As Lewis prepares to leave the neighboring house study, frantic barking erupts in the corridor. Goldy, a young golden retriever, skids around the corner, a torn school notice clenched in his jaws.
The Neighboring House Prefect
Stop that animal before it scatters the papers. Those notices are not for general inspection.
Goldy’s paws slide on the stone. The torn notice flaps from his mouth, revealing lines of handwriting, dates, and initials beneath the school’s formal heading.
Alexander Pavlovich Romanov
Do not seize it blindly. The writing may be more important than the dog’s intrusion.
At the far end of the corridor, a figure remains half-hidden beside the stairwell. He has plainly been waiting, and his attention fixes on the notice rather than the barking dog.
The Neighboring House Prefect
Lewis, recover the paper. Quietly. Then bring it directly here, without reading a word.
Goldy backs toward the stairwell, tail wagging uncertainly, while the waiting observer shifts his weight. The torn notice hangs between Lewis, the prefect, and whoever sent it moving.
✓ Quest Accepted
Recover the torn notice
✓ Quest Accepted
Determine whether the prefects’ record was altered
The younger boy must perform the assigned task or face the consequences of disobedience.
“I coax Goldy away from the stairwell and recover the torn notice.”
SUCCESS (Superb Willpower, rolled +0)
Lewis lowers himself slightly and coaxes Goldy away from the stairwell with patient gestures. The dog’s wagging tail slows, and his paws turn back across the stone.
When Goldy releases the notice, Lewis retrieves it at once. The torn paper is damp with saliva, its formal heading creased but its dates and initials still visible.
The Neighboring House Prefect
Good. Bring it here, Lewis. You were given an errand, and you have performed it properly.
Lewis carries the notice directly to the writing table without unfolding or studying it further. Goldy remains beside him, looking from the paper to the watching adults.
Alexander Pavlovich Romanov
That is the correct degree of obedience. You recovered the document without giving anyone cause to accuse you of reading it.
The waiting observer retreats half a pace beside the stairwell, then turns away. His departure is quiet, but the prefect notices it and closes the study door.
The Neighboring House Prefect
Now we may inspect what the dog found. Lewis, remain here. Goldy must be kept from making another disturbance.
Quest Complete
Recover the torn notice
+ New Item Acquired
Torn notice