Grey dawn leaks through the corridor slits, and Castle High Wind is already waking. King Hammon steps from the study with a guarded, unshaken pace, finding the guest passage calm at first glance.
Then he sees Getrin, awake before the sun, bent near one of his soldiers. The wizard's attention is fixed, but not on the sea now. The man against the wall shivers with a pallid face, breathing rough and shallow.
Getrin
My lord, he woke like this. I was watching the coast, then this pulled me away.
The soldier tries to steady himself, one hand braced on the stone, while the other clutches at his own sleeve. Around them, the corridor stays orderly and still, the guest door shut, the hall beyond quiet.
None of the nearby soldiers break rank, but several glance over with tight concern, waiting for Hammon's word.
King Hammon
The man is sick, not wounded.
Getrin straightens a little, visibly torn between guarding the sea and tending the man at his feet. Dawn gathers pale on the stone, and the moment settles into a small, uneasy pause, open for the king's response.
✓ Quest Accepted
Manage the sick soldier
“I say, ethrosise judges everyone in his territory by their morals, if i had to guess, this soldier failed his moral check on us.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled +3)
King Hammon
Ethrosise judges the shore by law and conduct. If I had to guess, this man has failed that judgment.
The words land cleanly in the cold corridor. Getrin pauses, then looks from Hammon to the shivering soldier as if weighing a new shape to an old fear.
Getrin
Then this is no common fever. He stood near the sea road at dusk, and the air was wrong around him.
At that, the soldier’s breathing eases a fraction, and the pallor in his face begins to thin, as though the king’s judgment has cut some hidden knot loose.
The Sick Soldier
I did not anger the coast on purpose, my lord. I only watched where I was told.
One of the dragon-crested men lowers his spear hand, surprised by the change, while another straightens with new respect toward the king’s certainty.
Getrin
If the serpent marked him, then I should know what sign was taken. Tell me what happened at the shore, and I will carry it plainly.
Quest Complete
Manage the sick soldier
“I say, ethrosise can feel your past trangressions, likely this man has done something foul in his past”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled +1)
King Hammon
Ethrosise can feel your past transgressions. This man likely carries one of them.
The corridor goes still around the judgment. The sick soldier swallows hard, and the fear in his face breaks into recognition.
The Sick Soldier
Then it is true... I did wrong by the shore years ago. I thought no beast saw me.
Getrin
A mark taken long ago, not a random sickness. That fits what I see.
The soldier lowers his gaze, shoulders shaking once, then steadies. The dragon-crested men do not move, but their grip on their spears loosens.
The Sick Soldier
I was young. I took stone from a tide shrine for my own luck, and I never returned it.
Getrin studies him in silence, then gives a single, grave nod, as if the shape of the offense matters more than the shame of it.
Getrin
Tell me where the shrine lies, and I will carry the story properly. A wrong named is easier to mend than a wrong hidden.
✓ Quest Accepted
Summon the night watch cleric
“I call for Owen our female night watch cleric before she retires for the night”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled +1)
King Hammon calls for the night watch cleric, and his voice carries cleanly down the stone corridor.
At once, the dragon-crested soldiers turn their heads toward the sound, and Getrin straightens as if the summons confirms the hold’s order.
Footsteps answer from farther along the passage, quick and measured over the flagstones.
Owen
You called, my king?
Owen steps into view with her night kit clasped under one arm, eyes going first to the sick soldier and then to King Hammon.
Owen
A sudden pallor, but no blood. This is a watch matter, then.
Getrin
The man names a wrong at the shore. I thought your cleric should hear it while the memory is fresh.
The sick soldier lowers his chin, waiting to be judged or tended, while the corridor holds its breath around Owen's arrival.
Quest Complete
Summon the night watch cleric
“I say, he took from a shrine and been inflicted for it”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled -1)
King Hammon
He took from a shrine, and now he is struck for it.
The words settle hard in the corridor. The sick soldier’s shoulders sag, and the nearest guards trade quick, troubled glances.
Owen
A shrine theft, then. That is not a common fever.
Owen
The pattern fits a warning, not a wasting sickness.
Getrin
If the stone was taken, it can be returned. Tell me what must be done.
The Sick Soldier
I did it. I know that now. I will make it right.
Owen kneels by the man’s side, already opening her kit, while the soldiers ease apart to give her room.
Owen
Then let us treat the body, and answer the shrine with honest restitution.
✓ Quest Accepted
Make amends for the shrine theft
“I say, the man biggest flaw is desperation, he needs to go on a pilgrimage to restore as he is too lost”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled +0)
King Hammon
Your biggest flaw is desperation. You need a pilgrimage to restore yourself, because you are too lost to mend this by words alone.
The corridor goes still again. Owen pauses with her kit open, and the sick soldier stares as if the sentence has found the shape of his guilt.
The Sick Soldier
A pilgrimage... yes. I will go where they teach the old dues and carry my shame openly.
Getrin
That is a harder restitution than coin, and a cleaner one. It gives the shrine more than an apology.
Owen
Then I will note it plainly, pilgrimage sworn, body tended, theft answered with labor and road.
She tears a strip of linen, binds the soldier’s wrist, and closes her kit with a careful snap. The guards watch in silence, their shoulders easing at the order of it.
The Sick Soldier
If I return changed, I will come back to this hold and name what I have done before all of you.
“I say, he should be taken soon as if he gets sicker here and out of your means i will have to charge for serious use of our services”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled +2)
King Hammon
Take him out soon. If he worsens here and costs the hold more in care, I will charge for serious use of our services.
The words land cleanly. Getrin straightens at once, and the soldiers shift to make room, no protest in them now.
Getrin
A fair hard line, then. We will not strain your hall for what should be finished elsewhere.
Owen
I can have him wrapped and moved before dawn, with water, bread, and the record sent after him.
The sick soldier swallows, then bows his head. Two guards step in to take his arms, careful and respectful.
The Sick Soldier
I go. I will not make your household bear what is mine.
The corridor changes with that decision. Duty replaces worry, and Castle High Wind looks controlled again, even as the escort forms around him.