"We got that."

"- And he already has Galt on board -"

"We got that."

"He did offer you make You a god if you sign on! Not, uh, that You are not already a god - though he seems to disagree -"

"A meaningless offer," he says bitterly. "Iomedae's support will be worthless without the assistance of Her fellows among the recognized gods; Our ascension does not depend on them, and the possibility of anyone displacing the Lord of the Ninth is laughable. Cyprian can conquer Cheliax, should the stars align; Iomedae cannot conquer Hell. At most, Our faith could become accepted in Cyprian's new empire, but at the price of Our nation." And at the price of his admittedly unethical proselytizing tactics.

"Ah."

Pause.

"He did say something about not telling Cheliax -"

"Oh, no doubt he did. If He thinks that binds me, he is another headband-wearer with more cunning than wisdom, and if his patron does She forgets that prophecy is no more."

(Razmir does know what decision theory is, being from a civilization that almost deserves the capital C.)

"No, the reason not to tell Cheliax is purely that it would place Us in the position of their dupe, incapable of being negotiated with by anyone who does not want whatever We are told to go straight to the court of Asmodeus's proxy." 

(Whew.)

"So... you don't intend to take either side?"

"We have the power to destroy the capital city of any country in Avistan without risk to Ourself."

(Razmir is utterly sincere. Felandriel Morgethai also has the power to destroy the capital city of any country in Avistan without risk to herself. If you mean to conquer a country controlled by a ninth-circle wizard, Stage One is breaking into their heavily-guarded demiplane where divine magic doesn't work to assassinate them, and if you can't pull that off, you don't try.)

"You are worried about Kyonin." 

"I'm not going to betray you, I made my choice. I just think - if Cyprian isn't stopped - something will be lost we can't get back." Even if they somehow get all the diamonds to resurrect everyone, Kyonin has been - beautiful, happy, functional, a country where everyone actually is Good, Telriana's mother and a couple of her friends aside - and there's nothing like that this side of Heaven. They can't rebuild. It isn't what elves do.

And, yes, something is lost whenever someone dies and go to Hell. She knows that, too.

"We have no plans to destroy them," he says. "But it seems that Good has betrayed them." He grins mirthlessly, behind his mask. "If I meant to betray Riudaure's foolish trust, it would be by sending Telandia and her advisors in the Winter Council word of this betrayal, and seeing what compromises they make for their survival. None, I fear. Chaos is their enemy, Law has no use for them, and they will not compromise with Evil for survival," which is why he needs to SAVE THE WORLD HIMSELF, instead of ALLYING with anyone.

'You could ally with Lastwall! And Mendev,' she doesn't say, because the thought-reading is only going one way.

And also yep that is totally the problem with Kyonin. Everyone there has already made all the moral compromises they're willing to, and are not going to be talked into making more (or, as she attempted, fewer) without a few hundred years' debate first.

"So, what is Your position on negotiating with the person who wants to negotiate with You?"

"Oh, We may as well play it out. There is no plausible series of events where We desire them to succeed, but We can trade with those who are ultimately Our enemies, as Our relationship with Cheliax demonstrates."

... Yeah honestly she's having trouble with any sequence of events that is at all plausible where she gets what she wants and/or Razmir gets what He wants where Infernal Cheliax stops existing, barring the fact that she, you know, wants Infernal Cheliax to stop existing. Maybe if it immediately had a coup that replaced the entire leadership with non-Infernal leadership, and it continued playing exactly the same geopolitical role without sending everyone to Hell?

Absent that - maybe they could defeat Infernal Cheliax and then immediately form a coalition of Everyone Except Cyprian against Cyprian, but, uh, actually, she's pretty sure Cyprian would want "I get to keep conquering the world" guarantees, or else want a situation where he thought he could win the war? Except that Iomedae's countries are completely useless for all military purposes except holding their borders because there's a wound in the world. (Hopefully Razmir can fix that at some point.) So in fact most of the armies that can get to the Broken Lands (that was a much better name before Galt started taking over) are either Cyprian's or Asmodeus's.

Use Cyprian to overthrow Cheliax and then immediately murder him? She's pretty sure Iomedae would not in fact do that.

Whispering Tyrant wakes up?

Aroden comes back from the dead?

"Indeed," says Razmir drily.

He pauses.

"Yes, We have long-term plans to fix the Worldwound. No, We do not expect them to work in, say, the next twenty years."

(They mostly either require Him to either be rather more of a god than He presently is, or expand His supply of slave-wizards priests to the point where more than one person in Razmiran can cast Gate.)

Twenty years is not that long to an elf.

It just is to Cyprian.

"Right. So what's the... actual, detailed plan for responding? Or, uh, the parts You are willing to tell me?"

"All agents of Ours who can be relied upon to discuss secret terms without betraying them to Cheliax are either priests of Ours, who would be offended at the lack of respect given to Us, inevitables, who are nearly incapable of speaking to mortals, or you. Do Your previous statements about simulacra continue to apply?"

"I - yes. I'm sorry." It would be one thing if her simulacrum, an identity totally identical to her in every way except for being half as powerful as she is (and an illusion and therefore destined to no afterlife) could cast Plant Growth. Then she would be knowingly condemning herself to destruction for some people not doing evil to avoid starving to death.

But it can't, so she can be selfish.

"Then We will be greatly offended if you do not survive."

How do you respond to that???

"As... you... wish, Your Divinity?"

"I can begin now the complete summary of my diplomatic objectives..."

And, within the week, Telriana will be Plane Shifted over to Riudaure's demiplane, with a list of memorized instructions and Cunning, Splendor and Mind Blank spells active.

(She has a magic item that casts Plane Shift once a day, so she can get back.)

The demiplane is small, as small as you can make a demiplane, and almost completely empty but for a table and two chairs in the approximate center.

Riudaure Plane Shifts in a few minutes later.

"Well," he says, looking at Telri, "I didn't quite expect Him to send you again, but at least that means He's probably not trying to kill me."

(He is, of course, tracking in the background a dozen ways in which this could be a plan to kill him, and watching her reaction for evidence of any of them.)