Zey Yeni leads the wounded deserter and the gathered Wolsurian clans along the forest path toward the Emerald village, their voices fading into plans for healing and defense. Nadia remains behind with Maelin Voss and Corren Vale.
Corren leads them through the abandoned gate, spear lowered, beneath torn Amethyst banners. Ash-gray homes lean inward, and weeds thread the old paths toward the elders’ quarter.
Corren Vale
This bend was one of the paths I revealed. The Imperial informant asked for routes that avoided the main road and reached the elders’ homes unseen.
Near the collapsed Veyas home, Corren kneels beside a half-buried stone threshold and brushes away splintered wood. Beneath it, a narrow hollow opens into an old concealed meeting place.
Maelin Voss
Search carefully. If your contact left a token or message, it may prove who within the Empire received your information.
Corren reaches into the dust and finds only a frayed cord at first. Then his fingers stop against something solid beneath the fallen stones, while Maelin watches and the ruined quarter holds its silence.
✓ Quest Accepted
Find tangible evidence identifying Corren’s Imperial contact
Director's note
Maelin will notice Nadia's gaze; she won't know of her past yet, but she can deduce she has something she hasn't said, most likely due to her status as a Royal Guard
“*Nadia's gaze shifts away from the search; instead, it shifts to the building they stood in front of. Her gaze is sorrowful, angry, and confused.*....... *she'd then snap back to Vale as he seemed to find something* Vale. Have you found something?”
SUCCESS (Good Perception, rolled +1)
Nadia’s gaze leaves the shattered Veyas home. Sorrow and anger darken her face as she studies its leaning walls, searching the ruin for an answer the ashes never gave her.
Maelin Voss
She has stood before these ruins before. Whatever happened here, the girl carries it closer than any report could show.
Nadia Veyas
Vale. Have you found something?
Corren draws his hand from beneath the stones, holding a narrow iron-bound case furred with dust. A faint blue sigil, shaped like a split crown, marks its lid.
Corren Vale
Yes. This was hidden here. I have never seen the mark, but the case was placed after the massacre. Someone wanted this message preserved.
Maelin crouches beside him without touching the case. Her eyes remain on Nadia for a moment, recognizing the fixed attention beneath the wolf-girl’s silence, then return to the unfamiliar sigil.
Maelin Voss
Open it carefully. If that symbol belongs to an Imperial office, this may tell us who received Corren’s routes and why your village was selected.
“*Nadia's attention fully switches back to Vale. She'd kneel on his other side, studying the sigil; she wouldn't recognize it. This one is new.* Voss, I know it isn't your job to tell me, hell. Why you're still here is beyond me. But have you seen this mark before...? if anyone here would know, it would be you. you are a messenger for the Royal Guard, the closest anyone would get to Imperial High Command other than your Captain..”
SUCCESS (Fair Reasoning, rolled +4)
Nadia kneels beside Corren on the case’s other side, her attention settling fully on the split-crown sigil. The mark is unfamiliar, its blue lines sharp against dust-dark iron.
Nadia Veyas
Voss, I know it isn't your job to tell me why you're still here. But have you seen this mark before? If anyone would know, it would be you. You serve the Royal Guard, close to Imperial High Command, short of your captain.
Maelin studies the sigil without touching the case. Nadia’s fixed gaze holds her there, and the courier recognizes an unspoken history beneath the question, something closer to the ruins than any report.
Maelin Voss
Yes. The split crown is the seal of the Ashen Registry, an intelligence office that answers through sealed channels to Imperial High Command. It is not used for ordinary orders.
Maelin Voss
This case was meant for a Registry courier, not Ferric’s field command. The mark proves your village was selected through a covert Imperial record, and I can identify its routing cipher.
Maelin points to a nearly invisible notch beneath the lid, then gives Nadia the cipher aloud: a three-stroke crown crossed by a downward line. It identifies the receiving archive in Renova.
