"How long would you say it takes to - stop finding everybody either disappointing or excessively reminiscent."

"At least eight hundred eighty one years."

He invites Cansellarion to join them for the assault on the Ivory Sanctum. It's one of those things for which you will really want more powerful paladins than they actually have, and he's curious about the man. Alfirin doesn't vouch for many people. 

He's trying not to behave any differently about Catherine, and he's pretty good at it, but it's in fact a little awkward. He half-comforts himself that she clearly has enough autonomy she could say ‘help' once if she wanted to, and then points out to himself that he probably wouldn't help her if she did.

Seelah and Irabeth are both third circle. Nenio can now do seventh-circle spells if they’re illusions. 

If he keeps them all alive or retrievably dead for another year it'll be a force that can go to Iz and take down undead Terendelev and get her back. Without he or Alfirin tipping their hand. A year after that - with two archmages - maybe they can close the rift, and if that fails maybe they can plunge the relevant section of the Abyss into disorganized anarchy that precludes organized expeditions to the Material. 

He tries to keep an eye on Cansellarion inconspicuously. It's his first extended contact with a person formally part of Her church hierarchy since Hulrun. He's not sure how much of Hulrun's behavior was Iomedae's fault versus Her Church versus Her inquisition specifically. 

Catherine is still a bit unsettled, though she hides it well enough. Marit can tell. Sosiel and Regill can probably tell; Ulbrig, maybe.

Cansellarion, who's never met Catherine, almost certainly cannot, though he is keeping an eye on her as much as on Marit. Unlike Marit, he makes no particular attempts to hide his interest - Even if he did it's easy enough to infer. The Knight-Commander is a new factor in Avistani geopolitics, a competent, clever, powerful Lawful Good fighter who showed up out of nowhere; He may have ambitions beyond the worldwound, or be able to be convinced to grow such ambitions. The Duchess de Litran openly proclaims her membership in the Galtan royal family with its implicit claim to the Chelish throne and is openly opposed to Hell and its practices; it's not hard to tell what her ambitions are. They are both people he wants by his side when the time comes. Moreso if 'Aspex' is secretly a gold dragon in disguise.

Apart from his interest in the two of them his behavior is unremarkable. He smites demons. He's very efficient about it.

It doesn't give Marit much opportunity to form an impression of his character but of course Marit can respect people who control their presentation such that it's nearly impossible to form an impression of their character. 

They clear the place out, very competently. Jerribeth tries to negotiate; Marit does not really believe in negotiating with demons, though he does believe in making it clear you're not negotiating before you start the killing. Xanthir Vang is a horrendous swarm of insects; Fireballs work fine on him. They're out the same day, only a little battered, and with the news that there's an entrance to the Midnight Fane under Drezen. It takes more than that to make Marit look surprised, though it's in fact news with substantial strategic import.

"If the rift has spread that far then there's no hope of moving the line in."

"There wouldn't be," he agrees.

"...so, what's the plan."

"They could be lying about the location. Or wrong about it. Or it could be a separate rift. Or, with the opportunity to study the rift closely, there could be a way to shrink or close it. Or there could be another miracle not evidently worth what was paid for it. Or the world could be overrun by demons. Or something I haven't thought of could happen."

"That covers everything except a miracle that is worth what we paid for it."

"Not sure I've heard of any of those."

Galfrey asks to be present for the fight in the Fane. Marit is paranoid, of course, but he can hardly refuse, and it'll be useful to have her anyway. He asks Cansellarion again as well. It's a longer string of fights than the Sanctum, and a more stressful one, because the Fane's nature precludes teleportation, so there's no real resort if there is something here stronger than they can handle. 

(There are several resorts. Marit and Alfirin are both powerful spellcasters playing fighters. Marit's bag includes a truly astonishing array of spell options, up to and including an emergency scroll of Wish, which should work whatever the local teleportation conditions. But it would be genuinely extremely costly to have to use that here; they want it for Cheliax. He assumes Alfirin's supply situation is about the same, though he hasn't asked.)

It takes about sixteen bloody grinding hours. Marit dies once (well, his Talisman of Life's Breath is forced to activate) and Nenio dies twice. The (known) spellcasters use every spell they have above second circle and most of their weaker spells too. They're down to wands for healing by the time the place is finally cleared. 

When they return to the entrance to Drezen Galfrey and her guard are standing in front of the door, like people who mean to hold it, and Marit has the unpleasant but not uncommon sensation of getting confirmation he was not being excessively paranoid. 

"You've done good work," she says. 

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

"Mendev's only hope - the world's only hope - now lies in the Abyss."

She keeps talking, but he can barely hear her. Eight of her guards, most of them paladins, who are weak against him - he's not Evil - but may be fine against Alfirin. She'll side with him. …assuming it's her and not Catherine. He isn't sure if Catherine will side with him. Regill's oath is to Aspex personally and pointedly not to Galfrey, probably because Regill has seen this shit before. Seelah - will probably side with him but it'll be bad for her. If there's any Law in this stupid country at all he can see if he can get Seelah and one of Galfrey's people of equivalent strength to mutually stand aside. Daeran's with him but also having Daeran with him turns this political. Sosiel is - probably with him. Ember doesn't kill humans and while it'd be very useful to sleep them - better to try to get her to sit aside too - Nenio's effectively a commoner right now - Lann and Ulbrig are with him -

- Cansellarion's the most significant unknown, but really, every time he's thought that someone empowered by Iomedae might be a reasonable person he's been wrong -

"And so I charge you with going to Alushinyrra, and learning the answers we so badly need."

He doesn't think he'll need to use the Wish. He will probably need to use one and possibly both of the two scrolls of Dazing Intensified Fireball, which are precious to him on an emotional level because Arazni scribed them but much cheaper than the Wish. He's not an easy person to read, usually, but he's not very hard to read right now.  He does not wish there to be ambiguity about his intentions.

"No, your Majesty."

- Lann isn't an idiot and can tell when your tribe and another tribe are about to kill each other to the last man. He draws his bow. 

Well imagine that, someone with the guts to stick up to glorious Galfrey. It's going to be a fucking catastrophe and he may well be the sole survivor but he's so very much in favor.

This is no worse than he expected from the queen of Mendev. He eyes the field of battle - The Mendevians are the sorts of stupid people who would hold back smites from the battles with the demons to save them for this betrayal, so Regill is probably going to die first of anyone on his side. So be it. He positions himself in front of Daeran and picks out the traitor he'll take with him.

Well, this is bad - is Galfrey insane? If they go into the abyss right now they will probably all die, that's so obvious and everyone's tired and on edge and they're going to assume that's the plan -

...This has to be a misunderstanding, right? Galfrey means "I charge you with going to the Abyss tomorrow," right, she cannot possibly be intending to send them in when they've just been fighting for a whole day with no rest - even so he disagrees with the tactical call there -