Carissa kneels on the floor in the room with no magic and tries to stop having a panic attack. Hallucinatory Iomedae reassuring her that everything will be fine is not helping, go away hallucinatory Iomedae. 

What's going to happen. Face it, it's always more terrifying when you haven't spelled it out in your thoughts. She's going to die. Fine. Aroden doesn't get along with Asmodeus, doesn't want his people in Hell. Even the ones who fought against him. So she'll die, and she'll make Axis, and maybe Batty will eventually die of thirst on her bookshelf - no, they'll search her house - maybe Batty will get an afterlife too or maybe he'll turn back into a normal cactus or maybe he'll just stop existing, there's nothing at all she can do about that right now. She doesn't have enough of a grip on Aroden's personality to guess whether pleading for mercy for her cactus would entertain or anger him.  

Dying will probably hurt. That's - whatever. She wouldn't be having a panic attack if the thing that was going to happen was a drawn out and protracted Plane Shift to Axis. So she shouldn't be having one now. 

Magic won't work, anymore, when she's dead - there's different magic and she'll be able to learn it, she's a quick study, honestly it'll be less frustrating retraining after a decade spent on wizardry than it would be after eight decades spent on wizardry. (Her emotions don't buy this. They wanted those eight decades. But, well, we can't always get what we want, can we. A year ago she thought she would get only those eight decades, if she was careful, and then Hell. There's nothing to grieve, here, even if it feels like there is.)

They'll talk to her family, maybe. They'll be terrified, and then once they figure out there won't be retribution for them (will there be? for the cousin who sent her test scores, maybe...) - once that's all played out they'll be angry, embarrassed, disappointed, confused - she wasn't reckless -

- he won't let Asmodeus have her but there are other ways to make sure she doesn't get Axis, doesn't get any afterlife at all, and that'd be a reasonable and strategic sort of thing to do, just so your stewardship of a nice divine realm doesn't give people incentive to betray you -

This isn't helping her calm down, which isn't fair, this is supposed to help you calm down. Maybe it only works if you're panicking about something stupid and if you're panicking about your imminent execution then more detail doesn't help. 

You live in the world you live in. She's going to die; right now, she can have a clear head or not have a clear head, and it seems better to have a clear head, except she's terrified - what is she terrified of - 

- oh -

- she is terrified that there might be something she could say to Aroden so she doesn't die. And that's terrifying because that means it's not over, gods this is awful but at least when the spell caught her and she failed to fight it she thought it was over, and she doesn't have her hat pin of glibness or her god's guidance or anything at all, she just has to figure this out herself and the fact it might be possible to succeed makes it so, so much worse that she's almost definitely going to fail...

Calm down. Maybe that's what hallucinatory Iomedae meant, if she was not a hallucination, which she probably was. That there was still a way forward, that she needed to believe it was possible for things to be okay in order for her to see the route forward. Iomedae was a paladin. Paladins cannot be afraid. She'd think it a myth but she did a tour at the Worldwound, enchanting arms and armor, and she saw them, and it's real. Iomedae would not be afraid. Iomedae - can only give good advice if Carissa's not afraid, maybe, can only understand what routes forward Iomedae would take...

...she has no idea if that's true but it's less confusing than her goddess having given her this quest and then let her fail at it with no warning. 

Does she already know enough to convince Aroden of whatever he needs to be convinced of? But she barely knows anything...

When he teleports in she flinches and looks up at him and then back at the ground. "Your majesty," she says very quietly.

He still has Detect Thoughts and he can sense some of - her decision to stay calm, to keep trying something, and she's very, very panicked right now, with him showing up in front of her, but she's trying something...

"What is your name?" he asks first. Gently. It's not helpful for his purposes for her to be even more frightened.

"Carissa Sevar. Gave my real name when I applied. But my cousin's test scores."

"Ah. That fits, you are certainly not a first-level wizard." He peers at her. "Lawful Good, hmm. Cleric?" 

- nod. "Also a wizard."

A clever one. He suspects she made some magic items in order to evade detection this long - he can't sense them right now, of course. 

"Who sent you?" 

"I got visions from my - I thought they were from Iomedae but I don't know that for sure. They felt like getting spells, though, and while they were happening I'd feel sure in a dream-logic sort of way. They were of a person I didn't recognize. I did some research. It was Leareth. - and sometimes the pharaoh of Osirion. I tried to find other clerics of Iomedae to ask if they'd gotten them too but I was being vague on purpose and they might not have told me even if they had. I figured there had to be something I was supposed to do. Applied to work at the palace. I got second-circle spells from Her when I did so I figured I'd picked right. - I didn't mean it to be treason," what a stupid thing to say, it doesn't matter at all, "I figured that if I found out something important and Cheliax was in danger or something I'd tell you."

