"We'll do it."

"I think it would be possible. And - it would be very, very good, to finally bring to an end the grief caused to your world by the Cataclysm." 

Leareth can hardly deny that part. 

"What's, er, the part you need my advice on specifically?" 

"I mostly just wanted to ask you, uh, before I brought it up with Aroden and Nefreti, whether it would be a good priority if we could make it happen. Abadar mostly has perspective on the god things, you'd know how it'll affect peoples' lives."

"I mean, I think it'd be good for almost everyone? More farmland, less danger. I'm - not sure what'd happen to the Tayledras, though. If the pact were over. I don't know if Heartstones rely on the pact existing, even, and She would take them away without it. Which might be fine, if it becomes possible to live in what's right now the Pelagirs without magic, but it'd be so disruptive to them." 

He looks down at the floor. "I...think maybe we have to, though. If She's otherwise going to - use that - to do things like what just happened here." 

(Why is this still such an upsetting topic, he was calm and relaxed and happy ten minutes ago and now he feels like crying again and is completely unable to participate in the conversation.) 

Nod. 

"When's a good time to stop by and figure out how to approach the magic side of it?" she asks Aroden.

He glances at Parmida, then Nefreti. "Tomorrow would do fine, I think." 

Parmida, I would usually speak with Leareth about the advice he was giving the Tayledras, before this, but - I do not think this is a pleasant topic for him. If it were myself in his shoes I would not want to be cut out from giving valuable help simply because it was distressing, but...

I think using the advice he was trying to give them freely when they murdered him to solve their entire problem and obviate their whole society is great, she thinks back fervently. It's so fitting. Probably he will need a little time to see it that way.

Khemet stands up and walks over to Leareth's chair and puts his hands on Leareth's shoulders.

It's confusing why that helps so much but it does. Leareth takes a few deep breaths, reminding himself of all the reasons this is a very valuable conversation to be having that will advance a number of his goals. 

"It is possible I have suggestions," he says tightly. "Since I - worked with them, briefly, on adapting divine magic to replace the Healing and earthsense elements that they use." 

Aroden doesn't miss Leareth's reaction at all - neither the part where he's calmer now, nor the part where he's kind of baffled about it. He remembers being baffled about that category of thing, too, a very long time ago. (Well, a long time to his limited human mind; from another perspective, a century is the blink of an eye.)

Interesting, he says to Parmida. 

It's much less practical than a Chelish girl. Well - less practical in some ways, more practical in others, I think.

"This is very petty but once we've done it it would be great to be able to tell them that that collaboration was so productive."

"Someone else who is not me can tell them." 

"I can do that!"

Nefreti is weaving up some kind of incredibly complex spell - no, two of them, one in her right hand and one in her left.

Leareth watches, both curious and wary. Probably nothing is going to explode but he's sort of tense about unknown magic happening near him right now. 

"Um, Nefreti, what is that?" 

"It's a contingent plane shift to send you home at the end of this dinner, I don't think I want to stay for the whole thing. We'll need to be in rapport for the last bit of it but the Dome slows down my casting so it's going to be a few minutes before I even get to that part."

On the one hand he had been under the impression she would send him back as soon as the important advice-giving part was done; on the other hand, he's not exactly in a hurry to get back to the demiplane, and it's not clear his presence was actually making the situation less awkward. He nods. "I'm impressed you can do magic in the Dome at all, it really messed with my diamond spell the first few times and that one's incredibly simple." 

"It takes practice! I do think we are doing our future pharaohs a disservice, raising them in an environment that makes it harder for them to learn magic."

"It's not that bad if you grew up used to it. And we split time between here and the other palace, usually, when that one's not being used to stage for a war."