Maelin Voss
If the case contains a message, its record was intended for the Ashen Registry’s Renova archive. I can read the routing marks and tell you which Imperial chain received it.
The distinction changes the case from a traitor’s hidden token into a direct lead toward Imperial intelligence. Corren remains silent, his hand hovering beside the lid.
Director's note
Maelin would know the meaning of what Nadia stated, and, another hint of Nadia's past. she now knows she a surviving Amethyst Clan member, which in the reports, states that none survived
“*Her heart skips a beat.... a secret intelligence unit.....* spies........*she says through gritted teeth* Corren... open the case, if this all true..then someone from the capital is on a extermination quest... and the Wolsurians are the first... the Amethysts were just a test.... *she now knows that its not just about the lives of the Mystic Forest Clans... this could be the start of a all-out war*”
SUCCESS (Great Willpower, rolled +3)
Nadia Veyas
The mark belongs to a secret Imperial intelligence office.
Nadia Veyas
Corren, open the case. If this is true, someone in the capital is pursuing an extermination campaign, and the Wolsurians are only the beginning.
Corren meets Nadia’s fixed stare, then places both hands on the iron-bound case. Under her command, his hesitation breaks. He works the concealed catch with a bent pin from his belt.
Corren Vale
Then let the truth condemn them. I am opening it.
The lid releases with a dry click. Inside rests a folded black vellum sheet, a Registry cipher wheel, and a second sealed slip bearing Four clan names: Amethyst, Emerald, Ruby, and Lapis.
Maelin Voss
That is not a field report. The cipher wheel identifies campaign authorization, and those names mean the operation extends beyond the Amethyst settlement.
Maelin’s gaze returns to Nadia, sharpening as the implication settles. The courier now understands that the surviving Amethyst witness stands before her, despite every Imperial report claiming none escaped.
Quest Complete
Find tangible evidence identifying Corren’s Imperial contact
Attribute Upgrade: Reasoning Fair→Good
“So it's true then. Your Empire's true form has revealed its horrid fangs... they want the eradication of Demi-Humans. And they're starting with those in the forest. *They want a war. They want an eradication. why? Why after all these years? Why did they wait a full decade and a half to enact this disgusting plan? She punches the wall they lie beside; a indentation is left behind, and a bloodied hand. Tears begin to form under the wolf-girl's eyes, a sign that she is losing herself. She stands up and turns away from the two, the betrayer and the courier. More questions have been made than have been answered.* I have to warn my people... *she finally says after 5 minutes of silence.* Vale, you are to follow me and answer for your misjudgment. By taking up arms, your Elders would have been made aware of you by now. *She then turns to face Voss. Whatever you do now is up to you. Return to your god-forsaken boss. Altis knows what he'd do if you returned now, or don't. I don't care.”
SUCCESS (Mediocre Strength, rolled +2)
Nadia Veyas
Why now, after fifteen years? Why begin with the forest clans?
Nadia’s fist strikes the ruined wall beside the case. Stone gives beneath the blow, leaving a sharp indentation; the impact tears her knuckles, and blood darkens her hand. Tears gather beneath her eyes as she turns away from the betrayer and the courier.
Five silent minutes pass among the broken stones. The black vellum, cipher wheel, and four-clan seal remain exposed behind her, while Corren lowers his gaze and Maelin watches Nadia’s rigid back.
Nadia Veyas
I have to warn my people. Vale, you will follow me and answer for your misjudgment. If you had taken up arms, your elders would have known you by now.
Corren Vale
I will follow. I will answer for every path I gave them, and for believing their promise could protect my family.
Nadia Veyas
Voss, what you do now is your choice. Return to your cursed captain, or do not. I will not decide your fate for you.
Maelin Voss
You have mistaken my silence for obedience. I will not carry this case back to Ferric. But I will not pretend the road ahead is safe, either.
Maelin lifts the black vellum and cipher wheel, then offers them toward Nadia without crossing the space between them. Behind her, Corren retrieves his spear and waits for Nadia to lead toward the Emerald village.