- actually, with higher Wisdom, she notices that Keltham hasn't seen her genuine and delighted smile in weeks, as she's struggled with the enormity of what they're taking on (and also been dreading the petrification.) (and also been bothered about Peranza.) An error, but not one she can correct now by smiling extra.

Carissa Sevar is eating breakfast, lost in thought. 

Okay good.  0.8:0.6 for Ordinary.

"Surprise change of schedule while I run a serious test of Conspiracy versus Ordinary."

"Carissa, Asmodia, unless you have a really really drastic reason not to, I'd like you to finish eating quickly and then accompany me for the rest of the trial, which is probably a lot of the day."

"I want you to accompany me while I'm doing this and try to make the hypothetical Conspiracy's life as difficult as possible."

That'll make it more difficult for them to operate as commanders, hopefully.  Or rather, if they try to run the Conspiracy on the side, it'll show up in their Ordinary personas being less clever and creative than they should be.

"Oh, now this sounds like a fun day," alterAsmodia says immediately, aided by glibness pin.

Good move, Keltham, as measured by the volume of her own internal screaming.

"This hypothetical Conspiracy that presumably we're in? I'd stick us gagged in an antimagic field, honestly," says Carissa without missing a beat. "Security can cast it."

"That only works if Keltham could cast antimagic field himself, or tell the difference between a real and a fake one somehow, or be sure that we weren't modifying the spell description he saw to leave out an at-will target exclusion... I guess it'd be worth some fraction of a 'bit' but also he has to watch us the rest of the day and we can't just accompany him while he does whatever?"

Carissa loves her glibness swords so. "Antimagic moves with the caster! And you can't do an at-will target exclusion on an emanation, even with Selective Spell, but I admit that if Keltham doesn't happen to recall having read that already he sure shouldn't take my word for it now."

"Knocks out my headband.  Which Keltham should immediately test again in case it was only +6 Wisdom the first time."

"Would've if you hadn't suggested it."  Now he doesn't have to burn an Augury on that, which is helpful.

And Conspiracy!Asmodia may be that much more tempted to suggest tests she in fact wants him to avoid, if she hasn't read through that gambit.  (Though the conditional policy was real; Keltham does not lie.)

While this exchange was occurring, Ione has noted that alterIone wants to know why she's not in this group, and has requested orders.

(She's just filling her own plate; alterIone clearly saw something interesting was going on with Keltham's request, and made haste to breakfast to see if any socially known interesting things had happened.)

She may ask.

"Why am I not in this group?"

"Among other reasons, if there's actually a Conspiracy you're their specialist in pointing out misleading flaws that are good enough to fool even me as fun discussion topics.  Plus there's only so much room in that conversation."  Plus also, if the Conspiracy is being improvised then something was off about Ione's initial confession.  Ione is at the top of his list for being the most likely to be a real innocent in danger / somehow not truly part of the Conspiracy.  Keltham is not going to endanger her if so - a case could be made that he should do it for the good of this world, but Keltham is at least more Evil than that.

"I'm flattered... I think?"

"Asmodia, that's your cue to explain why that's just what somebody in the Conspiracy would say."

"Ione, I'm actually taking this pretty seriously.  It's not, quite, as funny for me as it is for all of you."

"Sorry."

- with the request for fantasy books about magic, he's looking for indications mindreading exists and is relatively well-known. That's a lose condition. Pick your fantasy books with that in mind, or edit them.

"Anyways, I'm going to go eat some compact high-energy foods quickly and then be off about the next adventure, possibly, so I request that you eat with due nondangerous alacrity.  It's better to give the Conspiracy less time to prepare, if possible, now that they know what I'm doing."

He's thinking that next up is to request a sudden Ostenso excursion, which he mostly expects to be denied for valid Security reasons considering what happened last time he went outside the Forbiddance, but is worth 3 bits to Ordinary if they can do it.  Failing that he's going to... this thought is successfully shut down.

She was already 'almost done eating', by the food on her plate, and of course in reality has a Ring of Sustenance. She grabs the mostly finished plate and follows him. "Keltham it's - reasonable, that you're doing this, even if there aren't many worlds with Conspiracies it's worth there being fewer of them, and at least to my sensibilities you aren't being obnoxious about being very sure."

Ostenso expedition: allow it. Or, Security should complain and be appalled, but Snack Service if it can be persuaded to cooperate should say it'll be safe and Maillol should let Keltham overrule Security. Three bits would be precious here. They can go into the city in advance and - have the Neutral clerics on hire for the Nidal war channel a fuckton of positive energy, that's the obvious difference between a city in Cheliax and a city somewhere else, people shouldn't have injuries - and Dominate everyone Keltham actually tries to speak to.

Chaotic Good, Asmodeus, and Broom's god are not all fully aligned on this one.  The Asmodeans are on their own.

"Thanks for trying to reassure that part of me, Carissa, though I'm a bit cognitively distracted about properly emotionally engaging with much of anything right now."

Other things to look out for, while scouting Ostenso for a potential Keltham-visit: prices need to be checked against the Wall's table of known price inconsistencies between Cheliax and alter-Cheliax. Those newspapers Asmodia works so hard on keeping up to date should be for sale, and some people should have them. Everyone's going to be terrified, but this can be achieved in alter-Cheliax too if Security insists on accompanying Keltham in full visible terrifying force, which they should, if they do this at all. 

"I imagine it is easier not to  try to live in the world where I am yours and the world where I betrayed you and lied all along at the same time, and I don't need emotional attention. but it's convenient for all the Carissae in not-Conspiracy worlds that the Conspiracy Carissae are willing to go in with them on reassuring Keltham that the non-Conspiracy Carissae don't mind this and think he's doing well."

"Iiiiii did not understand that actually.  It sounds like Conspiracy is optimizing for Ordinary?"