"An... angel sword." He is not bothering to pretend not to be skeptical. 

"I know it sounds incredible, Prelate, but it's true. I saw it with my own eyes."

"I can show you if you would like, though I don't know how many times per day it's possible to draw it."

Ah, he thinks he sees where this is going. "And I suppose this sword can only be used on willing targets?"

"...I am fairly sure that everyone can see it even if they are not willing to see it? I don't know if the Virtue-like effect works on unwilling targets."

"Very well. You may demonstrate." (But he will not be a willing target of its magic.)

That's totally fine. Come forth, angel sword.

The sword leaps to life. Warm light bathes the area six paces around him, and for an instant the light around his hand takes on the image of Lariel's sword, as it was on the day Lariel died.

Hulrun has felt the touch of Heaven before. He felt it most intensely on the day the Goddess chose him; he feels it every morning when he prays for the blessings that enable him to carry out his duty.

There are faithful, loyal people who have never bothered to examine that sensation. In Hulrun's view this is a mistake. It is not unheard of for a demon lord to attempt to deceive some hapless anarchic recruit into believing they serve a permitted faith; it is not even unheard of for a Lawful crusader to fall prey to similar deceptions from devils. But it is possible, if one is very careful, to learn to recognize the touch of Heaven for what it is. It is not impossible, in principle, for a master illusionist to fake it, but they would need to be capable of controlling far more than merely one's senses to do it, and they would need to understand what they needed to fake.

This man bears the touch of Heaven. He bears, if the statue in Iomedae's temple is not mistaken, the sword of Lariel. Heaven would not give Lariel's blessing to a demon impersonating one of Heaven's clerics; Heaven most likely would not permit Lariel's blessings to be used even to further a genuine misunderstanding.

He detects Good, because it isn't possible to be too careful, and its aura is as bright as any angel. It is not impossible to fake an aura; it would be somewhat more difficult to do so while simultaneously maintaining every other aspect of the illusion.

"Your story is very strange, but it seems you spoke truthfully."

"It is extremely strange. But, yes, I am somewhat ill-catechized but have been operating under the assumption that I am not allowed to lie."

"The underlying principle is somewhat more complicated, but your understanding should be sufficient for the time being. I suspect it is not a good use of your time to explain the circumstances under which it would be permissible."

"There really hasn't been time to sit down with anyone who can educate me, no, though I am glad to have Ser Seelah in the party to catch me in any obvious error."

"Very well. In that case, I have an urgent assignment for which I need someone trustworthy." (His tone suggests that this is closer to an order than a request.)

"What is it, Inquisitor?"

"The man I was speaking to earlier, Ramien, is guilty of helping three of his confederates to resist arrest, all of whom stand accused of conspiring to sabotage the Wardstone. Capture him and return him to me for interrogation."

That is... very strange prioritization, but Blai is not necessarily entitled to his complete chain of reasoning there, and it is not an illegal order. Or, it wouldn't be, if Blai were in the Inquisitor's chain of command and it were an order, which he actually isn't. (Blai memorized all the traits of illegal orders.) So he can demur but has no grounds to actually complain, per se. "I believe we are undercircled for this mission," Dimension Door is fourth circle for Travel clerics and if the three confederates show up they will be close to matched in numbers too, "and have preexisting errands from the Eagle Watch, but can certainly attend to the possibility that an opportunity will arise, Inquisitor?"

"Understood, Select. I expect this is more important than whatever the Eagle Watch is doing — it may be necessary to learn more about their sabotage in order to reverse it — but if you have more pressing matters, by all means attend to them first."

"Prelate, are you sure about this? Surely Desna would take away his powers if he were consorting with the demons."

He sighs. "An admirable hope, Ser Seelah, but the anarchic gods are rarely as prudent as one might expect. Certainly he is far from the only cleric of Desna to enable criminals to escape justice."

"It's costly to renounce a cleric and She might be waiting until She has no other choice, not being able in this Age to see it in advance. ...that and being Chaotic it's possible She shares with Her man some objection to whatever regulation may have been broken even if on this occasion its breakage supported the demons. At any rate, we can keep an eye out and at least speak to him should our paths cross, if not necessarily complete an arrest." He inclines his head politely to the Inquisitor.

"Goddess go with you."

"And with you."

And they can make their way to - he takes out his map, what's closest -

Presuming he doesn't intend to immediately hunt down Ramien, the Count's manor is theoretically only a few blocks away. (In practice, this area was particularly badly damaged, but it's still closer than any of his other destinations.)

The count's manor it is, then. "Can those of you who are more local than I tell me anything about the Count? I have only the thinnest of rumor."

"Count Arendae is the last scion of one of Mendev's most ancient houses. The rest of his family perished in a massacre at his family's estate ten years ago, one which claimed the lives of dozens of Mendev's nobility." She licks her lips. "If the queen were to die irrecoverably, he has a credible claim on the throne. He is one of the wealthiest and most influential men in Kenabres, and we would be lucky to win his favor."