Torchlight floods the chapel yard as the castle garrison gathers at the gate. The stolen chest, the priest's papers, the red-sealed scrap, all lie ready in Frieda's hands. Matthis and the Witness stand close behind her, pale but steadfast. At the front of the line, the Guard keeps his shield low and his eyes on the yard.
Ulrich
State it plain, chaplain. What have you found?
The riders at the edge of the yard stiffen, boxed in by spears and by the watching castle men. One of them shifts as if to speak, then thinks better of it.
The Witness
I saw the chest taken from the grave wall. I can swear to it before God.
Matthis
And the secret way, and the marks on the door. They fit the Bishop's men.
A murmur runs through the garrison. Helmets turn. More than one man looks from the evidence to the riders, and back again.
Ulrich
Then let Bishop Eisenfaust answer for his seal, his runners, and the dead priest.
The chapel bell hangs silent above them. Frieda stands at the center of it all, evidence in hand, while the whole yard waits for her next command.
“These documents prove that Bishop Eisenfaust has been plundering the church coffers for years, for his own nefarious purposes. We must bring this evidence and the witnesses to the imperial court at Schweinfurt swifty, before Eisenfaust can stop us.”
SUCCESS (Great Agility, rolled +3)
The yard fell silent around the chest and the blood-red scrap.
The Witness
I saw the seal. I heard their oath.
Matthis
And I carried the papers myself. Let them answer for that.
Frieda
Then let the court judge them, and Bishop Eisenfaust with them.
Ulrich
We stand with you, Frieda.
So the lie broke in the open air of the castle yard, and the bishop's shadow lost its shelter. Frieda had brought the proof through blood and road and fear, and now it rested in hands that could not easily be silenced. Behind her, the witnesses stood unbroken; before her, justice had at last been forced to listen.