Bellmere Guard:4 leads Matsudai onto the western watch platform, carrying the folded bandages and wooden cup. The stolen cloak and torn tower banner remain plainly visible.
Surviving defenders gather around the parapet, weapons lowered but not sheathed. Some bow from habit; others watch the bloodstained cloak and the crimson-marked banner with guarded uncertainty.
Bellmere Guard:4
My lord, these soldiers obeyed your commands and helped reclaim the gatehouse. They deserve to know whose authority saved them.
Bellmere Defender:5
We followed the orders, and the gates held. But no true lord has named himself, and your cloak belonged to the enemy watch.
The defender steps forward beneath the banner’s pale runes. Below, fresh sentries secure the courtyard while smoke drifts over the battered eastern road.
Bellmere Defender:5
Give us a clear account. What threatens the mage’s tower, and why did your orders command our soldiers to abandon the gatehouse before the retreat?
Magical Messenger:2
Towerward resonance persists. The banner’s sigil matches the hidden passage that brought Matsudai into Bellmere. Defenders await his explanation.
“I introduce myself as lord of an old family from distant lands. I remove the grauds cloak and pack it away cust in case. I recount how I sent the intruders away explaining that if you speak with authority people will usually listen.”
SUCCESS (Great Willpower, rolled +0)
Matsudai
I am Matsudai, lord of an old family from distant lands. I took command because Bellmere needed it.
Matsudai removes the stolen guard’s cloak and folds it beneath his arm, then packs it away with the care of a useful disguise preserved for later.
Matsudai
The intruders obeyed because I spoke with authority. When you sound certain, people will usually listen.
The torn tower banner stirs above him. Several defenders exchange wary glances, measuring the red kimono, the noble claim, and the empty platform where the enemy watchman fell.
Bellmere Defender:5
Then your authority saved our gate, my lord, though it wore an enemy’s cloak. Why does the mage’s banner answer you?
Bellmere Guard:4
Whatever his house, he gave orders that held. I witnessed the soldiers abandon their posts and leave Bellmere.
Magical Messenger:2
Account received. Noble claim remains unverified. Towerward resonance continues, and the banner recognizes Matsudai’s passage.
“"Maybe it answers because I have high magic?" I retrieve my original black, red-trimmed, tattered cloak with my noble family symbol, a four-pointed shuriken with a sakura, on both sides of the chest and the back, put it back on, and make my way to the tower, issuing orders to secure the town on the way.”
SUCCESS (Great Agility, rolled -1)