At the archive landing, the heavy barred door looms ahead. Behind Frieda, the Inquisitor pants for breath. At the corridor’s edge, the Clerk hisses to the shadows, not for shelter, but for mercy from the men coming up behind him.
The Clerk
Not me. Let them have the others. Let them not take me.
A torchline swells in the passage. The Bishop’s men are not running to the archive, they are sweeping it, and the Clerk sees it at last. His whisper dies in his throat.
Sir Eleutherius
Step away from him, Clerk. If you meant to save yourself, you chose badly.
Sir Eleutherius plants himself between Frieda and the corridor, sword out, body square to the oncoming men. He does not look back. He keeps his oath with his whole frame.
The Clerk
I did not know they would come for me too... I swear it.
The first Bishop’s man slows at the landing, seeing Sir Eleutherius bar the way and the Clerk collapse into terror. The lie is exposed. The trap is not for Frieda. It is for witnesses.
✓ Quest Accepted
Protect the ledger from the Bishop’s men
“I grab the Inquisitor's arm and pull him toward the barred archive door.”
SUCCESS (Good Strength, rolled +1)
Frieda seizes the Inquisitor by the sleeve and hauls him back from the landing. His breath breaks in surprise as she drags him toward the barred door.
The Inquisitor
Easy. I am coming.
His boots scrape stone. The ledger stays tight against his chest as Frieda turns him bodily toward shelter, away from the torchline.
The Clerk
No, no... do not leave me here.
The Clerk flinches back from the corridor and loses his nerve completely. The first Bishop's man steps onto the landing and sees the Inquisitor yanked into Frieda's protection.
Sir Eleutherius
Hold there. The ledger stays with us.
Frieda reaches the door with the Inquisitor in tow. Eleutherius keeps the corridor barred, and the torchlight stalls at the edge of the steps.
Quest Complete
Protect the ledger from the Bishop’s men