:I don't have much context on the dangers of this world. If this world has - the Mantis God, who slays those who challenge the gods - then I am indeed in danger, because that's a fight I'd lose without backup, but that's notably not a problem solved by relocating. And if this world doesn't have anything on that scale, then I doubt I am in danger unless there are some other archmages who may involve themselves.:

"Leareth is speaking to me," she notes aloud for Kilchas. "He says he doesn't consider himself to be at war, doesn't want a war, wants to know what assurances he could offer me to convince me to go to a location he claims is secure."

:If I could trust your oath that you would return me when I requested it, I'd be willing to go with you while I learned more. But... you seemed to consider it unlikely that anyone could mean an oath like that when the stakes were high enough. Which is reasonable of you, but - suggestive of a world that does not have the thing I would be relying on.:

:I have never broken an oath that I made, but - I indeed do not expect you, or anyone, to believe that. I admit I am very curious what your world has such that you would see it differently there.: 

:Law. But I have never contemplated how to explain it to people who are not familiar with it already.:

Though it seems impossible to try to build a god without coming at it from some angle -

:Are there spells in your local magic system which interact with prophecy, with the way the gods see the world?:

:There are naturally-occurring Gifts that do. There is not a known mage-technique for it.: With the exception of quite a lot of the early detail-work plans for building a god, but that's both very technical and not something he feels comfortable sharing with Iomedae yet. :...If Law is about making oneself's future legible to gods in Foresight, I can see why that would be helpful in a world with human-aligned gods but it is really the opposite of helpful here.: 

:It can be useful for that but it's mostly a useful source of intuitions. If you can see all possible futures, then you want to choose, not actions at a point in time, but policies such that the entity made out of those policies outperforms all other entities across all of the futures. You don't want to think 'ah, I find myself in a position to betray a peace talk', but that you can accept either all the benefits and all the costs across all the futures of being an entity that betrays peace talks, or being an entity that doesn't. And in some ways this makes you less steerable by the gods, right - they can probably see futures where I go to war, as that is something I do readily, but they cannot see any future where I betray these talks because I won't, even if I find myself in a future where it'd be in my immediate interests.:

Which makes perfect sense, and - isn't a way that he's used to hearing anyone else describe their thinking. It doesn't feel like how Vanyel would put it, though Vanyel - he thinks - does understand the concept. 

But he recognizes it. 

:I understand. And this concept is well-known enough in your world that there is - cultural infrastructure around when you can trust people to follow it? I am not sure how a society would reach that equilibrium in the first place but it does seem like an improvement on ours.: 

:There is a spell that permits the caster to observe it as a feature of anyone sufficiently powerful that the universe is keeping track for them. And all paladins are Lawful. And even many people who aren't paladins still - recognize it, and still want to be someone who people are willing to negotiate with.:

:...I will admit that I am very confused what it means for a person to be sufficiently powerful that the universe is keeping track for them. We do not have such a spell, and - it is harder, and less useful, to hold oneself to this standard unilaterally when others do not even understand it well enough to recognize it. But - I have tried. There are - still things that are worth trying, even if most of the time they will fail, because they lie on the only route to possibly succeeding. 

- I am not sure if you yourself can cast this spell, or what the range is, but if there were a way for us to meet in a neutral location, would you find it reassuring to check?: 

:I can see this feature of people in my world. I...don't know if I'll be able to see it here. Souls here don't go to the same place when they die, the sorting system doesn't seem operative, and communication spells with my home world don't work. Even if you are someone my world would regard as Lawful, I don't know that I'll be able to observe it here. I am willing to get close enough to try, though, if you're willing to. I think that is - more of an increase in risk for you than for me, though of course you have my word that I will not harm you during negotiations or while we are travelling to and from them.:

:I am aware that I am choosing to take this risk. I think it is worth taking, if it means we can establish some measure of trust faster, before the gods find a way to interfere.: 

A pause. 

:- I would feel much less comfortable meeting within Valdemar's territory. Their Web is powered by a Heartstone, which gives the Star-Eyed Goddess direct access and a great deal of power, and - if I am right, then She killed an entire Vale of her own people to try to prevent you from interfering in this war. I am not sure what options you have for transporting yourself with magic, or whether the Herald who is with you has any Gate-locations outside of Valdemar's borders.: 

"Would you be willing to Gate me north of Valdemar's borders?" she asks Kilchas aloud. "Leareth has offered to meet me there face to face, and I may be able to use some magic I possess to check if he's trustworthy."

