"Eleven days until - what - until we can be ready to make a move on Cheliax? I think we can do that." 

"- I missed you too." 

"If I successfully communicated with Vkandis, and it's not a sure thing, in eleven days Chelish forces in Iftel will have a very bad time. If I very successfully communicated with Vkandis, I can just...keep their souls, when they die, if Asmodeus isn't paying enough attention? So it'd be convenient if He were distracted."

"- I think we can arrange to be ready to distract him in eleven days! ...Thank you, for - attempting to communicate that. I cannot imagine it was easy." 

"I'd rather try to get Desna and Asmodeus to sit down and agree on something. ...well, no, I wouldn't, but it's close. I think I have better visibility than Asmodeus in Velgarth, because he's mostly in places other gods claim and I'm in Leareth's territory, which they don't. And which is mine now." She raises an eyebrow at him. "I made Leareth a paladin."

"- You did what." 

"He can heal his own exhaustion now. He needs it. You should give him a Ring of Sustenance, by the way. Carissa Sevar thinks the ultimate proof Good isn't capable of winning is that no one has stolen hers yet and she's sort of right."

"....Fascinating! That - is a very reasonable hypothesis for her to have, honestly. And, yes, I ought give Leareth one."  

Pause. 

"- Why are you - paying so much attention to Carissa? And specifically to whether or not she - trusts Leareth to be Good? ...That is not exactly the question I mean, just - you know - it is difficult to ask it properly when I have only a human mind to think with..." 

"I'm mostly following Leareth but he's surprisingly shadowed by her for having met her last week. And -

-if there are ten thousand like her we'd better know what we plan to do with them. And if there's not, then we have something rare and perhaps have the luxury not to crush it by accident."

“What - are you seeing about her— No, that is not the right question. Do you know - I could see for myself, that Leareth had - that he was finding her very salient? And she is obviously intelligent and articulate and - goal oriented - I, it just - I think it is probably more than that. And I cannot see it, not anymore…”

"She's Neutral Evil, you wouldn't be able to see her much better than I can." A wistful sigh. "Do you need backing at the Worldwound, that's going to be simultaneous with Velgarth and it's going to be expensive..."

“I - do have a plan to buy time, but nothing better than that. I had been considering whether to aim most of Leareth’s resources and personnel at that problem, since that…would be less likely to violate any of his preexisting agreements with Cheliax before I kidnapped him. We have not had the opportunity to go over all of the details and I do not want to ask him to sacrifice any Law, if I can avoid it.”

That seems reasonable. They can go through its implications for how all the rest of their resources are allocated, then, quickly so Aroden doesn't walk away with a headache.

Yes, that seems sensible, and hopefully Aroden can leave with a list of questions to bring to Leareth.

Hundreds of miles to the south, Herald-Mage Vanyel Ashkevron, Hero of Stony Tor, is sitting in a stuffy meeting-room with the rest of the Senior Circle, feeling incredibly trapped and desperately wishing his life instead consisted of almost literally anything else. 

Randi, eventually, breaks the strained silence. 

"Van. Listen. We know you're holding something back, and I - maybe it really does make sense to, but - you've got to understand why it puts me in a difficult position." 

"...I know. I'm sorry. If - if you'd rather Valdemar stayed out of this entirely unless I tell you everything, then...I guess we can stay out of this entirely. But I don't think Leareth's wrong, that - Cheliax is a problem that someone needs to fix. And I don't want to put that in jeopardy." 

Tran sighs heavily. "Van. You know we can't trust Leareth." 

Why are they STILL arguing this point. They're just going in circles now. 

Vanyel leans back in his chair and laces his hands together. "...Tran, what does that even mean? We questioned him in depth! We know what his intentions were." 

"I think that's kind of the problem here! He wanted to swallow Valdemar in his empire so he could feed our entire population to his god!" 

Katha picks at her thumbnail. 

"...It means something, right, if he's allying with this Lawful Good goddess? Even if all he wants is more power - and we DO know from questioning him that he's...a lot more complicated than that, as a person. But even then, if he has to keep Her happy it would restrict what he's willing to do." 

"We only have his word to go on for all of this." 

Looking visibly frustrated isn't going to help his cause at all, and Vanyel keeps his expression pleasantly neutral, but aaaaauuuughhhh. 

"He's never lied to me," he says tightly. "I know we don't have proof that he's telling the truth, this time, but - it'd at least be surprising for him to change his habits at this point, no?" 

"Would it? Everything's changed, now, it sounds like." 

"...I know. And - I know it's hard to explain why I'm so sure that everything's changed in - in a way that makes Leareth much less threatening to Valdemar, and much more likely to want to be our ally. But that is what I think. I'm willing to swear to it under Truth Spell, if that helps."