“I see.” His expression is still gentle. “And what have you learned of Leareth so far, from your spying?”

Deep breath. This is the worst part but it'll be worse if she's trying to hide any of it -

"Learned about Abadar's war with the Velgarth god the Star-Eyed. Learned you also knew of it so I figured it wasn't the thing I was here to find out about though it might have been related to it, if there was - I wasn't sure if it was some danger to him or some danger he posed to Cheliax - there were some Tayledras assassins sent to try to kill him and it caused a lot of problems but they were sent to try to kill him before I even got my first vision so it can't have been the thing I was supposed to prevent. You trust him - couldn't figure out why, I don't actually think he's your son even though that's what most people were assuming - I was working on an artifact that made me show up not-suspicious to mage-sight, it was harder than looking normal to our magic since I have our magic, I thought I'd gotten it down this week but - obviously I was wrong about that - and then I figured it'd be safe to be in the same room as him or to - leave my familiar in conference rooms again -" lots of internal screaming about that because it's the most definitely a capital crime of everything but - "and then I'd find out more. Thought the pharaoh might be important."

The thing Aroden is thinking is that he wants to go yell at Iomedae right now, but the yelling can wait, it's hardly going to help this poor girl calm down, and he keeps all hint of irritation from his face. Instead, to her surprise, he smiles.

"Is your familiar by any chance a cactus?" 

Flinch. Nod. "Made it a little custom - sword, I don't actually do amulets, I just do swords, but they can be tiny swords, hat pins and toothpicks, it was one of the spines - to conceal it - but I didn't know about mage sight so it was too shielded, it looked dead to him."

"I remember that! How impressive. Both of us failed to be paranoid enough, it seems. Leareth asked me if it seemed odd, he thought it looked fine on the outside - neither of us is enough an expert in cacti, it seems, I should have asked my wife to come look."

Aroden takes a step back, gestures to some armchairs over to one side of the library. "Please, make yourself comfortable. I will just be one moment." 

He prepares a Sending to Leareth. "Sent by Iomedae, not obviously a threat, you should come, where are you." 

And a separate Sending to the pharaoh. "No threat to you or Leareth, Iomedae up to mischief, Leareth busy next few hours, you are invited if you wish." 

Leareth replies with his location. And then Mindspeaks the pharaoh himself as well. :Apparently Iomedae sent her?: He's instantly relaxed. :I may be wrong but I am suspicious I know exactly what this is about, and that She is laughing at us right now: 

:...now I'm curious. Is Aroden offering to give us a lift, we have no other way to get to his demiplane.:

:He asked for my location so I assume he is going to come collect me. I can Gate you over here too to save on Teleports?: 

:Sure.: And he will make his excuses and leave the party which has been much energized by all this drama.

Leareth Gates back to the side room behind the party, calls out to Khemet in Mindspeech, brings him over to his shielded hideout. 

"Did I get around to mentioning," he says, looking like he can't decide whether to laugh or scowl, "that I asked Iomedae for advice on finding a wife?" 

"...no. You didn't. She...sent somebody to spy on you?"

"I am not sure yet! All Aroden said was that she was sent by Iomedae and did not seem to be a threat, I am interpolating." He glances around. "I am sure Aroden will be here soon to say more." 

Aroden isn't there yet, because after Plane Shifting back to his hallway demiplane (now relocated to Egorian along with all his other setup), he pauses in his office. 

Parmida was entertaining some other guests during the drama, but they have Charm Person active because they always do at events. 

Parmida, dear, I have a very frightened cleric of Iomedae in my demiplane, who was given mysterious visions of Leareth and gathered she was supposed to spy on him. She thinks I am going to have her executed. Would you mind accompanying us there to talk to her? Neither of us is very good at not being intimidating and the poor dear is so terrified of me. 

- sure. What are you going to do?

Have a very delicate conversation where we try to find out whether, as I suspect is true, Iomedae in fact sent her as Leareth's prospective wife. In which case Iomedae will be hearing a piece of my mind rather soon, but I will first need to...inform the poor girl of this... It sounds terribly awkward. 

Oh no! And she heads over to meet him.

He kisses the top of her head and then takes her arm and Teleports them to Leareth's hideout on the edge of town. 

"Ready to go?" 

"- Aroden, are you thinking that Iomedae–"