She's in the most magical plate armor he's ever seen, wearing a ludicrous number of magic items on top of that. She stands, when he approaches, and addresses him with her own Mindspeech or something like it. 

:Can I help you?:

...Wow. That's - beautiful - he's going to try not to get distracted by the sheer number of fascinating magical items she's wearing....

:I don't know. I - was hoping I could help you, I think. ....I heard from Jisa that you were there when k'Treva Vale, er, exploded. I - have a lot of questions.: 

:That makes sense.: Diplomat, not a strike team, so that's good news in a sense. 

And she'll repeat the account she gave Jisa, with a bit more detail - she was explaining about Tar-Baphon, he seemed interested in whether Tar-Baphon might be operating here...

Vanyel is way too tired for this. 

(And stepping very very hard on any emotions he might be tempted to have about - whatever happened to k'Treva, which might or might not be this stranger's fault, he doesn't think she's to blame but that's a gut sense and he still feels pretty unsure how far to trust his intuitions on who to trust– ...no, that's not even right, he - mostly feels unsure on whether he can convince Randi and - that's stupid - and not the point, right now, focus on the mission–)

:I don't think Tar-Baphon is responsible for, er, recent events: he sends, absently, once it seems like she's finished her train of thought. :I - it sounds like a very memorable sort of magic he uses, that I don't recognize.

...I, er, I - think you're right, that you're from somewhere far away.: 

It feels like there should be a second clause to that sentence but his mind is failing to produce it, right now. 

:That's what I think too.

Do you know what happened? To the village?:

:No! I -: wouldn't have thought anyone other than Leareth could destroy k'Treva Vale, and why would he, what goal is this aimed at, :- hoped you could tell me more.: 

:I know only what I said. The other man went to - check on something - but he didn't seem urgently worried. If I had to guess I'd have guessed he'd - gotten an alert of some kind, an important one but not one of a threat to - everything -:

Vanyel takes a deep breath. 

:...I - want to tell you some things about, er, the person who I think could have done this.: Because, however uncharacteristic this is for Leareth, who else could it has been. :But I - don't know if I can trust you. I hope you understand.

- Do you mind if I cast a Truth Spell and ask you some questions?: 

:I don't object but it probably won't work. My mind is protected against charms and compulsions.:

Huh. How does that even work. Vanyel could probably muster curiosity at some other time that is not this time, instead of - tired frustration - but apparently tired frustration is all he has right now. He's never seen a Truth Spell not work before and is confused what that would even mean. 

:I'll see.: 

Truth spell - the first-stage version, this isn't adversarial enough (yet) to justify a second-stage coercive Truth Spell. Do the vrondi settle on this person's head like they normally do? 

They seem to have a slightly harder time ...finding it? Settling? But they do settle.

...That's odd. Vanyel is very tempted to ignore it but - this doesn't seem like a good time to ignore quiet notes of confusion, does it. Even though he's very tired and he wants everything to stop.

(And Stef is there, hovering quietly being Vanyel, singing a song under his breath that should make him seem like ignorable furniture - well, not furniture, they're in a random field, whatever - except that he doesn't really feel like it's working on this weird impressive scary woman at all, his Gift isn't getting much at all from her....) 

Ugh. 

...Vanyel is one of the few - or possibly now the only (ow) living Herald-Mage, who knows how the Truth Spell works, and how to poke at its components. What do the vrondi think is going on with her? 

The vrondi are confused! There's a mind there and they recognize it but it doesn't work like most minds! ...The first-stage Truth Spell works, they can recognize deceptive intent. Just, there's - no other available surface, there...? 

- so a second-stage coercive Truth Spell wouldn't work? ...Huh. That's - not normally how things work at all - but Vanyel wasn't casting that version anyway. 

:Was anything you said before meant to mislead or deceive me?: he says, first, because that's the obvious question and buys him a few more seconds to think of less stupid questions. 

:No,: the woman says immediately. 

:Do you work for Leareth.: 

:I don't know that name. My god is Aroden, and there are no mortals I answer to. My crusade is funded by the Emperor of Taldor but his name is not Leareth and I wouldn't really say I work for him.:

...Which does feel like some kind of confirmation that she isn't directly Leareth's pawn, because Leareth would never claim allegiance to a god. (....Probably? He might lie to some of his agents about who they worked for, but - it feels like a thin excuse.) 

And 'Iomedae' really does come across as - someone who doesn't know anything about Valdemar. Which she would, of course, if this were intended as a trick, but....there's only so paranoid he can be, at some point you're just rejecting the possibility of learning anything new. 

:...I'm going to tell you some things, because if you're really - from far away, and want to help - then it's important. I'll pause and ask you more questions under first-stage Truth Spell - which does seem to work, by the way - in the middle. 

- you're currently in Valdemar. Our kingdom was founded about eight hundred years ago, after the first King Valdemar - Baron Valdemar, at the time - fled an oppressive Empire: Leareth's Empire, though he didn't seem proud of it, :with his people, and built a new country for them. He prayed to all the gods -: (a slight flinch, that hopefully Iomedae won't notice), :- whose names he knew, for - a miracle to keep his kingdom stable and good for its people. ...The gods sent the Companions, to Choose worthy Heralds: not even thinking about THAT particular flinch - and Yfandes is back in the forest, because it felt like too much vulnerability for her to be here at his side -  :who would do right by their country. 

...er, does any of that sound familiar?: 

:I don't think it's a place in my world, which I was already fairly sure of because Aroden isn't granting me new miracles. It makes sense to me? Describes a society that I'd be unsurprised to learn existed, though in fact it doesn't? ...where I'm from you would not pray to all the gods.: She didn't miss the flinch.

What. 

...Back up a step. 

:Does Aroden, er, normally grant you miracles? Not just in emergencies, just - as a matter of course -?: 

:- he normally grants me spells and healing powers every day. He isn't doing so here, I assume because I am very far from home.:

This is baffling and bizarre! ...The Healing less so, Karis had the miraculous Healing happen the one time, though every day is still weird, but - the way she's conveying it to him feels broader than that...

:Spells as in - throwing levinbolts or raising shields or casting Gates, that sort of thing?: 

:- most of my spells make me faster or stronger or more dangerous, but some of them allow me to speak to people over a great distance, or to suppress or end the magic of others, or to fly. The closest thing we have to Gates is a Teleport and gods don't give that one out. They also don't usually give out evocations - energy spells - that's usually arcane magic.: