"I swear, I don't know who the kid is, I haven't done anything - they're mad at me, maybe because they have some grievance with Leareth? He's the kind of guy who might pick up grievances but I don't even work for him -"

"Who is-" Lissa cuts herself off. Maybe this is the sort of situation that she had better stay out of. Except for making sure that anyone who wants to hurt Carissa has to get through her first.

"Where is Golarion."

"I don't know where it is relative to here, I was sent to this continent as a prisoner after I got in over my head in some stuff."

"Are you Leareth's prisoner."

It...doesn't seem totally out of character for a foreign mage-warlord to keep someone prisoner and have a child with them. Though that still far from explains everything and Taver is hovering cryptically and not-saying something and Lancir just wants the world to make sense again.

"I - don't think Leareth would..."

Vanyel trails off. There's probably nothing at all he can say, right now, that will make the situation better rather than worse. He's so confused.

Pexa is sobbing on the ground, saying "I'm sorry I'm sorry I thought it was an emergency please come daddy".

It's very distracting and she has a headache from the spell snapping. "I'm here and Leareth is somewhere very far away I don't know where," she points out. "I don't think i'm very his prisoner. I, uh, was?"

"Did he send you to kill Vanyel."

"What?"

"...What - ?"

:Van can you PLEASE do something about the screaming child -:

"What? Of course not! Why would I want to do that. Also if I wanted to do that I'd have done it last night - I mean, I don't have the means, and I don't have a reason, and I didn't even consider it, but if I were, instead of being me with all my reasons not to do that, an assassin, then I would've done it last night - I don't think Leareth wants Vanyel dead -"

For some reason that's the thing that puts Lancir the most off-balance. "...Why not? Why would Leareth not want Vanyel dead."

(Vanyel is NOT SAYING ANYTHING and it feels to him at least that this is probably very conspicuous, but everyone else is so distracted. He ignores Savil asking him to do something about Pexa, what's he supposed to do, also he's busy shielding the door.)

"I think Leareth doesn't like killing people," Carissa says. "Or torturing them. Even when they're defying him on purpose."

"Don't - most people who aren't literally insane - not like torturing people?" Lancir says blankly. This is probably not a helpful question but he's at a loss for what would be.

"I mean I think it's popular to hire out?" 

Hire out to who, Lancir is thinking but doesn't say.

He takes a deep breath. "When is Leareth planning to invade Valdemar."

"I don't know if he is going to do that."

"What has he said to you about it."

(aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah)

"Said he wants to come up with something else."

Lancir blinks again. Lifts a hand to rub his chin.

"...Why does he want to invade Valdemar? What's his, er, objective?"

Carissa bites her tongue, hard, and then answers anyway, a bit garbled because she's also stuffing her hand over her mouth.