"It can wait. We should…"

She looks around. Two heroes meet in a tavern, check, they receive a quest, check, but it's too early for a mysterious stranger or politically-charged barroom brawl to provide any context.

"We should talk to the barkeep, see what he knows," she decides. It even sounds like a good idea after she says it out loud.

The alcoholic inquisitor is coming back. He's not any happier about her now than he was the first time, but at least she brought someone else with her.

"How can I help you?" he asks, addressing the one with the demonstrated ability to wait quietly.

She produces a document from beneath her cloak and unfurls it over a dry section of the bar.

"Lieutenant Gwenhwyfar, First Guard. This is my colleague…"

She trails off expectantly once more.

"From the Caydenite Inquisition, yes, I know," the barkeep says, scanning the document briefly.

The what?

Gwen thinks she's part of something called Starwatch. This guy thinks she's part of something called the Caydenite Inquisition. Are those the same thing by different names? Are they different organizations, with her working for both? Is she a double agent?

"I see." Gwen considers this for a moment. "We need to ask you a few questions pertaining to the murder, and it would be ideal to get your statement under truth magic. Will you consent?"

"Let's get this over with," he says through gritted teeth.

"Do you have Tell or Zone?" she asks her partner.

This is the kind of pointlessly cryptic jargon she absolutely does not need right now. Regardless, the only things she has that Gwen can't see are her room key and a hangover.

"No."

Wrong answer. Whatever 'Tell or Zone' means, Gwen thinks you not having it is deeply improbable.

That doesn't make sense. Abadar's Truthtelling and Zone of Truth are almost indispensable for detective work (Interrogation also has its uses, but non-Evil inquisitors tend to avoid learning it). Fortunately, she has an alternative.

"Wand of Abadar's Truthtelling, command word is 'Shalalalala'," she says, handing over the item in question.

"Oh?"

It's a wooden stick. A long, smooth stick covered in indecipherable runes, but it's definitely a stick. She could snap it in half without even really trying.

"We didn't pick the command words," she says defensively. "The purchase order specified something short, memorable, and impossible to say by accident."

This is the opposite of how command words are normally chosen, but cops need their tools to be as interchangeable as possible more than they need to deter theft. Forcing them to memorize puns in dead languages is counterproductive.

But what is she supposed to do with it?

Abadar's Truthtelling is a first-circle divine spell. Touch range, single target. If the target's will is overpowered by the spell, they become temporarily incapable of telling deliberate and intentional lies.

This is a stick. It'll be more useful with the end sharpened to a point. You are not a cleric.

Wait, how sure are we about that? Maybe you've forgotten your clerichood! Quick, try to cast Delay Pain and see if it cures the dead rodent feeling.

'Praying to Cayden Cailean' is a euphemism for several things you're good at, but you haven't even been awake long enough for an hour of supplication to the beer god.

I hate to be the bearer of good news, but you don't need to understand spellcraft to use a wand. Abadar's Truthtelling is already in there, quiescent until the magic word passes your lips. It will come when you call.

The wand will only answer to a priest, which is why you're going to be a divinely empowered holy woman for the next twelve seconds. Focus on the thread of celestial light you may or may not have in your soul. Really feel it, like you have an invisible best friend standing next to you being judgemental and supportive at the same time. As far as the wand is concerned, your day job is channeling positive energy seven times a day. Got it?

This is easier to do than she expected. Maybe she has practice.

Good, you're almost there. Now repeat after me: I am a cleric.

I am a cleric.

It must be spoken aloud, my liege. 'I am a cleric. I play a supporting role in every escapade that doesn't prominently feature the undead.'

This seems unnecessary. Why can't she just believe in herself? It's not as if the wand is listening to her. The wand doesn't even have ears.