Cool.

We were going to build a generator for your Asgardian lights, down by the river, but then we had to avoid outdoor projects for a bit.

Hopefully that'll be cleared up soon.

Well, we have better sentries now, they're back out building it. I don't expect they'll figure out who ordered this, why would she tell?

Dramatic confessions at trial aren't unheard of, although I suppose I wouldn't much expect it in this case. Plea bargaining, maybe.

That gives her an incentive to name someone truly or falsely. I realize that's a horrible thing to accuse someone of, but -

Then if she names someone falsely they can produce an alibi. It's imperfect, entirely so, but it's not guaranteed to produce all the wrong incentives.

If I tried to have someone assassinated and were dishonorable enough to let someone else do the shooting and take the blame, I'd definitely acquire an alibi.

Then maybe Sarpalarë will turn on them for leaving her in the lurch; stranger things have happened. But I can't pull a judicial procedure with guaranteed results every time out of my pocket.

Wasn't saying you could, was just saying I don't expect much to come of it. It won't happen again, but because we'll be more careful.

That's why you get to learn to fly. All the deterrent in the world can't stop everyone.

Kind of can. Note the lack of Morgoth assassination attempts, and it's not that there are people unwilling to die trying.

I did not actually know for sure that no one had, she says.

We looked into it when we were exploring avenues to rescue Maitimo. It does not seem likely that it'd be possible to kill him in one blow.

Not with a sword, anyway.

We do have other weapons. Not with anything we have or could swiftly invent.

Yeah. I consider one likely outcome that I just invent a teleportation spell, go purchase some extremely high-yield bomb from a disreputable galactic weapons shop, and wipe Angband off the map, see if that does it.

At the very least it'd take him Ages to build another physical form after it was destroyed by violence.

After which I suppose he'd learn to take cover among non-expendable people, but I can have anybody who wants to get off this cylindrical fucking rock evacuated by then.

If we get the Silmarils.

Or find an alternate means to go on. You're not on a very tight deadline by galactic standards.

We aren't, no. Anyway, the Silmarils can be expected to survive dropping bombs on them.

That's good, otherwise I imagine obliterating the fortress and everything in it would meet with some objections.

It'd be a tough tradeoff. On the one hand, Angband needs to be ended as soon as possible. On the other, without those we stop being part of the world or we go back to Valinor. Neither appeals.

I am optimistic that my galaxy holds solutions for this problem, I just didn't do my homework for this test I wasn't planning to take.