Veyra stands beside the rough table, its surface crowded with charcoal-marked routes, sealed packets, and hastily copied supply tallies. One packet bears the name of a Sanbreque village.
Lanternlight catches the silver knot-token at Veyra’s green cloak. Beyond the stacked stone, distant movement stirs among the quarry shadows, followed by the muted scrape of shifting gear.
Veyra Dask
The hidden force marches before sunrise. Jorren’s orders have gathered more than raiders, and these tallies show provisions for a column.
She draws the Sanbreque packet closer but does not break its seal. Her finger follows a charcoal line from the quarry toward the eastern pass, then stops at three unmarked stones.
Veyra Dask
I know where they will assemble, but not what summons them. A horn, a lantern, a runner, perhaps a signal hidden in the old quarry marks.
Another stir passes beyond the stacked stone, closer now. Veyra’s hand hovers above the packets, while the marked routes promise several answers and almost no time to test them.
“"Why are you telling me this?" Betram asks. "I thought you worked for Ser Jorren? What game are you playing?"”
SUCCESS (Great Diplomacy, rolled +3)
Betram Steelstream
Why are you telling me this? I thought you worked for Ser Jorren. What game are you playing?
Veyra studies Betram across the lanternlit table. The guarded suspicion in her face gives way to a measured respect, and she breaks the seal on the Sanbreque packet.
Veyra Dask
I worked for Jorren because refusal meant my family vanished into his prisons. I have been altering his tallies, delaying his orders, and waiting for someone strong enough to stop him without slaughter.
She turns the packet toward Betram. Inside is a copied order naming the eastern pass as a false target and identifying Jorren’s true commander as Lord Maelor Vey.
Veyra Dask
That is my game: turn their invasion aside before Sanbreque answers it with fire. The three stones conceal a postern stair. It reaches the command chamber beneath the quarry.
Veyra gathers the remaining packets and steps away from the table, leaving the opened proof within Betram’s reach. The hidden stair offers a direct path to the enemy command.
✓ Quest Accepted
Confront Lord Maelor Vey
“Betram asks what this commanders force consists of. Raiders hired locally or trained Veldemarke soldiers?”
SUCCESS (Great Diplomacy, rolled +0)
Betram Steelstream
What does Maelor’s force consist of? Raiders hired locally, or trained Veldemarke soldiers?
Veyra Dask
Both, but not in equal measure. The local raiders are a screen, useful for burning villages and provoking Sanbreque. The core is Veldemarke-trained.
Veyra taps the charcoal routes, then separates the supply tallies into two neat stacks. Her confidence grows as the question gives her a clearer way to expose the threat.
Veyra Dask
Perhaps two dozen trained soldiers hold the command cadre. More than forty local blades support them, poorly disciplined but familiar with the ravines.
Veyra Dask
Maelor’s veterans carry Veldemarke arms and march under strict signals. They will seize the pass, while the hired men make the first blood and leave Sanbreque blamed.
She turns another tally toward Betram. It lists grain, arrows, and binding cord for a force larger than a village raid, but small enough to move before dawn without a full baggage train.
Veyra Dask
If you want peace, stop the trained core first. The locals may scatter when their protection fails, and fewer lives need be spent.
✓ Quest Accepted
Secure Veyra's cooperation against Maelor's force
“Betram asks what will happen if he kills the Veldemarke soldiers. Will it cause a diplomatic incident? Or are they technically operating as a rogue force?”
SUCCESS (Great Diplomacy, rolled +2)
Betram Steelstream
If I kill the Veldemarke soldiers, does that cause a diplomatic incident? Or are they acting as a rogue force?
Veyra Dask
They are a rogue force, not an army acting under the authority of Veldemarke’s crown. Maelor’s orders are concealed, and his operation violates the terms of his own command.
Veyra sets the supply tallies aside and meets Betram’s gaze. The distinction is carefully drawn, but the bloodshed would still carry a political price if survivors or proof were absent.
