"No." He was praying, and Carles didn't even contemplate stopping him because it did not for one moment occur to him that it might have any effects beyond being possibly illegal. He doesn't know whether he'll make things worse by admitting that, so for now he doesn't volunteer it.

He sheathes his sword. He's still visibly annoyed, but he doesn't have anything reasonable to stab about the situation.

Who is paying enough attention to notice something like that, that fast? The gods. So one of them did it, and there's a few obvious guesses. No one would've bothered with a move like that if the visitors weren't real and important. So they're real and it's important. And Arazni didn't ignore them because they were wasting her time - she could've alerted them in time to prevent this  - well, maybe, it would've been close - so she ignored them because this advanced her goals. ...probably she didn't send someone to kidnap the Asmodean priest, though she could have. Probably so could Asmodeus.

What should they have done instead? If you execute people on the spot just for being Asmodeans who didn't know it was illegal then they'll go to Hell and there exists a dimension along which you're worse than they are, they didn't want to kill her. Kept them supervised while she contacted Arazni, probably. She pitied them and wanted to give them space to think and that shouldn't have been a priority until she ruled out broader strategic implications. 

What are the implications of changing that habit -

"...I think they're not delusional," she says to Alfirin in Hallit, "and that means we should bring them back with us. Right? Even if Arazni's unhelpful ongoingly instead of just in that moment, we can - learn about their timeline -"

And it was just him which - makes no sense, if she were an evil wizard she'd have taken as many as she could teleport - 

As a non-evil wizard she is still pretty tempted to take as many as she can teleport to - not-here. Vellumis, probably, where there's more people to keep watch and it's harder for evil wizards to sneak in invisibly -

"I think we should take them back, but I can't get all of them and I'm not sure if it's wise to split them up or leave any part of their group unguarded."

" - this is Crusade business now, there are evil gods involved and we're not on leave we're just on site. I propose you take as many as you can carry and go back and convey my orders to Laskaris or Tsaphas to come get the rest. ...this will be a lot harder if we don't have their cooperation. I don't know if we can secure their cooperation."

"I can try talking to them, but if we can't get their cooperation I have one suggestion and could prepare another one and a sleep? Which is as many people as I can teleport anyways, if they all land or if the sleep gets two of them."

"In light of Vallvé disappearing we want to take the rest of you somewhere more secure." What would be important for her to hear about the Crusade if she were an Asmodean displaced in time... "You won't be executed because you have information we want to have." and don't want Hell to have, but that ship has probably sailed and she doesn't want to give these people ideas about devotional suicide.

Not because they haven't broken any laws. This fucking place. 

Okay, he does in fact have an obligation not to hand Ferran over to foreign powers that intend to imprison him and probably mindread and possibly torture him. He'd also like to not experience any of those things himself! But, more relevantly, his obligations do in fact demand that he not just go along with this. 

Iolanda's mount should have several more hours left on it, so with Vallvé gone they do have enough horses for everyone, though not all of them are accessible from here. Fuck. He doesn't think he can get everyone out of this.

"I understand. We were thinking we'd do better somewhere we're less likely to give offense anyway. Give us a few minutes to pack up our things, though."

"We're Teleporting. We won't be able to take the horses. Alfirin can take three now, while the rest of you pack, and our allies will come back for everyone else. ...and, I guess, I'll assign someone to board the horses for now? Or sell them and give you the money, if you'd rather."

That is way too agreeable for this big of a culture gap and this weird of a situation. If the situation were reversed she'd say much the same thing and be lying through her teeth. (He doesn't seem like he's lying but she hardly knows the man and he worships the god of Lies - or is that Norgorber? Probably it's both?)

"I don't think you're telling the truth because in your boots I'd be scared half-witless and plotting my escape, and you don't seem like an utter fool. I think your worries are - probably inaccurate but I have no idea what they are if you in fact have them? But we'd like to be able to work with you instead of against you, at least on the things we can agree on.

...You are right that you'll probably give less offense where we're going, but that's probably not going to be no offense because Taldans are easily offended by other people not being Taldane. When this is all over if we're all still alive I can take you some place that's not Taldor."

Damn it. It's not new information that he completely sucks at diplomacy and that's why they have him killing centipedes, but you don't get out of dying merely because you have a good excuse for being unprepared for something. Shit, fuck -

He laughs. "Should I be asking for advice about what to worry about?"

He doesn't dare give a signal under these circumstances.

"I think the biggest things you have to worry about are being taken to Hell or being killed and reanimated by Tar-Baphon's servants, but we're going to try quite hard to prevent both of those and I suspect you worrying won't actually make much difference. I'd rather you tell me what you're actually worried about and I can tell you if it's applicable. And then because you have no reason to believe me, Iomedae, who's a paladin sworn to never lie, can confirm that I'm telling the truth."

