"The queen isn't evil, she was detecting good even before freeing Cheliax from Asmodeus and it seems like it would be really hard to end up evil after that. The part that confused me is why this resulted in us being let go in the first place, since being innocent isn't usually enough even in countries with good rulers and they were able to get you to confess to a crime besides. I've got a few theories, but all of them are confusing so I'm probably missing something."

"...When I said not to talk about crimes I meant that kind of description too, but if you're telling it to me this freely I guess it probably wouldn't be hard for another prosecutor to charm you into talking again anyway and this doesn't add risk."

"...I am very tired and if you want me to do something complicated you'll probably need to explain it like I'm five. I'm pretty sure it's been more than a day since I slept but none of the rooms I was in had windows so I don't know for sure. ...Anyways, the person asking me questions already knew about all the trespassing, it's not like she's going to forget just because she let me go."

"I'm saying that if you tell your friends about crimes you tell everyone who charm persons you about crimes, they don't even have to take you in to be interrogated first... probably if you're tired this is a bad time, yeah. Do you have somewhere safe to sleep? The crown might not be going after you but I wouldn't put it past a lot of the nobles to try."

"...did they Charm Person me? My mother only had cantrips, no one's ever cast it on me before..."

"They cast it on me so I assume so, it's a little less reliable on clerics than song sorcerers but you're not a powerful cleric. Uh. I'd offer to cast it on you so you could tell if it was the same thing, but I don't know if it feels like anything when we're already friends."

"I'd offer but, yeah, I'm not sure it will really illustrate the effect if I do it."

It's totally unreasonable to be upset about this. There's nothing wrong with making someone like you. It is nonetheless pretty upsetting!

"...Anyways, I think lots of people know where I'm sleeping, the Evil assassin from the Diabolism Committee was able to find me there. But I'm not sure where else I'd go. ...Also I don't want to sleep through Valia's trial, assuming it hasn't happened yet."

"In theory I have a room at the cafe and I doubt Raimon - other Raimon - would just let a noble through quietly, he doesn't like them, but I don't want to get him killed trying and it's probably ransacked anyway.  I bet the temple of Shelyn would put you up if I asked though, and if you want to repay them we could always use more channels."

"That's where I channel if I feel like walking into some other god's church to do it, but that's a big if, I usually don't. I asked about getting a Calistrian one but they said no freebies, I'd have to buy it at full price."

"I don't — Calistria usually gives people negative channels? Except for Raimon, apparently? I didn't even know she could give people positive channels until I talked to the azata."

"...I mean, She's Neutral, so it can go either way depending on the cleric."

"Yeah, I mean, that makes sense, just, before I talked to the azata I didn't realize she'd give people positive channels, like how Pharasma wouldn't give people negative channels."

"Pharasma could give people negative channels if She ever wanted to pick an evil cleric, but a neutral Pharasmin would probably never choose negative channels and I can see why one of us would've, yeah."

Blink blink. "I think I'm confused but maybe just because I haven't slept—"

"Honestly it was a pretty forgettable decision as they go, if you were really pissed off when She grabbed you it'd probably feel like not picking at all."

"I mean, yes, but I meant — I don't see why she wouldn't give a Good priest negative channels, if that's what would be most helpful, or an Evil priest positive channels if they... really hated undead or something..."

"Yeah, no idea, just one of those things. Do you want to crash in my room at the palace, it absolutely doesn't help with being spied on one bit but I can sit up if you're nervous."

"Good gods and good people always get positive, evil gods and evil people always get negative, if you're neutral on both you can choose. Or sometimes get both, though that one's supposed to be tricky. If an evil cleric hates undead there's a trick for using negative channels to control them, and then they're easy to destroy."

"...I thought I was Chaotic Good but I guess maybe I'm actually Chaotic Neutral? If — if you've got to be trying harder to make Good, and I kind of just put things right back home and then stopped, until I heard about the convention—"

—I just want you to know you're walking the path to the Abyss, and that you should keep your eyes open while you walk it—

—but she hasn't hurt anyone who didn't deserve it, hasn't even hurt anyone who was trying to do better, she was careful with the fire, careful with — mostly careful with — leading the servants against her lord—

—she used to worship Asmodeus? But she hasn't worshipped him in her heart since she was thirteen, which feels like most of her life even though it isn't—

—probably she's just Chaotic Neutral. It makes perfect sense, if Good means being like Valia, that she's not quite Good. She's just — inexplicably terrified for no reason. That's all.

Alicia will offer her a hug.

"It can be hard to tell. I wasn't ever certain I was good until I learned I wasn't actually a cleric, because even the good aura might just have been Lady Shelyn, and I still don't know for sure when I started counting. But if you're really trying... I'm not going to tell you that's everything, because it's not, but it's the step most people stumble at."

Hug.

She is trying, she's been trying since she was thirteen, or fifteen, or slightly-younger-seventeen, depending on how you count — the ones who try to hurt people because they have it coming go to the Abyss — the right thing to do is to kill him, for whoever he goes after next — it's going to be harder to try to do much of anything for the next while, the guard's got to be keeping an eye on her after what happened— 

"...I think I'm still not sure about some things but it kind of makes my head hurt to think about anything complicated. Probably because of the not sleeping. I — Raimon, do you know if there's nobles staying at the palace? If there's a bunch of nobles there it won't help with not getting attacked by nobles."

"There's some, yeah. My next idea was my mom's place if you'd put up with it but I cannot guarantee there will never be nobles there."

She absolutely does not know how to say "if I do that, is everyone there going to assume I'm a whore?" without coming across as more insulting than she intends. 

"I think — if the thing we're worried about is me getting murdered by a nobleman I don't really know how to prevent that. Because a lot of them are stronger than me, and better at fighting, and they have guards that could help. ...I know the archmages brought a bunch of people back after the riots but I don't know if they'd bring me back." Because of the arson, and also because the Queen is upset about the speech.

"Yeah, I don't know. - I could pick up another bag of mail, bring you with me on a trip, sleep on the road. We'd have to pick a short route, the horses won't go as fast riding double, to be back in time for the convention, but if you can stay awake another hour till I can grab something meant for Westpool and haul us thataway, that'll get us out of the city."

"I think probably if they want to kill me now they'll still want to kill me when the convention is going. ...And actually it'll be easier, because they can just follow me when I leave. But I might be missing something obvious."