"Makes sense. Do you ever miss adventuring, or is the university work more satisfying?"

"There are days when I miss it, but mostly they're few and far between, especially since near the end I wasn't getting much from it. If I was talking about what I miss the most it would be the days before the war, when I had more freedom to teach and meet with students to help them out in person."

"Yeah. It's good that you're keeping everyone else safe, and it's not fair that you have to hide. I hope things get easier someday."

"The same goes to you. The demons may not be as organized as the devils, but that doesn't mean they're not plenty dangerous."

"Thank you. Speaking of which, I should get back to Kenabres and talk about logistics some more, but it was awesome meeting you. I'd love to take some classes here someday, if I can spare the time."

"I'd be happy to have you."

Gallipsiwhoop can lead them back through the defenses on the way out, disabling again the ones that automatically re-armed, and then set them all up again as he returns to the demiplane. When Brenda emerges once again from the hallway, it is slightly lighter than currency and a scroll of discern location heavier, with the promise of another delivery on the way shortly.

One more scroll purchase while she's in a big city (regular Teleport), and they can head back to Kenabres! Brenda appreciates Rathimus' work today very much; the Crusade will have a lot more options now.

Her next port of call is the temple of Desna.

The temple of Desna is right where she left it, though with rather fewer people sheltering there than the first time she stopped by, presumably due to most of them returning to their homes. Ramien himself is inside the building but easily findable.

"Hi! Can I talk to you in private for a few minutes? It's not bad news and nothing scale-of-minutes urgent, just a question I think you're equipped to answer."

"Certainly! I've got a bit before I've got anything planned."

"Awesome." To a meeting room!

"So, I have a clever idea for something that might be useful for the Crusade, and I need you to tell me if it's actually clever, or stupid and dangerous."

"I have the ability to cast Gate as many times as I want, and it seems like it should be possible to use that to move the army farther than they can otherwise march in a day by having people march through a Gate to another plane and then through a second Gate to their destination. I figure if this is a good idea at all then Elysium will be the best place to do it, because it's infinite and I can aim for somewhere really far away from anyone, but I don't know if I'll be able to find somewhere that's safe enough or if having a bunch of people passing through will bother the gods or cost them a ton of intervention budget or anything."

He smiles brightly.

"No, I cannot imagine that being an issue. Desna is certainly wholly in favor, and I expect others besides her - Cayden, Pulara, and Tolc at least, and I would be surprised to hear Kofusachi or Keltheald or Sinashakti speak against it. if you do choose somewhere isolated the uninhabited parts of Elysium are not wholly safe, but for an army traveling to fight demons I would not expect many problems."

"That's great! And I'll be on the Elysium end the whole time, so I'll notice if something goes wrong. Do you know of a specific area that would be good for this, or should I just aim for somewhere uninhabited?"

"Hmm. I expect Cayden's fields of battle would be one of the more secure places, if you were looking for somewhere with Azata to fend off any demonic efforts; his and Gorum's realm would be some of the better places if you were looking for help as well, though the latter is likely also willing to assist the demons against you as well. Desna doesn't spend much time in elysium herself, but her realm is always open to use by travelers. Beyond that, though, I would have to call up some of the Azatas I know and ask them."

"So, Cayden's fields if I'm worried about demons trying to get through the Gate at either end, Desna's realm if I'm confident we can secure both sides? Sounds good. I'll probably do the former at least the first time, just to be on the safe side."

"Is Arueshalae still staying here? I'd like to say hello to her, check if she's settling in alright."

"She is; I think she might appreciate that."

"Then I'll go and find her next. Anything I can do for you while I'm here?"

"Not that I can think of at the moment, though if the gates are actually unlimited rather than practically there are a number of places I would love a chance to go to some day."

She smiles. "I think the main constraint is going to be my time, and I expect I'll be able to find time to go travelling with you."

"I'll look forward to it then."

When Brenda finds Arueshalae, she's in one of the rooms set up for visiting desnans. It's relatively small and unadorned, particularly given the woman hasn't done even temporary decoration, but seems cozy enough. She's still wearing the same blue outfit Brenda gave her, with the her wings tucked away in the back - from the looks of things, Arueshalae was praying when Brenda arrived, but the sound of her footsteps outside the door was enough to catch her attention.

"Hello--is this an okay time? I just wanted to stop by and chat."

"Yes. I'm grateful for all he's done for me, but there's not much I can do to help Ramien or anyone else here."

"I'm glad you feel safe enough here to be thinking about how you can help," she says warmly. "Is there a particular kind of thing you'd like to do?"

"I don't know. Fighting demons, I suppose, since my cover is blown."