The receiving area outside Urtho's Tower looks much like in did twenty years ago in Ma'ar's time. The hertasi have changed up the flowerbeds and garden plots, and there are some new statues and fountains. Until quite recently the difference would have been more marked - there were a lot more guards, and a lot fewer carefree children, and the hertasi were mostly too busy to putter and gossip together in the gardens - but the war is over, and the gardens are cheerful and occupied by boisterous mage-students and chattering hertasi, who apparently all know Iomedae and call out to her. 

A couple of gryphons are having an aerial play-fight overhead. 

Ma'ar doesn't flinch, but only because Iomedae is holding the no-fear effect. He reaches out and squeezes her hand tightly. 

Iomedae is glad to be back, though she won't be too expressive about it if Ma'ar is busy having Profoundly Mixed Feelings. 

The hertasi will presumably know where they should go?

He manages a tense smile at her. :I am all right. Just - unpleasant associations with gryphons. Maybe someday I will be able to enjoy watching them fly.: 

The hertasi were expecting them and will delightedly escort them to one of the four enormous entry doors to one of the four enormous entry halls in the Tower, where Urtho is waiting to meet them. 

This is not a situation where hugging his former student is at all appropriate but Urtho isn't sure what other response is. He settles for nodding his head several times and smiling widely. 

Ma'ar isn't nervous, because he can't be afraid, but he can apparently still feel overwhelmed. 

He manages to collect himself first, though. 

"Urtho. It is good to speak to you again, and - I look forward to working together." 

He glances at Iomedae. 

Urtho is also looking at Iomedae. Smiling, but it's a less uncomplicatedly relieved and happy smile. 

It is honestly very convenient for her if he feels like he owes her several favors, but - Iomedae doesn't like to be less straightforward with people than they are with her. She smiles at him. "Urtho! I hear that now we can get to the part you were looking forward to all along, where the mages do unfathomable magic research!"

"I hope so!" He beams at Ma'ar again. "And we will find a way to get you home soon, I know you must be missing your own people - and probably needed badly there!" 

...He pauses. Bows his head a little. Doesn't quite shuffle his feet but it's close. 

"- I owe you an apology. And - a deep debt of gratitude to Ma'ar, for keeping you safe when I failed to. I am sorry." 

"I'm not angry with you, and I'm very glad I came here. I - regret that you had to learn like this that people you'd trusted were not trustworthy, and I regret that you had to disassemble some of your very impressive research. - some of it might actually be usable, to do the most good that has ever been done in the history of my world."

.....He stares at her.

For kind of a long time. 

Eventually he clears his throat. "To do - what?" 

So Iomedae explains the existence of Hell. It is not one of her favorite things to explain to people. It is pretty apparent, if you know her reasonably well, that at least half the reason is deep personal shame at not having destroyed it yet.

Urtho, unlike Ma'ar, is NOT stoic in hearing about Hell. He's so so so unhappy about it! He will gasp and make horrified noises about it! 

And, "- yes, if you can - I mean ideally we would get everyone out, first, but if that's - not possible - what would it take to destroy it?" 

"Ideally we'll get everyone out first," she confirms. "Aroden will negotiate with Asmodeus for me, when I take the weapon to Hell - try to convince Asmodeus to, in exchange for my not using the weapon, reform Hell and let us save people. I don't know if Asmodeus will agree or not, but we'll try talking before fighting.

The weapon that - eats spells and magic, and spreads itself - can you tell me more about it -"

He can definitely tell her all about it! So many things! 

...The hertasi will nudge him to, perhaps, consider doing this while they walk to the elevator and relocate to an actual conference room. Have Ma'ar and Iomedae eaten? Should they be brought lunch? Afternoon snacks? Tea? 

Iomedae would love some of their tea! (She doesn't need it, but that's not the point of tea.) 

And she wants to know if Urtho thinks his superweapon would unravel Dis bit by bit and what it would leave behind if it did.

He would be more sure of this if he had seen their magical artifacts. But if they're only as alien as Iomedae's, then - yes, it ought to unravel them. If the density of set-spells and artifacts and other stable permanent magic is high, it would start a chain reaction that would likely amplify itself to far outside just the city. ...If the entire plane is in some way inherently ambiently magical, like the ethereal plane or spirit world is said to be, then he's not sure exactly what would happen and is more worried it would disrupt the boundaries-between-planes in some messy unpredictable way. 

It would leave behind...a lot of craters and slagged ground, from the energy released into heat, and a lot of magical residue. He's not sure what exact properties the magical residue would have, but - different from just distributed nodes, he thinks. It would be more chaotic, more...corrosive to structured magic...it might cling rather than flowing, like blood-magic residue. He has for obvious reasons never actually run this test. But he suspects it would leave Hell...not especially habitable or possible to build anything or work any magic reliably within, for a very long time. 

"Hopefully Aroden and Asmodeus will be able to negotiate something better. But - if not - 

I would like that weapon. I want to cut off the lower reaches of Hell, and destroy Dis, and then - Heaven can conquer Avernus, and no one will go to Hell again."

Nod. Urtho looks unhappy about it, but resolved. 

"What do you - need from me, if anything? Other than a Gate home, of course." 

"Is the weapon - deadly to the person who sets it off? Can that be done remotely?"