:Wasn't Leareth: Vanyel manages, without otherwise acknowledging any of them. :She - was angry - ran away...: 

:What: 

<Should he perhaps be in a hospital. Rather than here.>

:...I guess I could bring him to Haven: Or wherever Melody is right now, but she doesn't need to get into the weeds on that with Matirin. :Would need a shuttle ride again. I want to stay with him, so - I guess we leave Mardic and Donni up here, and hope the ambassador to Lineas can handle the situation there - we should send a Mindspeaker there for communications, but I can Gate someone from Haven...: 

<We can get you a shuttle ride to Haven. If Leareth tries something, well, that'll be good to know.>

Nod. She gives him an apologetic look. :I'm sorry, everything keeps happening with awful timing. Thank you: 

<You are welcome.> 

And he paces and waits for a reply from Leareth.

Leareth's reply comes a candlemark after dawn. He's willing to explain all the context under Truth Spell in a candlemark's time, once he finishes 'handling fallout'; the short version, which they can confirm when they question him, is that he did set Vedric Mavelan up with a contingency-plan to conquer Lineas, to be triggered if and when Leareth actually invaded Valdemar, but Vedric Mavelan was clearly even less trustworthy than he had realized and ignored specific orders not to move on anything. He's deeply sorry for failing to foresee this and physically remove the dagger as soon as it was clear that this plan ought no longer be in effect; the candlemark delay is because he's now going to both do so and locate Vedric Mavelan to make sure he causes no further trouble. 

Huh. 

It still feels like an improbable coincidence. He spends a while to think how it might not be. Maybe this Vedric, getting orders not to move on anything, decided he had to act now lest the dagger in fact be confiscated later. That would explain the timing. It feels slightly unsatisfactory. And Leareth of course could not satisfy his curiosity about the Vanyel situation as he presumably doesn't know of it.

Nothing to do but wait a candlemark, probably. 

Is Masha willing to go do a Truth Spell again.

Masha is more uneasy this time but is willing to do a Truth Spell again.

Then Masha and Talik can go out to the spot again, when the candlemark is nearly up.

Leareth Gates to the spot about ten minutes late from the one-candlemark point. “I apologize for the delay. Do you wish to hear my accounting of this or ask specific questions.”

<Why don't you explain, to start.>

Leareth gives the same recounting as in his letter, with somewhat more detail, and adding that he’s made sure Vedric Mavelan’s further plans from here are dismantled. The blue halo doesn’t budge.

<Can we talk to Mavelan.>

”If you wish. Though, he is an Adept mage and it will be difficult to guarantee your safety with him unless I use significant mind-control against him harming you.”

<Why did he decide to attack last night in particular.>

"He confessed to having been already preparing for an attack this year, I think based on the premise that Valdemar was too distracted by the Karsite war and had lost too many of their mages to intervene. The exact day was apparently a result of my message ordering him to stand down, so - I apologize for that. If I had foreseen it, I would have removed the weapon myself before informing him of it, and so much of the fault here is mine." 

<What similar plans are underway or in the process of being called off?>

Leareth has evidently expected the question; he starts going down a list. None of the others are quite as, well, extreme; he says, truthfully according to the spell, that most operations against Valdemar directly have been paused for a while, as part of his attempts to negotiate with Vanyel. He does admit to more permanently shutting down various backup plans to assassinate Vanyel, including one that (with a hint of sheepishness) he states that he had believed to be called off but, on a second check, had proved to still be in place. He's stopped supplying and in many cases confiscated existing supplies from various bounty hunters and similar unpleasant people. He hasn't necessarily recalled all of his spies, since they have many other purposes, but he has preemptively pulled all his agents from Valdemar specifically. 

<Do you know anything about how Vanyel was injured at the palace investigating last night?>

Leareth's eyes widen a little. "- Vanyel was injured? Is he all right? No, I was unaware anything had happened - based on my agents' view of the palace, he should have been undisturbed there, he put up an excellent shield." 

<From your perspective does anything that happened since we last spoke change the apparent wisdom of attempting an alliance.>

"...Apparently, you should update slightly downward on my competence, since the events in Highjorune were not ones I intended and indicate inadequate planning and due diligence." Definitely a little sheepish. "Nothing has happened to change my stance toward your world and its war, and I am now correcting for the class of mistake that led to Highjorune. I do not think this should, from your perspective, be much of a surprise in terms of my willingness to use underhanded methods." 

<The plan had it gone as intended was for hundreds of people to be eaten by demons to produce a distraction while you invaded a neighboring kingdom?>