"...We have some very, very big doors. Yes. But they're not here. And I'd prefer having a door open far away from anyone who might be attacked by the dangerous people that Cynthia mentioned, as you might expect."

"How long would it take you to build a new door?"

"We don't actually need to build one, there are a few huge doors in now abandoned areas that could do the trick. But building one a big as the one I'm thinking about would take 2 weeks or so."

"I think we would need time for planning anyway. Yes, it's a tragedy that people are dying and going to Hell every day, it's a tragedy that the diabolists are going to control Cheliax for a while longer, but they have for the last century.

My country can survive two more weeks. Your world cannot survive us making a mistake that gets the Thrunes access to your weapons, or your knowledge.

We need to be smart, and quick, and that requires preparation."

"What if we tried to pray to Iomedae?"

"That's a mistake we truly can't survive, yes. I have a very interesting idea, a ruthless idea, for stopping that from happening. But I think it should be secret, from you more than anyone else. But that's just going to be part of the planning."

"Now, praying is going to do nothing, I'm pretty sure. But if it makes you feel better, go ahead."

"Of course it's going to do nothing if I do it now, we're probably way too distant for Her to notice.

And I'm not even sure if She would be able to hear me, I'm definitely not Good, and probably not Lawful either."

She turns towards Cynthia.

"But you are Good. Do you usually respect the laws?"

"All the time, every time, without exception. But prayer doesn't work, gods aren't real. Lots of people think so, but they're wrong."

"Well, then it would obviously not hurt to open a door to Cheliax and think very loudly, something like:

Iomedae, Iomedae, I want to destroy Hell, to save every person in Cheliax, my country has weapons and people ready to die for this,

right?"

"The danger is the opening the door part, mostly. We'd want to do it somewhere far away, with tons of extremely well-armed guards, in case someone seriously dangerous is waiting on the other side."

"Yes, that seems prudent. The door should open to my house, but we should proceed with as much caution as we can afford.

That said, if we can get any of the Good gods on our side without tipping our hand to Asmodeus, it would completely change the board."

Cynthia just ignores Sana's suggestions. "So, Maurice. We can be quite sure that what Sana and Sofia are speaking of is very, very real. And although we're certain that they're lied to about just how dangerous their rulers are, we should act as if they are incredibly dangerous. Shall we begin our planning for rescuing all of those people, and finding some method of handling all their infiltrators?"

"It's also not going to be trivial finding a big door when we're in Cheliax. All the ones I know of belong to private noble estates, or are city door that we can't close and open on a whim."

"I'm pretty sure that is a problem that can be solved by overwhelming force.

At least at the beginning you will need either me or Sofia to open the door, so we'll be the most exposed, so we should probably not know of any sensitive details, but we can answer all your questions."

"And if the questions themselves could be sensitive, we could just decide, who of us is going to open the door, so the other one can answer questions."

"I'm going to be the one opening the door."

"Sofia, you are smarter than me, you're more likely to give them better ideas if they ask."

"I said it'd take 2 weeks to build it. But we don't need 2 weeks, we already have a door like that ready. It's just a long trip, flying, to get there. I'll try mustering as many mayors and Supreme Coordinators as I can manage; and I expect you to be there and ready when the doors come open."

"I will."

"We will."

And then, in a whisper to Sana: "You will never be alone again. If you let me."

Cynthia and Sana, together with Sofia, enjoy a comfortable flight to an abandoned airfield, complete with a hangar and its huge doors. It's about as wide as a city block, and 5 stories in height. And there is nobody to seen for miles upon miles. The trio is equipped with the finest body armor thomassia has to offer, with soldiers ready and armed, standing next to the huge doors.

Airplanes are so cool!

She spent the whole flight with her face glued to the window, enjoying the world from above for the first time in her life.

As it lands on the airstrip, Cynthia steels herself while waiting outside the huge doors. "Here goes nothing", she mumbles to herself.

She grabs the handle, concentrates on the sensation that corresponds to opening the door to the other place instead of just opening it normally and... collapses unceremoniously on the floor.