For the briefest second, there is a look of displeasure on the Inquisitor's face. He doesn't like the bowing, and doubts he'll ever get used to it. But he knows it's a necessary evil, unlike so much else here. He gives her a long look up and down, as if memorizing everything about her, before peering into the windows to the soul.

"Yes," he says curtly, but not impolitely. "What do you require from me?"

"Well, sir, the committee on diabolism wanted to know how many of the people here are Evil. The Pharasmins have a spell that can show a person their fate, but only a few castings of it, and of course paladins and priests can tell but only if they're strong. And - if a person is here and is Evil and in Asmodeus's service, they're not stupid and they'll probably have thought of a way to hide it. So what I wanted to do was learn if there are any more obscure ways to check, ones that they won't know how to beat. And I know Inquisitors have power for rooting out evildoers. So - if you were to try to check if someone here was evil and hiding it, how would you do it?"

"Well," he says slowly. "I'd ask them."

"...wouldn't they sometimes lie, sir?"

One could be forgiven for imagining the beginnings of a smile on his face. "They often try, yes."

"But even if they know how to hide their alignment and they're very, very good liars, there are still ways of extracting the truth. And the ones who aren't trying to hide something are willing to submit to questioning on the matter."

He shrugs. "As I said, I ask, and they tell, one way or another."

"Are there people here in this convention who are concealing Evil, sir?"

"A few. And some that aren't concealing it, at least not magically, even if they are hoping no one notices them. And, of course, plenty that would be judged as Evil even if they don't yet have a real alignment."

"What are you hoping to accomplish with this? Is the goal to keep an eye on everyone who's Evil, or to explicitly remove anyone who follows Asmodeus?" He wonders whether she knows the alignment of the new queen, and what the wizard has to say about all of this.

"The Thrunes are dead, we have Good rulers not Evil ones now, there was an amnesty, and people are acting like let's just - forget it ever happened, almost, and certainly not try learning anything that would oblige us to - keep fighting, or even stay on guard. And - I'd be as happy as anyone if that were true, but I don't believe it. I don't believe that all the Evil was in the Church of Asmodeus, and I don't really believe the Church of Asmodeus gave up and decided to leave us alone now. And I think it's - we might well look back on it as the worst mistake we ever made, declaring victory before we'd actually won. 

The committee on rooting out diabolism has a proposal to ban Evil people from pursuing positions of power in Cheliax. All of them, even the Queen. The Archduke said we might have to ask the gods about the Queen, but we could. And - I think that when we are considering that proposal it is important to know if this very convention is full of secretly Evil people, or openly Evil people, and whether I'm right to think that we haven't won yet."

He nods slowly. "I see."

"I should tell you I don't share your commitment to driving out Evil. I have no love for the Asmodeans, and have spent more blood and treasure fighting them than most still living. And I do try to avoid working closely with Evil when possible." The last two words linger for a moment. "If your real goal is to drive out all Evil from this convention and away from the levers of power in this country, I believe you will lose quickly, or be fighting for a very long time. And that kind of chaos is something I detest even more than some who might be judged as Evil holding power."

"However," he continues, "If you're willing to focus your efforts on driving out the remnants of the Church of Asmodeus and limiting the influence of some of the more Evil here, that... that is something I might be able to help you with."

"I don't want to promise that I will always stick to that - Iomedae doesn't want chaos either, but she preferred Pezzack's chaos to Hell's peace.

But - the excising diabolism committee does not need to take on the whole war of Good against Evil, and shouldn't. It should take on a battle it can win. I am certainly willing to focus my efforts on driving out the Church of Asmodeus and limiting the influence of the more Evil people here for now.

"I'm not unfamiliar with Iomedae's particular brand of chaos," he says with a slight smile. "It's not that there can never be a bit of upheaval in the name of restoring a better order. But it should be limited, direct, and necessary."

His expression narrows. "As I said, I have no interest in driving out everyone who is Evil, and I won't be party to any undisciplined mob. But if you're really looking to limit the influence of Evil, you may wish to look to your own committee first."

"...my committee has Evil people on it? ...I suppose that's precisely where they'd go, to make sure we do as much damage as possible instead of being aimed at our true enemies."

"You didn't know?" he asks. He wasn't really surprised, but had assumed she would have been a bit more suspicious.

"Yes. Yes it does. They aren't really the vanguard of the great diabolist threat to the country, but the wizard with the silly title and the noblewoman are certainly Evil, and making efforts to hide it. I would suggest at least being wary of them. And some others would probably be judged that way too, but probably don't even know it, and if they do, are too terrified to do anything that would impair your little crusade."

The smug wizard who told Victoria what was wrong with his test. The quiet noblewoman.

"I don't have a good way to know, sir, that's why I came to you. We did some accusing each other but it was - wholly unproductive. So I wanted real and definitive tests."

"I see. Well I don't have any sort of definitive test for you, other than putting them each under a truth spell and asking them outright. But those are probably your biggest concerns from an influence perspective."

"There are, as I said, a few others whose lives balance out to Evil at the moment," he continues. "But if you want my help, you'll leave those who have done no real wrongs alone. Focus on those trying to tip the scales."

"Thank you, my lord." She would be taking notes, but she isn't literate. She departs, mouthing his words so she'll remember them.