:We can't really do this indefinitely, can we. But we're waiting for - a miracle from another world?:

:...We cannot wait forever for that either. And I - predict that if it takes them too long the decision will just be taken out of our hands:

Nod. Hug.

Leareth lets his head rest on her shoulder. :I...think it will get a little easier. If more time passes and - no further emergencies occur. It would be evidence that Asmodeus is not pursuing the investigation of recent events: Sigh. :But - not reassuring enough to fully relax. I am not sure when I will feel safe enough to fully relax again - maybe never, if we keep finding problems throughout the multiverse...: 

Which, come to think of it, is kind of a doomy sign, and maybe means he should reassess how his emotions are set up in relation to this, but figuring that out right now sounds so exhausting. 

:I think probably we can't fight the entire multiverse.:

:I think if we find ourselves trying to fight the entire multiverse, that would be a very bad sign. But...there are ways of solving problems other than fighting, and one of these days I very much hope we find one of them: 

:Yeah.: Snuggle. :Maybe we won't even have to fight Asmodeus.:

:I will be very relieved if that is the world we end up in: And he snuggles her back. :If I can manage to be clever and careful enough now, then perhaps we can do it: 

:Feels like something is wrong there but I don't know - what, or how it's supposed to be -:

:Something is wrong in - what? The framing I am using where I need to be clever?: 

:Obviously you do need to be clever. It's not false, that how well it goes will mostly depend on how well you run it.: Shrug. :I don't know what makes it feel off. Maybe just that the whole situation is very bad.:

:Maybe. ...It does seem important to understand, if something feels off to you here? I trust you and I trust your feelings to mean something. But if you do not have any clearer description of it right now, then...let it sit awhile, I suppose: 

:Aroden and Iomedae don't think we're making any mistakes here, do we?:

:I do not think so. They - agree that the situation is very bad, and that therefore so are many of our options... I am not sure They could see all categories of mistake, from a god's angle: 

:I keep wanting to visit Hell even though this is astoundingly stupid and wouldn't even answer anything. Or to - figure out how to talk to people about what it's like. It's not worth risking the secrecy, though.:

Leareth is silent for a few moments.

:This may still not be worth the cost and inconvenience, but - there were some survivors, from the war on Hell in the other Golarion. About a hundred million of them were evacuated, I think. I do not think either of us can leave for that long, but perhaps a handful could be brought over here, if they are willing to talk to us...: 

:I would value talking to them, I think.

 I knew what I signed up for. I - picked Iomedae, who is at war with Hell, I picked you, who'd just taken Cheliax from it -:

:I know. I - would not, necessarily, expect that to make it easier now. But I love you and I am very grateful to have you here: Squeeze. :I will talk to human Aroden and Mhalir about the evacuees, once they return:

Ma'ar and Carissa's tiny ship travels through the Void. 

They trade off navigation duties. For the most part navigation isn't hard work, it involves a lot of sitting and watching the magic-sensors, and so Ma'ar ends up taking on more of it; his kind of magic work is more amenable to multitasking than Carissa's. Ma'ar also mostly takes charge of updating the 'hyperspace' maps on Mhalir's computer, since Carissa can productively use her free time to work on enchanting magic items.

They have the alt-detecting item that the human Aroden figured out for Mhalir on his earlier explorations. It has to be set to a much less sensitive threshold for the Void-ship, since the power source at hand is far lesser, but human Aroden thought it should still alert them at close range. 

It fails to trigger alerts for any of the first half-dozen worlds they find. All of which, from a brief glance, don't contain any interesting magical signatures, and so they move on. 

Ma'ar, at this point in his life, is fairly experienced with finding comfortable working routines with arbitrary people, and so he and Carissa fall into a routine which works fine. (For him, at least, and for her as well judging by the brief glances he gets of her mind.) They mostly just talk at mealtimes, and find enough potential topics to avoid awkward silences. 

He and Carissa work well together, Ma'ar thinks. They can communicate without friction, and neither of them needs too much, and...things are fine. 

Definitely fine. 

And then, one 'night' about a fortnight into their journey, in the middle of Ma'ar's two off-shift hours of sleep (his ring is in effect now), he jerks suddenly and cries out - 

- and, abruptly, Carissa's mind is flooded with HORROR and FEAR, and also the sheet over Ma'ar is somewhat on fire. 

- her first thought is that they are under attack, even though that doesn't make any sense, and she draws Mhalir's Dracon beam and kicks Ma'ar that being the fastest way to wake him without bending down and casts Glitterdust looking for invisible attackers -

Ma'ar startles half-awake with another yelp, jerks up into a crouch, supporting himself on one hand while the other crackles with barely-held-back lightning and his eyes dart half-blindly around the room... 

...and then he sags back to the floor. :Gods. Sorry: 

:What's happening -:

:I - nothing... Nothing is wrong, sorry, I - must have been having a nightmare...: 

Ma'ar is at this point sprawled half off the mattress, apparently unaware that his blanket is still smouldering slightly at the edge.