The red ribbon flashes again at the archive landing, and the Bishop's men know it at once. Their blades dip. Marten steps from the shadow with his wrist raised, as if the cloth itself is a passphrase.
Marten
They know the mark. Good. Now they listen.
The Inquisitor
So that is your sign, courier. A mark for your own men, not a confession. Then speak plainly.
The Inquisitor turns the ledger in his gloved hands, reading the seal, the witness lines, the torn scrap, and Marten's ribbon together like pieces of one wound.
The Inquisitor
Bishop Eisenfaust's hand is plain here. These papers stand. The warrant stands. The Bishop's agents are named, and they are answered for.
A hard silence follows. On the stairs, the armed men do not advance. At the landing, Frieda holds the line while the court's verdict settles over the crypts like a closing iron gate.
“Frieda turns to the stairs. "It is up to you now. The Inquisitor has spoken. Will you face the court's justice and God's mercy, or will you raise your hands against both Church and Empire, or will you flee? I do not judge, and I will not pursue, but I will fight until my last breath if necessary"”
SUCCESS (Legendary Oratory, rolled -1)
Frieda turns from the ledger to the stairs and speaks into the torchlit hush. Her words are calm, carrying cleanly through stone, and the landing listens.
Frieda
It is up to you now. The Inquisitor has spoken. Face the court's justice and God's mercy, or raise your hands against Church and Empire, or flee. I do not judge, and I will not pursue, but I will fight until my last breath if necessary.
For a breath, no one moves. Then the men on the stairs lower their points a fraction, and one step after another, they begin to give ground.
Sir Eleutherius
That is well spoken, chaplain. You have given them a lawful road out, and that matters.
Magistrate Hauer
Aye. Let the record show it. They were warned, and they heard it from a priest of the Order.
The Inquisitor
Then let them choose. The court is not hungry for blood, only for truth. Those who surrender may yet be counted among the repentant.
The cloaked monk near the wall lowers his head, uneasy but silent. Beside him, the younger monk with the lantern keeps his light fixed on the stairs, as if waiting to see who will become witness and who will become prisoner.
✓ Quest Accepted
Secure the surrender of the men on the stairs
“"Drop your weapons if you wish to surrender. There is mercy here for those who will testify, and absolution for those who repent their sins, but only the desperate life of an outlaw for those who flee."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Oratory, rolled +3)
Frieda
Drop your weapons if you surrender. There is mercy here for those who testify, and absolution for those who repent, but only the outlaw's life for those who flee.
Her voice settles over the stairwell like a seal pressed into wax. The foremost men exchange glances, and several hands open slowly.
Sir Eleutherius
That is the hard kindness of a true witness. You speak as one who means the words.
Magistrate Hauer
Record it. The court hears the offer, and the choice.
The Inquisitor
Let the red ribbon be seen. It marks the line they crossed, and it marks who sent them.
At the mention of the ribbon, one armed man looks down at the strip on Marten's wrist and swallows. Another sets his blade on the stone.
The Inquisitor
My name is Brother Konrad. Speak plainly, and those who kneel will not be dragged from this place.
The younger monk lifts his lantern higher, startled by the name, while the cloaked monk keeps his head bowed, still and uneasy.
Quest Complete
Secure the surrender of the men on the stairs