"Do you... know anything... about how the Worldwound was supposedly closed."

"Only that the archmages did it. After they conquered Cheliax. - the Glorious Reclamation helped, does that exist? The paladin order?"

"I've heard of them. They're pretty secretive, and obviously they don't tell us much of anything, but — I haven't seen any signs they're planning on moving soon."

"I do think they needed the archmages, just - some things are clearly the same -

- who's in command of #11?"

"Iiiii would need to look up the name, sorry. —The treaty'll cover you if you defected from the country of Cheliax. It won't cover you if you defected from the Chelish Worldwound forces. If you were really discharged, you're fine. I don't think it says anything about, uh, time travel, but I expect the Abadarans'd rule in your favor if everything you've told me is true."

And if he was lying hopefully he'll have the sense not to immediately say that.

"I did not at any point defect from anything insofar as I recall and I can swear to that under Abadar's symbol but this is strange enough that I cannot rule out that Fort #11 is missing an extremely, catastrophically enchanted commander. ...this would admittedly make the Iomedaean spells difficult to explain under any set of assumptions, though."

Nod. "Let's get you to Irabeth, then."

Irabeth has cordoned off a corner of the ground floor as some sort of office, and is currently filling out some sort of chart with different spells. "Select, glad to see you awake. Has Nevi explained what happened?"

"I, uh, kind of skipped that part. Select Artigas's got something he needs to report privately, can we go upstairs? Bring a copy of our latest information about staffing in Cheliax's forts if you've got it."

Irabeth retrieves some papers from her desk. "Yes, follow me."

And once the three of them have made their way upstairs and Irabeth has ejected some paladins from one of the rooms upstairs: "What is it?"

"I seem to have - time travel is not an adequate explanation. Time travel alone would not explain everything. But that's the approximate magnitude of the situation. I remember it being 4714, but a 4714 in which, before the present time in which I today find myself, Cheliax had already been conquered by a party of archmages none of whom appear to be known here. It, uh. Occurred to me to check on the present command of #11."

"He told me the archmages closed the Worldwound," adds Anevia.

Nod. Flip flip flip "—ah." She is a professional and can refrain from screaming with her face about this. "As of our last report it's in the command of Chosen Blai Artigas. I... assume that's not just your cousin or something."

"No, Ser."

Well.

Presumably the Goddess would not have empowered him if he were not trustworthy to live up to her standards. It is... admittedly confusing that someone who was a cleric of Asmodeus a year ago (does the timeline match to that degree?) would be trustworthy to live up to her standards. But — from another angle, there are plenty of repentant Evildoers fighting at the Worldwound, and many of them are brave, honorable people. And she hasn't heard much about the leadership of Fort #11, which is a good sign in this context; if she's hearing about a Chelish fort's leadership, it's generally because they're causing problems.

"Do you remember anything about how you got to this time and place? Were you given any indication prior to arriving here that this was likely to happen?"

"Not at all. I was walking through Menador on my way to Westcrown one moment and the next I was injured, on a stretcher, being carried into Kenabres. As far as I can tell my clothes and mace are as I remember them but I'm without everything else off my belt, my chainmail - this is looted off a cultist - and everything in my bag as well. The bracers are new. They have my name on them and I think they do both Tongues and Comprehend Languages but haven't checked if they also let me write in Hallit, which I don't speak."

Nod. "My best guess is that the gods thought it would somehow be helpful to transport you here, but I'm not very sure of it, I've never heard of anything like this happening before. I presume if you could simply tell us how to close the Worldwound you would have said."

"I don't know; I had no part in it. If you pressed me to guess I'd imagine Wishes but have no inkling of the wording."

"Right. I... had planned to have Anevia ask you if you were willing to assist with matters in the city today. I think I was underestimating how costly it would be if you died, but it seems likely you'll die regardless if we can't repair the Wardstone — has Anevia briefed you on that?"

"Not yet, Ser."

"Staunton Vhane reports that after everyone but him had been knocked unconscious, Minagho declared an intent to demonstrate her future plans for the Wardstone and cast some form of spell, whereupon he felt pain so powerful as to be immobilizing, witnessed the room become dark, and heard screaming resembling the sounds we initially heard upon entry to the chamber. He claims that she subsequently offered him another opportunity to defect to Baphomet, which he refused, and did not prevent him from bringing the survivors to the Defender's Heart. —Both your party members were among the survivors; Ser Seelah's injuries, and yours, were consistent with an account under which she was intentionally leaving as many people alive as possible. Fiducia Rathimus doesn't believe she has any of the survivors under magical influence that would affect your behavior, and expects to be able to tell." 

She rubs her forehead. "Apart from this being some sort of ploy with mind control that the Fiducia couldn't detect, our current best guess is that she expects to succeed at her alleged plan to exploit a vulnerability in the Wardstone to trigger a chain of destructive magical explosions along the Wardstone line, doesn't believe any of us are capable of stopping her, and thinks it will be entertaining to watch us fail. I don't love this theory, it seems like an awfully stupid plan even for a demon, but I don't have anything better. And it explains the Augury result, sort of— getting important information could conceivably justify the Weal part."

"Don't suppose you know anyone powerful who, uh, exists, and might want to help? Rathimus has his Abadaran scheme about the Sendings, but so far no luck."

"I suppose it is not categorically impossible that Ser Cansellarion would take a meeting with me just on the thin information I can provide and while he was here help out?" Blai offers. "I can try harder to remember more of the archmage party's names, they might exist, but perhaps they're dead or only midlevel adventurers, here and now... Fiducia Boian might well exist but is not more powerful than you've described Rathimus apart from having the travel domain. I... could ask #11... albeit maybe not in the wordcount limit of a Sending... but it is not a well-circled fort."

"If they are not powerful enough to kill or at least drive off a lilitu it's unlikely to make a difference."

"...Current plan is, we get as many people as we can together, and send a big force into the Gray Garrison as a distraction, and a smaller force sneaks up to the Wardstone and, uh, somehow fixes it. It's not a very good plan. Back-up plan is we hope Minagho is wrong and she can't do anything before the army shows up. Back-up back-up plan is Rathimus finds someone. —Apparently the strike teams in Nerosyan are having some sort of problem where nearly all their members got possessed by demons or something, or at least that's how much of the story they could fit in twenty-five words."