Rukeewei exhaled deeply, running one hand back across the top of his head. "You want to take a late-night trip into one of the Planes of Oblivion? I...feel that is a statement that should surprise me. Should I be worried that I am...not terribly surprised?" He replied with a nervous, somewhat forced laugh. After a moment, he stepped away from the oven and approached Ariel at the table. He took hold over her hand, then gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Just let me know if I need to have someone cover for you at the shop, okay?"

"Thank you. Both of you. I really do appreciate your help." Meesei remarked. "You do not need to rush, but whenever you are ready, I will make a portal for us." 

[hr]

Meesei was patient to allow Ariel to get ready in any way she needed, making no attempt to speed her along regardless of how she took. Inwardly, Meesei felt the deadline of the invasion encroaching ever closer with each passing second, but that was not enough to convince her to be too demanding of someone like Ariel, who had earned every ounce of respect that Meesei could give her. Besides which, if she could not find a solution within the next few days, a few minutes likely would not matter. 

Once Ariel was ready, Meesei created a portal for them back to the cavern, as close as was safe to their gate. Indeed, the very first sight that Ariel would see upon stepping through the portal was the imposing form of an Oblivion gate towering over them. The physical portion of the gate may have been different, but the portal itself perfectly matched stories and illustrations from the gates of the Oblivion Crisis. 

"Sabine, could you gather up the rest of the pack and take them to my tent with Ariel? I just have one more person I need to speak to first, then I will be right there." Meesei asked once they were all in the cavern. Normally, Meesei would not have cared too much about her own accommodations in the camp, but in this case, she had borrowed one of the large, officer's tents from the Imperials to ensure she would have enough space for just this purpose.