"Okay." He always hates this part. He calls in the priest, steps into the cell, and beats Marit unconscious again, then drags him out of the cell and stabs him through the heart.

(...and then does he bring him back or not?)

And then they bring him back! Gods, paranoid much?

APPARENTLY NOT PARANOID ENOUGH OR HE'D HAVE GUESSED THAT THERE'S SOMETHING AS POWERFUL AS TAR-BAPHON GOING AROUND MESSING WITH THEM!

" - thank you," he says, standing up. "Does your command need anything from me before I head back."

"Actually, if I could have a minute?" He can't dismiss the prison guards, even when the cells are empty, but they can find a private room.

Now that he's not in the antimagic field he can let the paladin mostly mind control him into only being his rational mind's preferred amount of worried about surprise betrayals by allies and not his emotional mind's unbounded inclination towards such worry. 

They can find a private room.

"Litran knows who you are?"

Oh well this is several kinds of complicated.

....Iomedae gave Alfirin a vision, didn't she. Because Alfirin was the person most positioned to act on it - and then Alfirin was slightly careless in panic, or Catherine was, and - the important thing is whether either of them have claimed they learned his name from the vision. He thinks they wouldn't have claimed that, because visions don't work that way, it's extraneous expensive information and it'd be stupid for Iomedae to share. And Alfirin knows that and wouldn't have claimed it. So -

"Yes. I told her after Iomedae ordered that you learn it. We've - had some conversations about her long-term goals, she wanted to know who my wizards were, I was happy enough to not tell her if that actually kept it secret but not if that was the difference between ten people knowing or eleven." He has no idea how many people Lastwall has told. Aarind knows, he's pretty sure.

"Ah. I understand. Does she in fact intend to take Cheliax?"

"You should discuss that with her yourself."

"I was going to ask if you think she can, but I suppose I'll save that for after she's told me she intends to. That was all. Do keep me informed if you learn anything about whoever pulled off the dominate today, I track evil wizards somewhat compulsively."

"I'll let you know what we figure out. 

- I haven't been here long. I don't have the whole strategic picture. But if you're asking if she's the kind of person you'd want trying - I think she is."

Neither Galfrey nor demons have pulled a coup in Drezen by the time he gets back.

(He's been gone for three hours. He should in fact possibly recalibate the paranoia a bit.)

He calls Catherine into his office for the command handover. ...also they should probably talk about several other things but formally it's for the command handover.

Yes, yes, the command handover. She thinks she managed pretty well for her first major field operation, especially considering the sudden tripling of her command halfway through. Even if she is getting some unearned credit for salvaging the situation in the first place.

"You did very well, and I was very glad that I didn't have to choose between going to a worse-equipped emergency point, putting Regill in charge and then going to Vigil, or putting Irabeth in charge when she hasn't worked with the team in the field at all. Congratulations. Maybe next mission will get to the stage where we use our weapons."

Telepathic Bond.

I didn't get the vision, Alfirin did. The - key moments, until we were on the ground, were all her. She wishes it hadn't involved taking over her body and impersonating her to her subordinates with no warning, but it also feels really petty, complaining about that, when she suspects Alfirin saved all of their lives by it.

I thought it was likelier she'd called me 'Marit' to Cansellarion than that you had, Marit says. He's not sure what to say about the rest of it. It's not like any of them would prefer there not have been a divine intervention, and yet. And yet. 

And yet.

Did you have questions about anything, sir?

Are you all right? In my experience of visions they're generally - at least slightly debilitating - you seemed all right so I thought maybe Alfirin got the brunt of it -

I didn't even notice, sir. I'm just going on her word that it happened at all.

I don't have anything else, but you can't talk to anyone other than me about your ridealong evil archmage receiving visions from your god so if you want to talk to me about it you can.

He did, in fact, go to the trouble of putting her in an antimagic field to check if she was really okay.

She still doesn't really think he's on her side here, exactly.

(And neither is Iomedae. Apparently.)

I don't have anything to say about that right now.

All right. Cansellarion wanted to know if you're planning to try for Cheliax. I told him to ask you. 

Thanks, sir.

Alfirin's not talking. 

That's fine. Or, not necessarily fine, but -

If you're impaired and I should do something about it you will have to tell me what.