"I don't believe any of them have ever left Axis." This is not quite as soothing as it might sound, given that Morgethai knows a wish wording that she eventually decoded as saying that two should now equal one, and which was last attempted to be used during the Shining Crusade approximately half an inch above what is now the surface of Lake Kavapesta.

"Okay, so, prooooobably I can handle myself, but frankly I don't want to have a Barbatos-level showdown anywhere there's any collateral to damage."

"That's one of the reasons I have a demiplane."

Lucy is very good. Did people notice Lucy was very good? Because she is.

"They seem useful. Maybe I should try studying wizardry." 

"Reaching the level where you can make demiplanes requires using magic to defend yourself with risk to your life, unfortunately," Morgethai says, as she finishes casting spells. "I don't know there to be much that can threaten your life."

"Running out of charges on my ring? Does it have to be life specifically, that's weird and interesting."

"I believe it to be a matter of operating at the uttermost limits of your capacity due to stress, Miss Whitman," he says. "A threat that is not potentially fatal is very rarely enough to provoke it."

"I'm not saying what happened in Hell definitely qualifies but it does also sound like wizardry is useful below demiplane level. Which does not, necessarily, make it the best use of my time, but if Hell-caliber situations are going to happen to me it would be nice to get something out of it. --Also I'm sorry for whatever happened to risk your life."

"Oh, it was deliberate! I wanted to be an archmage so I got into trouble until I was."

" - Most people who attempt this die, Miss Whitman," Tiriac adds, because someone has to.

"Does that mean there are more Good archmages, in general, because it's a better bet if dying is an acceptable outcome?"

"I do not have the figures," he admits, "but the less you fear death, the less power it holds to drive you to avoid it, and yet the more you desire to save others, the more fear of losing them can drive you. A year ago there were three archmages of the ninth circle between the Worldwound and the sands, one Good, one Evil, and one Neutral, so whatever effect it has is not enough to be clear to all."

"Hmm. Well, it's not like I thought people made good decisions." 

And that's pretty much everything so now they can make their way back out through the security measures. ...And this time Lucy will ask about some of the book titles that got a reaction on the way in. 

"The Laws of Ancient Holomog," de Caserta points out, "- Holomog is an anarchy. 'Everything We Know About The Plumbing Of Ancient Thassilon' - I don't believe we know anything. 'A Wizard's Guide To Cooking Peanuts,' that one should be obvious. 'The Thousand Loves Of Jerishell' - a primordial inevitable who keeps the planets spinning and is almost certainly incapable of romance. I don't know what the books are, but Morgethai entertained herself titling them."

"Is the joke that wizards have better things to do than cooking things or are there local connotations of peanuts." 

"The former," she says. "Magnificent Mansion at seventh circle conjures anything and everything you could desire, and clerics can conjure food at third."

Wizard is not the same thing as cleric so it sounds like below-seventh-circle wizards might still have some use for cooking, especially if they, like, enjoy it, but she's not going to quibble. 

She takes an extra-magic glance at the figurines--yeah, those are what she thought they were--and then they can all sweep out and head for the cathedral. 

Details about Almas:

- Beautiful architecture! It's really pretty great. A little of it is evil-looking, but most is instead going for 'grand, glorious, demonstrations of the ability of people to build things' that is a hundred years behind what London could do even before it fell, but, you know, is trying.

- Houses that are not beautiful architecture because they are very crammed-full blocks of flats trying to fit as many people as possible, though those are mostly off the main roads.

- People going around calling each other "Citizen" and "Brother" and "Friend."

- Starving beggar children. Lots of starving beggar children. Kais hands out copper currency at a "four per child" rule and is prepared to Create Water all over anyone who takes another kid's where he can see them.

- On that topic, mansions that look fantastically evil in an architectural sense but have been redecorated and painted red and white or blue and gold  that say ORPHANAGE on them, very few of them in good repair.

- People going around with symbols blatantly displayed, including Sarenrae's heart, the sword-symbol of Iomedae she saw at Lastwall, a golden tankard, and a golden bow and arrow.

"D'you know why the urchins are at street level?" she asks in a low voice. 

"Should they not be, Miss Whitman?"

"In London they mostly hang out on the rooftops."

"But then how would they steal or beg, if adults were not on these rooftops with them?"

"Fishing poles! --For pickpocketing, when they beg they usually do it on the streets. But they do a lot more stealing than begging." 

"I must suggest that you do not introduce these innovations to Almas," he murmurs, "for fear they might catch on."