Leareth has no idea how long they've been questioning him for. It could be minutes or it could be days. He's too groggy to properly hold a train of thought, and he's not making much effort to fight it. The coercive Truth Spell can make him talk but it can't force him to organize his thoughts, or to use any of his myriad hard-earned mental habits for working through exhaustion and pain, and he's not exactly incentivized to be as helpful as possible, here. Sometimes he forgets what question he's answering midsentence. His answers come out fragmented and out of order and Vanyel needs to ask the same question three times to piece together anything sensible. 

The Healer is still interrupting between every question, and sometimes in the middle of it takes Leareth a long time to eke out an answer, in order to spoon-feed him broth and honey-sweetened herb tea. His voice is hoarse and croaky and she keeps having to do some sort of Healing thing so he doesn't lose it entirely. 

He's talking about - his troop numbers and locations, it seems like, though he's already forgotten the question - and the Truth Spell won't let him stop even though all he wants to do is sleep. It doesn't force him to speak clearly, though; he's slurring his words more and more, not even on purpose, it just takes too much effort not to...

This is possibly one of the most unnerving experiences of Vanyel's life.

The worst part is that he can't look upset. Not because Leareth would notice, even. Because Savil and Tantras and Keiran are all there, and they would notice, and he deliberately elided so much of his history with Leareth, and so it would...confuse them, that he cares.

The second worst part is that he's pretty sure Leareth is, on some level, doing this strategically. Vanyel knows the man; he's pretty sure that Leareth is genuinely feeling awful, but also that he could, if he wanted, push through and hide all signs of physical discomfort. And he keeps being tempted to snap at Leareth to just try already, but why would Leareth listen? 

...The third worst part - and the fact that it's third down the list is a testament to how his day, well, night at this point, is going - is that Yfandes is being incredibly weird about this entire conversation. She's hovering in the back of his mind, listening, but she's...clearly having strong feelings about random bits of the interrogation. And then refusing to explain. Vanyel is too tired and busy to poke at that any harder, right now. 

The FOURTH worst part is the thing Leareth said in the first five minutes of questioning. Which Vanyel is not going to think about until LATER.

Also Leareth is getting even less coherent, now, and starting to mumble and slur enough that it's hard to even get the words. 

"- Leareth, repeat the last part," he hears himself say, dully. "I didn't catch that." 

Leareth doesn't remember what he was supposed to be answering and so the Truth Spell just tugs restlessly at him.

"Abou' wha...?" he tries to say, but his tongue sticks to the roof of his mouth. 

Gemma lifts a hand. "Time for more fluids. Give us a moment."

She and the Healing-trainee have a routine figured out; the trainee holds the cup of broth and keeps Leareth's head steady, Gemma holds the spoon and watches with Healing-Sight to make sure he's swallowing without choking. Which is getting to be more fraught as the interrogation wears on into its fourth candlemark; Leareth is exhausted and the Heralds are pushing him well past his limits, here. Maybe she should take Vanyel up on his bizarre suggestion about Fetching after all. 

Vanyel sighs. Looks around. The other faces in the room look almost as tired as he feels. 

:I reckon maybe we should call it here: he says in Mindspeech to the other Heralds. :It's past midnight and he's barely making sense anyway at this point: 

Savil rubs her neck. :Maybe. I got everything down - we know a lot more of what to look out for. And we don't think Leareth's people know yet that we evacuated to Haven, though they've got to suspect we grabbed him. Backup plan if someone does show up is evacuate immediately to k'Treva. Starwind and Moondance, don't go far. But - in the meantime we should all get some sleep: 

Based on her locked-down expression, Vanyel thinks, Savil is doing her own share of not-thinking about what they've recently learned. It's too big, too much to absorb, and both of them have been awake since the early hours of yesterday morning - coming on an entire day, at this point... 

:Then let's meet in the morning: he says wearily. :Assuming nothing else explodes before then: 

Gemma yawns. She's been up for far too long as well, but she's not sure she trusts this particular patient to anyone else, yet. 

"If you're going to bed then I want the girl back in here," she says tiredly. "To give him instructions. When the time window runs out he can't swallow on purpose and that's. Kind of a problem." 

Vanyel hauls himself to his feet. "I'll see if she's still awake." 

Melody, still waiting in the empty room in between but with the door open, jumps up when she sees Savil and Vanyel emerge. 

:Need to talk. This is what...: And she explains, briefly, what she's picked up so far of Carissa's sort-of-plan to escape. 

:- The woman's insane. Absolutely bonkers. We got her out of that horrible place, and she wants to get herself right back to Hell?: 

:...She just wants the afterlife she was promised: Vanyel stares at his feet. :You know the Star-Eyed won't give that to her: 

:Yes, well, she's still insane: Savil reaches to squeeze Vanyel's shoulder. :Go to bed, ke'chara. Don't let her get to you: 

Don't let her– what does that even mean. Savil's right that he should get some sleep, though. And Vanyel has no desire to be in sight when Carissa gets brought across. He's very tired of the glares and he still doesn't understand what he did wrong to make her hate him so much. 

He leaves, head bowed with exhaustion, barely able to walk in a straight line on the path through the Palace grounds. He could ask Yfandes for a ride, of course, but...that would mean interacting with her, and for some reason, right now, Vanyel isn't sure he wants to. 

Ten million people. 

Ten million. 

It's not going to happen now, of course. But....would it be worth it? If the only other alternatives were those same millions of people ceasing to exist anyway, just decades later, dying one by one of the usual natural causes...

He should not be thinking about this now, he's way too tired and this is causing the usual mood swings, but he can't help it. 

Is Carissa in fact still awake in her room. 

Kneeling on the ground lost in very sincere and very Asmodean prayer for her life to be spent in the service of her goddess.

This is also very disturbing to eavesdrop on! 

She knocks before opening the door, and addresses Carissa in Mindspeech since she's not sure if the translation magic wore off. :We're, er, giving Leareth a break from questioning, and the Tayledras need some sleep - would you mind taking over for the night?: 

Separately, to Savil, :- We should have someone keeping an eye on her, and I need to sleep too: 

Sigh. :I'll track down one of the Heralds with Thoughtsensing: 

Probably having had a change of heart already would be unconvincing. 

I can do that. 

:Thank you:

...And, oh, right, she can't move outside of her room. Awkward, that. 

Melody sighs and Mindspeaks Starwind. :Carry the wizard over again?: 

Carissa is picked up and carried over to Leareth's room and deposited in the chair by his bedside. 

:Moondance: Melody adds to the Healing-Adept, privately. :You need to talk to her at some point. She - really does feel that she belongs to your Goddess, now, and she hasn't got the faintest idea what that means. It's not fair to leave her like that: 

:Oh: 

Moondance feels guilty, now, that he completely failed to think of that. Everything has been so chaotic, though. He's had a lot on his mind. 

He does stop and make eye contact with Carissa before he leaves for the night. :We ought speak on the morrow, I think - I imagine you wish to know more of our Goddess?: 

- yes, I do. I don't know what She wants me to do, and - I'd like to. Thank you.

Moondance nods, offers her a very tired smile that's probably meant to be reassuring, and then leans on Starwind's shoulder as they stand by the door talking to Savil in private Mindspeech.