With the high-profile party members reassembled, Silvana decided that it was safe to do a sending to Omimajish.
(In related news, the dwarves told Silvana that Asmodeus recruits exceptional evildoers from other factions and religions, and his followers are generally high-level converts from other temples. At that level, the process of breaking ties with their former god is very nasty, and many recruits don't survive, but the ones who make it and join Asmo's following are rewarded with new abilities and powers. So if the Death Temple continues to believe that Kharnzeel's been reduced to a pure and simple mage after his break with them, they're in for a rude surprise.)
Another possible course of action was a trip to Auramkil, ostensibly to get mage training for Ganeth, but also to keep an eye on Rakni's activities there, mess up the plans of evil Marakeel people who might try to relocate there if the war goes badly for them, and find out just how much fun Asmodeus has been having with the volatile political situation. (Silvana believes that Asmodeus may have been behind the fall of Auramkil and the disappearance of the Good temples there [but may have been stymied by the loss of magic after Khambeer] and may also be manipulating the tensions between the high elven clans. The recent anti-elf movements in Auramkil could also represent a quiet influence by Marakeel nobles who are hedging their bets.)
During these discussions, Silvana came up with a theory to explain the unexpectedly spirited defense of Banzeel, Ganeth's and Rogtubbins' kidnappings, and perhaps the unusual cloud formations that have been gathering over the East for months. In a nutshell, the devils manipulated the party into going to Dustplane, which weakened Rakni's hold on the Prime. This might allow Eastern operatives to penetrate Rakni's stronghold in the Deadlands and make off with some of the artifacts there. (Also recall that before G was kidnapped, someone put the idea of sacrificing the party in the Deadlands into Omimajesh's head, and at one point during the negotiations for G's release, a mission in the Deadlands was on the table.) Since the Deadlands artifacts are affiliated with death magic, they might then be used to power a massive quest spell, possibly delivered though the big bad cloud. At which point the rebels in Banzeel and the Western army surrounding the city would all be nuked in one go. Rogtubbins' kidnapping would distract the Hollerith Temple, who are the only Westerners with strong enough divination to uncover the plan; Tubbins himself might also have noticed important Marakeel loyalists being evacuated in preparation for the blast. (And Tubbins himself would naturally be held by some other anti-West faction, such as the Insanity Temple, so none of the devil followers get trashed in the rescue.)
Ganeth started wondering what sort of effect it would take to wipe out that many people without being prohibitively expensive, even for a quest spell. And then he figured, if they're using the Deadlands artifacts, maybe they can use them to recreate the Deadlands themselves, this time centered on Banzeel. The Deadlands effect seems to be something like a cursed disease, which is cheaper than instant death but beyond the cure disease ability of the Cuthbert paladins. And if the cursed area is moved from the current Deadlands to Banzeel, Rakni's stronghold is left open to attack by relatively normal Eastern operatives. The curse may be Rakni's major defense, and since she's consolidating her forces in Silverton, Marakeel might be able to force the spiders out completely, take control of whatever's left, and create a new, loyal satellite in what's currently the Dead City.
While these are all nice theories, there's no proof of any of it. Also no knowledge of what's involved, how long any preparations have been underway, how long the quest spell takes to pull off, or anything else that would help the party figure out just what the plan is or what to do about it. Just an ugly feeling that the infernals are going to nail all of their enemies in one clean shot and a lot of people are going to die.