"Hey, it's not superstition if it works, right? —Anyways, should be pretty straightforward apart from that, any questions before you start casting?"

"Is there a way to clear the place of bystanders?"

"Not a good one. There's too many people packed in here, and no good way to avoid it attracting her notice."

No further questions, then, he'll cast on her mark and proceed.

As they get close enough for him to be able to get a read, Hulrun starts cycling through his alignment-detection abilities. The paladins claim to have checked Evil already, but she's not detectably Chaotic...

They're moving through the tavern at a fairly slow pace, considering the crowds, but they're nearly on top of her by the time he flickers over to the next alignment he's checking. ...There's an obvious guess, here, but faking an alignment aura is within the capacity of many demons.

"Ma'am. Would you be willing to come with us and answer a few questions for me?"

The woman laughs self-consciously. "I suppose that depends on the questions, Commander."

...She recognizes that voice. Did she just threaten to arrest—

If this is a trick it's a well-constructed one, but coming from Minagho it would be. "Fetch Select Stasia," he snaps to one of his inquisitors.

The woman pulls down her hood, taking a thin hat with her. "My greetings to you as well, Prelate, Commander, Select, and of course to those accompanying you as well. It is an honor to meet you."

.......Blai doesn't actually know what the Queen of Mendev looks like. He has heard a description but lots of people are blonde paladiny women.

"Your Majesty, my apologies, we didn't realize you were arriving so soon—"

She waves a hand. "There's no need to apologize, Commander. Most of the forces I was travelling with are still half a day's travel behind us." If she wanted to announce her presence immediately she would have done so.

He bows as appropriately as he can figure out how.

(The Mendevians are not being very helpful with that. Irabeth and Anevia are bowing in completely different ways, and Hulrun is still holding himself like someone worried she'll morph into a demon at any moment.)

"You may rise. Please don't allow me to disturb the festivities; are we not commanded to enjoy ourselves once a month?"

Here's Stasia. "I heard that Prelate Hulrun needed me?"

"One moment, Select." He switches to Detect Magic.

The Queen places her hand on Stasia's, and Stasia's missing fingers grow back. "May you do the Inheritor's work with them."

(Sweet Iomedae, that's the Queen.)

"It's almost certainly really her," Hulrun reports. 

He was really hoping to do this without Hulrun being literally right there but who gives a shit. "Your Majesty, do you have urgent business or might I trouble you with a certain matter?"

"None so urgent that I cannot spare a little time for the hero who saved Kenabres. Though I confess, there is a matter I had hoped to discuss with you as well."

- well is she going to preempt him with it or - whatever. "Many people were involved in that work, your majesty. During the course of recent events I came by custody of this man," he indicates Thall, "sentenced by the Kenabres Inquisition to death but his execution stayed by my assurances about his supervision; in that time he has been of unfailing help with various missions and errands and I would see his case retried."

"He and his confederates were arrested for trespassing in the Wardstone chamber to perform unauthorized magical rituals shortly before Deskari's attack, Your Majesty, and prior to being remanded to the Select's custody he had already escaped from the Inquisition's cells once."