"A reasonable preference. I would prefer not to have to deal with a possible Summoned Hero."

"A reasonable preference. I simply want directions to the nearest city and enough support to get me there. I have no intent to be persistently your problem."

"You can't not be my problem anymore. Wherever you end up, you were here first."

"That's fair, and I apologize inasmuch as I was responsible for that."

"I don't suppose you'd be willing to agree to a Geas of some sort."

"To speak truth? Yes. For anything else, no."

"I intend to call someone I trust. I will ask 'do you swear to either answer my next question truthfully, or refuse to answer it'. The binding will take if you agree. Then I will ask, 'In the past hour, to the best of your knowledge have you deceived me in any way, whether through accident or design or side effect, or could you even possibly be under the influence of any Skills or effects which might make your internal experience inconsistent in order to defeat lie detection'. Acceptable?"

"It's impossible for me to know for certain that I haven't been used by some third party with sufficiently scary mind control. But I can swear that my internal experience has been consistent ever since I arrived here south of your town in the desert."

"If there is a third party with mind control that scary I'm utterly fucked anyway."

He gets up and presses another button under his desk. "Chee, send Senna up please. It'll just be a few."

"Right away, sir," comes a slightly echoey answer.

"Very good, thank you."

He starts pacing.

Senna knocks a minute later. She has blue hair, is wearing a blindfold, and is actually rather pretty - close to Liath herself. She doesn't react when he explains the Geas in question, and casts it without comment, and leaves immediately after it takes hold like a noose around Liath's heart, having said not a single word.

Captain Rousseau asks his question.

"I have decieved you in that I claimed to only be a duchess of the country I ruled before I came here. I am a duchess but it is the least of my titles; I was a reigning Queen. Apart from this omission I have not decieved you by intent, design or side effect. I am in possession of a unique skill that improves my ability to lie as part of improving my overall presence, but it is not capable of memory editing or otherwise preventing me from realizing my own duplicity. As far as I know there is no outside agency that could be using me beyond those involved in summoning me here. Is that enough of an answer for you, sir?"

...He seems to deflate.

"You understand I had to check. Let's get you taken care of. I'll give you an express trip to Liscor and a few gold pieces to see you off in exchange for a future favor. I'll declare that favor now- Leave this town and the whole Green Crater out of things as much as you can. Please."

"Thank you," she says. "I'll remember you and do my best to leave you out of it." 

A promise of great weight, that one. She can't call up troops from here now, not without pushback. She's denied herself access to the local resources in the long term. But for this critical aid at this critical time, it's worth it.

"Great." He opens a very fancy-looking money pouch and digs out three gold coins before handing them to her. "This is all I can spare personally. It's plenty to start with, though not a queen's ransom. Your Highness the Hero, if you would follow me..."

He is very keen to get her out of his town. He brings her to the roof and calls for some sort of flying (horseless) chariot, which lands on the roof with a thrumming noise, piloted by a short and energetic mouse-woman. It looks fast, but uncomfortable.

"All the way to Liscor, is it? That's a great gig - you must be in a hurry, miss!"

"I am indeed," she says. "Thank you for your service."

Always remember the little people, and in turn they'll remember you. She repeats the mantra again to keep herself from being short with the innocent pilot.

"Well then, strap in and off we go!"

This thing is not faster than a jet plane, but it feels almost as fast. Talking is close to impossible. Her hair gets messed up by the wind.

For this kind of speed she'll endure a little excess wind. She holds on and flies.

Liscor, it turns out, is a large city with some very impressive looking walls, nestled in a sort of swampy valley between two high streaks of mountains. The whole area is criss-crossed with lakes and mud by the look of things - there is only one road north and one south.

Her pilot slows down on the approach and argues with someone for a little bit through the control console once they're close, hovering in midair.

"Okay, looks like I have to set you down outside the walls! The gateway city doesn't want things flying over it."

The flying chariot attracts a lot of attention. People standing on the walls and in the streets of the city and on the road point and stare as it lowers to the ground.

"Aetherwing ultra express appreciates your patronage and hopes you enjoyed your flight! Need help getting down, miss?"

"No, I can handle myself." What is she, an invalid? 

She steps down from the flying chariot outside the walls, fixes her hair as best she can, and walks onwards towards the city.

The crowd by the gate parts for her. The gate guards are about half some sort of lizardperson, half human. One waves at her cheerfully.

"Welcome to Liscor! Name and purpose in the city, please?"

"Liath, magical education." 

The lizardperson writes this down. "Are you aware that Liscor's laws mandate that you must either, one, take shelter as directed, or two, follow orders of the Liscor guard for the duration of the emergency and receive compensation for participating in the defense of Liscor, in the event that a general alarm is sounded?"

"I am now so aware, thank you."

They snicker. "Yeah, that's the point of asking it like that. Entry tax is one silver..."

"We don't have an entry tax, you fuckhead!" Another guard calls.

They snicker again. "Just joking, go on in."

"Thank you." She looks to the guard who denied the entry tax. "And thank you too," she says, more gently. "Can you give me directions to the..." She pretends to fumble for words. "You know, the magic college?" More colloquial than is her style, but that humanizes her.

"Liscor Academy? Straight down the street, can't miss it. NEXT!"