Veyra Dask
If you kill them while defending Sanbreque, Veldemarke may protest and Maelor may deny everything. It need not become a diplomatic incident if you preserve these orders and leave witnesses alive.
Veyra Dask
The trained core is operating outside lawful command. Their deaths would be treated as combat against an unlawful invasion force, though the crown could still exploit them as martyrs.
She taps the copied order naming Maelor, then indicates the sealed packets. The proof can establish that the soldiers acted under his hidden direction rather than Veldemarke’s declared policy.
Veyra Dask
So the plain answer is this: they are rogue forces, and stopping them is lawful defense. Capture is safer for peace, but killing them would not by itself make Sanbreque the aggressor.
“Betram sighs and nods. "Then I simply best them, rather than exterminate them. Would you be willing to help me as a scout? I would vouch for you with Sanbreque when this is over, to clear your name.”
SUCCESS (Great Diplomacy, rolled -3)
Betram Steelstream
Then I simply best them, rather than exterminate them. Will you scout with me? I will vouch for you with Sanbreque and clear your name.
Betram’s promise settles over the lanternlit table. Veyra studies him in silence, one hand resting beside Maelor’s copied order and the sealed packets.
Veyra Dask
I will scout for you. But your word must be written beside mine, with your seal or sworn signature. Otherwise Sanbreque will call me a convenient traitor and hang me when this is done.
She offers Betram a blank strip of vellum, accepting his protection while making its political cost plain: his name will stand publicly beside hers and against Maelor’s hidden command.
Veyra Dask
I can lead you through the postern stair, mark the guards, and show you where the command chamber lies. Once we enter, I will follow your judgment on restraint.
Veyra gathers the route tallies and tucks the silver knot-token beneath her cloak. Her agreement is firm, but the offered vellum leaves Betram responsible for her fate before Sanbreque’s court.
Quest Complete
Secure Veyra's cooperation against Maelor's force
Skill Upgrade: Diplomacy Great→Superb
“Betram agrees and writes out his testimony on her innocence. He signs it with his name and status as the Empire's Dominant.”
SUCCESS (Superb Diplomacy, rolled +0)
Betram accepts the blank vellum from Veyra and lays it beside Maelor’s copied order. He writes a measured account of her coercion, altered tallies, and efforts to prevent the invasion.
His testimony names Veyra as an unwilling operative under threat, distinguishes her actions from Maelor’s unlawful command, and vouches for her innocence before Sanbreque’s court.
At the bottom, Betram signs his full name and status as the Empire’s Dominant. The ink dries beside the copied order, binding his protection to hers in plain script.
Veyra Dask
This is stronger than a promise whispered in a quarry. Your name can force Sanbreque to hear me before judgment falls.
Veyra lifts the signed vellum carefully, reading every line beneath the lantern. Her guarded expression loosens when she reaches the final declaration of lawful protection.
Veyra Dask
Then I will lead you below. Maelor’s veterans are gathering now, and the first guard change will show us the safest way into the command chamber.
✓ Quest Accepted
Enter Maelor's command chamber
“He nods and follows her below. Heading directly for the command chamber.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Agility, rolled +3)
Betram nods and follows Veyra into the postern stair. He moves lightly over the ancient cuts in the stone, keeping pace without disturbing a single loose shard.
Veyra Dask
The first guard change is beginning above us. Their attention will turn toward the western tunnel, leaving the command chamber unwatched for several breaths.
Veyra slips through a narrow side passage and signals Betram onward. Together they pass beneath the shifting footsteps, then emerge behind a carved stone screen overlooking the chamber.
The command chamber lies directly below. Maps cover its central table, and a hooded lantern reveals Lord Maelor Vey’s marked routes, sealed orders, and a roster of the trained core.
Veyra Dask
There. The roster names every Veldemarke veteran and records their departure before dawn. With it, Sanbreque can identify the force without mistaking the local blades for a royal army.
Betram and Veyra reach the command chamber’s concealed entrance unseen. From this position, the roster and Maelor’s orders are within immediate reach, while the chamber’s occupants remain unaware.
Quest Complete
Enter Maelor's command chamber