Kilchas blinks at her. "- Can't, I'm sorry. Never been to the newly-annexed territory, let alone past it. I'm not actually sure any of our Herald-Mages have? Guess Van might be able to Gate to their pass where they have the Foresight dream set. Or Jisa can apparently Gate to anywhere. I...don't feel great about either of them being anywhere near Leareth, Jisa's lifebonded to the King's heir and Van is...Van."

"That makes sense. I can travel under my own power, just - a bit slower. I'll plan to do that." It's a risk, but - if Leareth is in fact just trying to lure her out of a god-protected area to kidnap or kill her, they may as well determine as early on as possible whether he can do that. It's not a confrontation she can avoid ever having.

"Are you sure? Long way to walk, it's hundreds of miles." He can dig out a map for her, at least. 

" - okay, I don't in fact want to walk that far. How far is it to just outside Valdemar's borders and this Web he's worried about?"

Sigh. "More like fifty miles if you head due west, but it's Pelagirs that way, I don't reckon Leareth wants to go there either. ...Hmm. I might be able to get you to Waymeet, if I can reach someone on the Mindspeech relay who's ever been there. Then it's less than twenty miles. Though there's no road, yet." 

"I can fly some of the distance."

Kilchas nods. "....Are you sure about this? I don't think we can rescue you from north of the border, if he– if anything goes wrong." 

"I understand that. I think there's some chance of that, and it'd be a very bad sign about the Leareth situation if it happens, but it's - not my leading guess, and I'm not going to get much more evidence if I wait a month, or improve my odds much if I go with an army."

Nod. His expression is tense and unhappy. "I can scry you as you go, and see if there's a Farseer in range. So - if something does wrong we'll at least know right away." 

"And tell my people, when they come looking. I'd appreciate that."

And to Leareth, I will meet you just outside the borders, and if my magic does work to verify your claims I'll come with you to somewhere you name more secure, after that, on your oath that you'll return me to Valdemar should I ask.

:I am very grateful. I will arrange to meet you there.: 

Iomedae's instincts say this is going to work. Her instincts are very good and also these are the sort of circumstances they might fail in, she's missing so much context.

This man didn't arrange the village explosion, wouldn't have had the opportunity and would've arranged to kidnap her afterwards if he had done it. And whoever did is her real enemy, here.

She'll wait for the Gate north. 

Kilchas will try to reach the nearest Herald on Mindspeech-relay duty, and end up having to ask them to bounce him to someone else because the youngster is sixteen, newly in Whites, and hasn't been to Waymeet either. 

Rohan has a bad feeling about this, and is tense and fidgety in the back of Kilchas' mind. Kilchas can't even disagree that it feels doomy. He's in a terrible mood about it, actually. 

But it sounds like Iomedae is at least much less at risk than anyone else would be, meeting Leareth to negotiate. She's hard to kill. Who knows, she might even be able to beat the man in a fight. And Leareth can try to kidnap her if he wants, but he's going to have a hard time holding her, if she's immune to his bloody compulsions. 

And...they do need to negotiate with Leareth somehow, if they don't want to end up in a war that they very plausibly can't win. It would be so tragically stupid to end up in a war that both sides would have preferred not to have. And Leareth's letter isn't proof of anything, it's still just words, but - convincing words, he makes some compelling points. 

Kilchas can almost hear the voice of Tran griping that they should be discussing this over a full Senior Circle meeting. But that would mean even more Gates, that everyone is too tired for, and...well, Iomedae isn't Randi's subject, and doesn't take his orders. 

...He cannot in fact reach anyone awake and in his range who's been to Waymeet, which is stupid, but he can reach a Farseer, who can relay Farsight imagery clear enough that, with more concentration than Kilchas has ever needed for a Gate before, he can use to raise a threshold on the sturdy oak doorway of the town hall. It's just barely big enough for Rohan to fit through. 

He even makes it across without embarrassingly collapsing on his bottom, though he's going to sit down on the steps of the town hall as fast as possible. 

It's significantly colder, this far north. The wind is blowing bitterly in from the mountains. There's not a lot of light, it's a moonless night, but the stars are very clear.