"Wasn't expecting you to look forever. But I'm glad you did."

"Forever is a long time! If I had not found you within ten years, and we were not learning anything of value in the process of searching, I would have delegated almost all continuing efforts to other people - but in fact we were learning many things..." 

They get back to the apartment. Leareth asks her what needs to be packed. 

She mostly keeps things in her bag but she will dump some of her ongoing artifact research into the bag, and point out the clever faucets on the bath though they can't take those with them, and remind Ma'ar to grab his books for school.

Ma'ar does this. He packs his student uniforms even though probably he'll be expected to wear something else anyway. 

At one point when they're both in the bedroom, he runs to Carissa and hugs her. 

"- I'm nervous," he admits, in a very small voice. "I'm - I know it's stupid, just..." 

Hug. "You don't know him. And it's a big, sudden change. And he is dangerous, you're not wrong if you're picking up that he's dangerous. But - not to us, because he loves us and we're on his side."

"Is that what I look like to Urtho, do you think, or - what he's scared I'll grow up into...? Dangerous like that?" 

" - I think he thinks you'll be dangerous and doesn't have a clear sense of who you'll be dangerous towards. And thinks that over time people who are dangerous and powerful become less and less inclined to protect the innocent for its own sake."

"I don't think I would be less inclined to protect innocent people! I think I'd be more inclined to if I could do it without being scared for myself, if I were more powerful..." He gives her an uncertain look. "Do you think I'm wrong?" 

"I don't think you're wrong about yourself! But you're very unusual. Most people do stop caring about other people if it hurts too much and doesn't help them get what they want."

He nods, looking unhappy about it, but goes back to his packing. 

"I am going to go speak with Urtho," Leareth tells them, midway through the morning. "Carissa, is there anything in particular you think I ought mention to him?" 

"I don't think so. He was - trying, to help Ma'ar - maybe his older self will know what perspective he needs..."

"I am not sure the older Urtho really understands me any better! I think he is just...more willing to admit that he made a mistake, and that I have gone on to do valuable things even if the kind of person I am is frightening and alarming to him. I suppose perhaps that in itself is a valuable shift in perspective." 

He heads off. He's gone for a while. 

Ma'ar tries to focus on practicing magic, but he's restless, and keeps getting up to pace. 

She doesn't like being apart from him but this is objectively stupid. 

Leareth is finally back an hour or so later, with the older Urtho. He's carrying a little wrapped box. "Ma'ar, this is for you. Your present from the Urtho here." 

Ma'ar nods solemnly and takes it, then bounces a bit as he undoes the ribbon and unwraps the box. 

"- Ooooh!" He grins, holding up a necklace with a beautiful crystal hanging from it. "It's a focus-stone - but it's a really fancy one, it's got magic structure on it - oh, there's a note..." He grabs it as it flutters down toward the floor, and unfolds it. "It says I should be able to use this to tap nodes even though my Gift isn't full strength yet - that's amazing!" He beams and runs over to hug Carissa. 

:Awww. He is so happy. And - relaxed: Leareth is smiling too. :Ready for the Gate to our Void-vessel?: 

:I am so ready for that.:

Leareth glances around one last time at the interior of Urtho's Tower - some part of him wants to step outside, take a minute to see it from the outside, but that can wait. It'll still be here in a year, or ten. 

He takes Carissa's hand, and raises a Gate and tugs her through. 

Vanyel is waiting for them, sitting in a chair set on what looks like a flat black disk of marble or some other stone, with a clear shimmering dome over it, about ten metres across. On the outside of the dome, there's nothing but vivid shimmering swirls of chaotic colour. It looks odd, not quite real, as though her senses are trying to interpret something beyond understanding. 

"Don't worry, it's safe," he says. "I know it doesn't look very protected, but the barrier is really strong, we tested it a lot." 

She looks around in amazement. "Wow. Okay. This is - how did you figure this out -"

"Aroden and Urtho did a lot of research together, before Aroden went for the Starstone. We were trying to figure out the general case for Gates, first, Leareth would just project his mind to the Void and explore with us, but then we got too far out, realized you can only go a certain distance from your body doing that, and you can only Gate a certain distance - even with routing it through other planes to make the distance less, that's how our style of Gate between Velgarth and Golarion works. We still can't understand what Nefreti was doing, we had ward coverage on exactly what happened but Aroden couldn't replicate it. Anyway, eventually Urtho worked together with a team of other people to make this, so we could travel with our physical bodies. Leareth only risked it because Abadar was pretty sure that if he died, even if he was too far away at the time to get spells, Abadar still has enough of a claim to notice and then grab him for resurrection." He makes a face. "I guess I'm the one taking a bigger risk, here, I'm not a cleric of any god, but." Shrug. 

"Well, I'm very grateful."

Leareth is still smiling. "Urtho, unhook us, let's get headed home." He pulls out a chair for Carissa, and sits down beside her.