like there was much. If he'll be able to tell, you might want to, like, acknowledge that it's happening even if he's unlikely to appreciate a detailed explanation? If he can't tell maybe skip it.

:He will be able to tell because I need to go through his shields to do it. Also I will likely have to do some probing to get specific topics rather than the surface thoughts he happens to have. I will inform him I am doing it. If it causes him to panic enough that I cannot actually get the information, I might want you to calm him down then - if it is for clear strategic reasons, I think that is something any version of me would endorse on reflection: