The packet snaps against the desk and skids aside. The Inquisitor’s whisper cuts the study like a knife. So that was Hauer’s gift, not protection, but witnesses for an arrest.
The Inquisitor
He wanted your every move seen, every sharp word noted. If you fled, or resisted, the law would call it proof.
Frieda feels the trap lock into place, the guards at the gate, the clerks, the waiting seal. The escort was never for her safety. It was for her ruin.
Sir Eleutherius
Then Hauer chose well, and still he chose rightly.
Eleutherius steps into view at the study threshold, rain-dark cloak still on his shoulders, horse breathing hard in the yard beyond. He faces the Inquisitor, not Frieda, and holds his ground as if he has been waiting for this very accusation.
Sir Eleutherius
I did not bring her here to be seized. I brought her so the truth would reach this room.
The study tightens around the words. For one hard moment, Frieda sees it clearly, the knight was loyal to the law, not to the net cast around her.
“Erika clears her throat. "What crime have I committed? I was sent to investigate the death of Father Gersten. I collected evidence and presented it to the magistrate, who told me to bring it to you. If I am a criminal, with what am I charged?"”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +0)
Frieda
What crime have I committed? I was sent to investigate Father Gersten's death, and I brought the evidence here from the magistrate. If I am a criminal, tell me what I am charged with.
The Inquisitor
You are charged with bringing forbidden papers under false witness, and with speaking against holy authority before it can judge you.
The words land cold in the study. The packet lies where it fell, plain enough to see, plain enough to seize.
Sir Eleutherius
She came under warrant, and she asks for the charge openly. Name it, then, or call this what it is, fear in a scholar's robe.
The Inquisitor
He is not supposed to stand so near her. Not now, not here.
The Inquisitor's hand tightens on the desk edge, but he does not reach for the packet. For the first time, he answers Frieda with caution instead of command.
The Inquisitor
Then hear it plainly. I will question you, Frieda, before any writ is made against you.
“"You have not even looked at the evidence I presented you. It can answer far more convincingly than I can."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Oratory, rolled -1)
Frieda
You have not even looked at the evidence I brought. It can answer more plainly than I can.
The Inquisitor's gaze drops to the packet on the floor. His caution shifts, not gone, but bent toward curiosity.
The Inquisitor
Then let the papers speak. Bring them here.
Sir Eleutherius stays in the doorway, sword low, while Frieda reaches down and gathers the packet up again.
Frieda
The seal is still intact.
Frieda lays the packet on the desk between ink and wax, close enough for the Inquisitor to touch without a step.
The Inquisitor
I will inspect it myself. If it bears what you claim, that changes everything.
Quest Complete
Bring the forged evidence to the Inquisitor
Attribute Upgrade: Agility Superb→Legendary