"Leareth already has Vanyel, who knows a lot more. In the case we're worried about, which is - hopefully not what's going on - we have to assume he's already pulled everything out of Van's mind." 

"Guess that's fair." She looks so unhappy about it. 

The next morning, a letter is Fetched into place at the drop point via a relay of Fetchers from Haven. (Valdemar's Herald-Mindspeakers have far greater range than Mindspeakers in most places, it's posited that this is because Companions can strengthen Gifts during training and help boost them in emergencies, and it's also true that Valdemar has Fetchers with greater range than is usually expected. And a letter isn't heavy.) 

Leareth reads it, and then goes to see if Woodlark is awake and has an idea of what he wants to say.

Woodlark wants the world to GO AWAY. 

If the world is not going to be polite enough to do that, he wants Promise to be there too, even though she's kind of redundant now that the plan is for Leareth to go. Promise is less scary than Leareth. 

(Leareth thinks the latter claim is not true at all, actually, but he doesn't say that.) 

He goes up to Promise's tree to see if she's up yet and if she's willing to come down and be there while Vanyel Truth Spells himself and says some things to be relayed. 

"If he wants me there, I guess, though I'm not sure what I add."

"I think he finds you less intimidating than he finds me, although really it ought be the opposite." 

"But if we're both there how does that help?"

"So he can look at your face and focus on that instead of my face? Perhaps he found you comforting when you talked to him yesterday and so has that association now, that is something that happens for humans, I am not sure if it does for fairies." 

"I have encountered it in fiction."

"Well, anyway, he asked for you so presumably he thinks it will help somehow." Leareth starts heading back down to Woodlark's room. 

She'll come along.

Woodlark hugs his knees to his chest and stares at Promise's chin while ignoring the entire corner of the room Leareth is in. He casts a Truth Spell on himself; it takes him a minute to concentrate well enough; and then he reads off from a sheet of paper in a flat toneless voice. The blue halo remains in place.  

"I have been talking to Leareth in the Foresight dream for about fourteen years. The last Groveborn told us not to tell anyone. Recently," he can't remember the exact day because what are days even, "I had a dream with Leareth where he said he was cancelling the invasion plan, acknowledged he would need to prove it. I d-didn't say anything because I couldn't think of how to explain it. Then we got word from k'Treva and I had another dream with Leareth and I shouted at him. I assume he sent Promise to k'Treva because of that, and I was there, you probably have her account of what we talked about. She - said some things to my Companion - we were talking about it after and - had a fight - I don't really understand it but she was mad about what Leareth thought and was mad at me for thinking it was reasonable. She said she couldn't be around me and ran away but she was going to tell the Groveborn first. I - panicked and Gated north to leave a message for Leareth because it seemed like things might go very out of control and he d-deserved to know. In the scenario where he's trying to cooperate with us. I didn't really mean to have him Gate me north but I didn't - not mean to do that? I was in a bad state and I didn't have a plan. I don't think it's accurate at all that he kidnapped me. I've been treated very well here. I'm very useless though so it d-doesn't seem like there's much reason to come back. I'm sorry." 

He falls silent. The blue halo is still there, unfaltering. 

"Should we bring the paper along -"

Vanyel tries and fails to think of an answer and say it. Reading that out loud was surprisingly hard and he's barely managing not to cry. 

"Yes, that is a good idea. Thank you, Promise." Leareth reaches to take it from Woodlark's limp hands. 

He allows this. 

"Sorry for - upsetting your Companion - I wasn't even trying to talk to her, she didn't say anything to me, I was talking to Moondance."

He doesn't look at her. "S'not your fault." 

She shrugs. Steps out of the room.

It somehow still takes another day of back and forth for the Heralds to send a letter with a proposed arrangement to Leareth, who replies with his comments and has to wait for their reply...

...and the next letter after that shows up in person with a messenger who says it's VERY URGENT and the letter is for Woodlark. 

Leareth gives the letter a worried look, but he takes it down to Woodlark's room. 

Wow he doesn't want to open it! At all! 

Eventually Woodlark grits his teeth and tears the seal and reads it. 

And then he is very suddenly crying.