"Also he's terrifying."

"Also he's terrifying. I don't think it would've gone well for the Star-Eyed even if she'd succeeded."

"I never thought I'd meet someone scarier than Leareth! And then it turns out your world has a Leareth that's even more terrifying than mine! I'm really glad the Star-Eyed didn't succeed, I've - never seen Aroden look the way he did when we'd just brought Leareth back and he found out about the Star-Eyed having broken Leareth's immortality and then tried to grab his soul. He would've absolutely gone to war with her and I'm not sure he would've regretted the collateral damage." 

"I'm glad the assassins were at least courteous enough to choose a method that obviously wasn't Osirion, except I'm not sure it was courtesy instead of just them doing whatever was most convenient."

"I mean, they could've just called him over to the Worldwound, that would've been a lot more respectful of the pharaoh's authority. Gods. When the pharaoh was questioning them, Starwind said he would've raised anyone else who died, if the first responders on the scene had opened the Work Room and the demons had eaten everyone in the palace. And - he asked if that was why they'd done it there, and they said no, it was because Leareth was relaxed enough in the palace that they could catch him by surprise, that he'd have been too cautious if he'd been at the Worldwound. I don't think I've ever seen anyone look as angry as the pharaoh did about that." 

"Man, the pharaoh's got Good to spare. If I murdered someone in his palace I would stay dead."

"I think it was just strategically correct to bring them back, questioning them was necessary to do a proper investigation, and the only way the Star-Eyed was going to let us have them was if we sent them back to Velgarth alive. But, yes, it was generous of him. He did sort of threaten to torture anyone working for Her who entered Osirion again, if the Heralds weren't going to find out." (It took Vanyel an embarrassingly long time to puzzle out the subtext of that remark.) 

Fazil looks unhappy but doesn't say anything.

"It's super frustrating, the thing where he's not Good. It usually doesn't come up but when it does - it just feels like it ought to be possible to argue him around and it never is."

Vanyel nods, thoughtful. "That makes me think about how Leareth isn't Good, either, but - he is good, the normal kind? I feel like I can convince him of things, if I actually have new information that's relevant to him." 

Nod. "Well. Maybe he can convince the pharaoh of things, it sounds like he has an advantage at that."

"Maybe! He's very convincing. In - an interesting way, he's not trying to be persuasive in the usual sense but that almost makes his arguments more effective, for me? I've changed his mind before but I think he's changed my mind a lot more." Vanyel's smile becomes a little more genuine. "I'm really glad I can trust him now. It would've been such a pointless waste if we'd never gotten there." 

"It really would have. Also that war would've been - really ugly, I imagine."

"I don't think Valdemar could've won. So I guess we owe Golarion - and Nefreti - our continued existence as a country." 

"And we owe you - maybe not the end of Cheliax but certainly the end of Cheliax being so clean. And the Worldwound. And maybe the House of Oblivion, though it sounds like Nefreti could have done that at any time?"

"Knowing her, she was going to wait for a dramatically appropriate moment." 

Mahdi shakes his head, looking envious.

"Anyway." Sigh. "I appreciate you all visiting to check on me. I - think we'll be all right, eventually." 

Nod. "I think so. I'm sorry it worked out like this, though."

Nod. "Anyway, I think I'll stay here until Leareth seems comfortable leaving. I don't think he's in any danger in Cheliax, but - I think it's good for him to feel safer for a bit, and also the pharaoh is here. And it's good practice for my casting, doing it in here, it forces me not to be sloppy or have bad habits." 

"That makes sense."

Aroden returns to the Dome a little while after Mahdi and the others arrive to talk to Vanyel. He finds Leareth in the library. "Is now a good time to discuss." 

"Now is fine." Leareth frowns. "I had notes, but - of course, they were in the winter palace when - things... I should ask if there is any way of retrieving them, I do not think I remember my ideas perfectly because I was distracted."

He finds a servant and asks if they can find out whether the researchers' notes that were in the winter palace at the time of the assassination attempt were retrieved or copied. 

His notes can be retrieved for him!

That's very helpful! Leareth spends a few hours with Aroden, going over the specifications he was able to chart out for what a divine spell would need to do. It's not all the way there but hopefully it'll provide a good start for Aroden and Nefreti to work from. 

It's only slightly disturbing to talk about during, and he can manage it just fine and fold away his less helpful emotional responses for later, but - they are, in fact, there later, and he feels more shaken than he expected after he bids Aroden goodbye.

He stays in the library, vaguely wanting something but unsure what.