The latest thing (and it's been several subjective months of latest things) is that while they've managed to get the ritual to stabilize with just four external anchor points it requires some fairly precise choreography, which the Holomogi wardstone specialists feel is incompatable with truly responsive sorcery and the Bachuanese ritualists insist is contrary to all principles of harmonious planar alignment. Of course, the Bachuanese ritualists also feel that the Holomogi wardstone specialists are contrary to all principles of harmonious planar alignment, and the Holomogi wardstone specialists think the Bachuanese ritualists are all sticks in the mud. Fortunately, none of the Holomogi speak Tien and the Bachuanese are equally ignorant of Drooni. 

The last thing he wants is to touch the ritual again, but he should probably have Ip Sang figure out if the other Bachuanese have a point and talk them down if they haven't. The Holomogi will be harder – he could meet with them all individually, for a start, there aren't many – 

He startles. "Hmm?"

"You are doing incredibly important and difficult work, on an impossible schedule, and doing it better than anyone else could. I respect and admire that a lot, and I understand exactly how important it is."

"I want you to take Sunday off."

"It really is a new world we're living in. Shouldn't I be saying that to you?"

"I take time off sometimes! Admittedly not Sundays, for the past month, I've been helping Catherine, but - no, you've been working really hard, and while I wouldn't want you to work this hard all the time I do admire the capacity. You should probably take time off for yourself, at some point. But that's not why I'm asking."

"We're - going to be doing something really dangerous, here. We should do it anyway, it's worth doing. But - it is the sort of thing we might not actually come back from." From what comes after, if not from the expected fight with Deskari. "And - the children have not seen much of us this last month. They miss me, and they miss you more. I'm willing to do very dangerous things for a worthy cause. But - I'm not willing to risk death after having all but ignored our children for a month, and potentially leave them with the idea that we died not thinking about them or caring about them. If something happens to us, I want them to know that we loved them very much, and wanted to be with them even when we thought something else was more important."

"So - I think we should both take Sunday off, and spend the whole day with Rahim and Ines. In case something happens." 

She's right, of course. And he hasn't been avoiding the children, exactly – but the children are safe in the Dome where Hell can't reach them with a wish, and he has been avoiding the Dome, because every time he visits it gets harder to leave.

"I can be done by Sunday. I miss them too. I – 

– I wonder if we shouldn't have waited, for Ines."

" - no, I don't think so. I wouldn't rather she didn't exist. But I know I have - different intuitions, there, than you do."

"If I'd known things would come to a head this quickly, I would have asked you to wait. Of course, we couldn't have known – "

I'm not actually very worried about Deskari. But –  if we do die fighting Deskari and leave Asmodeus in power, they'll never be safe from him. 

I guess so. But that would still be true if it had taken longer, and we didn't know how important this was back then. I don't know that they're actually worth very much to him, if we're gone, but either way, we can't go back now.

I think we'll probably manage Deskari. I'm worried about what happens after. But - whatever happens, they deserve to see us first, you know?

Of course they do. They deserve more than that. 

The Holomogi aren't so difficult, in the end. Over the next few days, he finds that nobody wants to argue with him. 

She'll tap people and come back, then.

"You know, I'm not entirely sure what a whole day spent with your children ought to consist of. I was thinking maybe we could take them shopping and then you and Rahim could try going out on your boat? They've been cooped up in the dome for ages."

"Do you really think it's safe to take them out?"

"Well, they couldn't possibly resist a wish, but they're not strategically valuable in themselves. There's no reason to go after them. ...except to get us to spend down a wish to get them back, which I suppose we'd have to, and that might be reason enough for them to do it. Assuming we even can get them back in time."

"...I guess we probably shouldn't, when I put it like that."

"We can still go shopping – and I can turn them into birds, they like that. We could take them to see the orrery, if you haven't already."

"No, I haven't. I suppose I can't say whether Nebetah has, but I guess we can ask Rahim. Ines is so little she'll be entertained by almost anything that isn't the apartment, I think."

"And poor Nebetah deserves a day of peace in her own home, at that."

"It's true. She's really doing us such a favor. I'd offer to pay if I wasn't worried it would somehow be insulting."

They can teleport to just outside the dome, and after the security checks they can walk in. The inside of the dome is - sort of comforting, as the interiors massive demon spawn exoskeletons go, not that Naima is particularly a connoisseur of those. Almost nothing can get at you when you're inside it. They can head up to Shawil's apartment, and Ines and Rahim can see their father for the first time in far too long.

Well, Élie can wait in the recieving hall while a servant runs up to the women's quarters to announce them. Osirians. 

Rahim will run out faster than the servant can come back!

"Papa! Papa, you're back!"

Élie can dimension step across the room to him and lift him up in the air! 

"I am! And – while you should of course correct me if I'm wrong – but I do believe you've gotten bigger while I was away."

Rahim is delighted. "I did! I get bigger every day!"

Ines toddles in behind him unsteadily, crashes into her papa, and raises her hands so he'll know it is her turn to be picked up now.

Well, he can't very well bend down while he's still holding Rahim, but that's alright, she's small enough that a couple of unseen servants can give her a lift. 

"Ines! I'm sure you weren't half so good at walking the last time I saw you. Remind me, how long has it been? Ten years?"

"Ten MILLION years," says Rahim, while Ines latches onto Élie like a burr. 

"Ten million years? Tell me, then, which of you has discovered the secret of immortality?" 

What happens if he tries to geeeeently set Rahim down? The kid is actually pretty heavy and he's never been particularly strong. 

Rahim will reluctantly allow this if he can keep hugging Élie's leg. "It felt like ten million years. That's because time moves at different speeds for different places. So it's only been a little bit for you and mama, but it was ten million years inside the dome."

Sure, he can keep hugging. Élie can even make exaggerated lurching motions like he's being held down by a giant clam. (He's not attempting to put down Ines. He's met his daughter and he knows he's not going to win that fight). 

"That's a very interesting theory! Why do you think time might flow differently inside the dome?"