Ivet doesn't think she needs a signal to know that they are in fact plotting their escape, but it seems hopeless to get everyone out with the wizard waiting right there. They cannot possibly outrun or overpower a teleport wizard, not unless Carles can successfully kill her in one stroke, and this seems like a terrible thing to bet on. No, the only plausible option is to give them three people and for the others to try to escape before the unspecified allies come to pick them up.

They will probably insist on Carles. They might not insist on Ferran. It would be better for her and for Iolanda to be in the second group, as they have the best chance in the forest. Guim, then, and one of the other young men working on the shelter. Probably Oriol, as the youngest of them.

She will grieve losing her brother later, but the other paths are suicide for everyone.

"Give up the shelter and start packing," she calls. 

He's been told that best lies have as much of the truth in them as possible. He's also been told that the best lies are made up out of whole cloth, but he doesn't feel like he has a whole lot of cloth to hand at the moment.

Sigh. "At last discussion, our wizard is worried that we've ended up on another plane, and can't be very certain what we'll find if we venture further away from Kantaria. Of course I'm concerned about what we'll find. But I do want to get our bearings, and I do think the best way to determine exactly where we are in relation to where we started is to see more of the world."

Aaand you're completely fine with wherever the enemies of your god who have ambiguously arrested you want to take you because you can't think of anywhere you'd rather be than with the Taldans who will dislike you for not being Taldane slightly less than the other Taldans because they're too busy fighting a war to be picky about living allies?

"I think whatever happened with you is weirder than just winding up on another plane, though I guess if I were a fae I could be making that up. You, Ferran, and your wizard in the first teleport? Any objections?"

In Hallit, "I don't think I got through to them and they're probably planning to flee, if they've planned it in advance they'll refuse the teleport and then scatter the moment I'm gone. I don't have a plan to handle that so I think we have to sleep or suggest the three of them?"

"Probably. ...or sleep all the horses, I think I can prevent any of them fleeing if they have to do so on foot." 

Ugh -

Yeah sorry about your presumed escape attempt but in the absence of the cleric the party leader, the wizard, and the ranking noble are the obvious top priorities.

She speaks to Carles, not to the wizard. "You should not begin with the strongest party members, if the others are to wait at the edge of a forest known to be full of monsters. Take Guim and Oriol. Or I can go with them, and you can remain here and rejoin us in the second teleport. We have almost died enough times today."

"I'll be staying with you. Not - primarily to keep you safe, obviously, but I will keep you safe."

"Respectfully, Lady Iomedae, I believe in your ability to win, should the Iron Gargoyle appear. I do not know that I believe in your ability to win without losses."

"We won't be waiting long. I think it is very unlikely for a problem to arise that I cannot protect your people from but that your commander can, though I see that you all trust him and have never known men to do that wrongly."

Okay, think.

Iolanda does not actually give that many shits about Ferran. She's - been trying to build a wall around any consideration of deliberately assassinating Ferran, because frankly she doesn't need to bother. Ferran is going to get himself killed fair and square at some point. Ferran would be a terrible Archduke even if he survived, and her father is not a complete idiot. And - at the end of the day she does not actually think it is realistic or reasonable to see all her brothers dead. If she comes to power, she wants it to be because she was just that much fucking better than everyone else, and she would sort of like Tomas or whoever to be around to see it. And - she would like the respect of her siblings and would like to be regarded as someone you can trust to be loyal.

All of that is - really extremely different than being willing to die for Ferran, though. She just isn't willing to die in a stupid fight that won't even matter so she can tell who the fuck even knows that she died defending some idiot teenager who is afraid of his own shadow and wouldn't have done the same for her anyway.

.....she also really, extremely does not want to be tortured for information. She knows her mother coddles her and she's only ever been baby-tortured. But she knows what Cassiodor's family did to him, and - no.

She could break and run completely independently, but she's not sure she's willing to be that obviously cowardly or to leave Carles. Damn it. Carles is going to be stupid and get them all killed - not that she can see any paths that don't involve capture or death -

Guim has slowly over the course of this conversation worked out that they are probably being arrested. He's confused about why Carles is acting as if they have plausible deniability about being arrested and also about why Iomedae isn't saying that she's arresting them, if so.

"What's Iomedae goddess of?" he whispers.

"...battle, I think."

"Honor and courage and Menador," he whispers back. "That's why you say 'Iomedae, Lady of Valor, guide our swords', when you're defending a settlement."

Ferran has never said that in his life, but okay.