At the monastery gates, an angry crowd presses around a wounded man-at-arms, a broad-shouldered adult man with a square, stubbled face, close-cropped brown hair, and a broken nose. His torn gambeson is dark with blood, yet he keeps one arm barred before a trembling prisoner.
The Wounded Man-At-Arms
Back away! He killed no merchant. The assassination rose from forbidden love across rank, and your obvious tale is a lie.
Mira Venn
Please, I never touched him. They will not hear me because his purse was found beside my door.
The crowd answers with mutters and raised fists. The prisoner is a pale young woman in a plain brown dress with a slight build, long ash-blond hair, and a small cut beneath one eye, her wrists bound loosely, while the man-at-arms sways against the gate.
A royal messenger pushes through, a lean middle-aged woman in a blue cloak with weathered features, iron-gray hair braided at her temples, and a long scar along her jaw, dust whitening her boots and a sealed parchment clutched in one hand.
The Royal Messenger
By order of Queen Charlotte, this matter is to be held until the Crown hears both accounts. No one leaves the gate.
The Wounded Man-At-Arms
Then let the prince hear us before these fools decide her fate. I swear the dead merchant was no innocent victim.
✓ Quest Accepted
Keep the royal family's connection out of the accusation
“Runs home to tell my dad and plus I need cuddles from my mother and at home my father is training my three older brothers and my mother is watching them while talking to a maid and worried about me”
SUCCESS (Legendary Agility, rolled +2)
Adrian races from the monastery gates through the castle passages, his white ponytail flying behind him. Servants flatten themselves against the walls as he hurries home.
In the inner yard, King George drills Arthur, Sebastian, and Leo beneath the watchful gaze of Queen Charlotte. A castle maid, a young adult woman with a slight build, warm brown skin, and dark hair tucked beneath a linen coif, wearing a plain russet dress and white apron, stands beside her, holding folded linen.
Queen Charlotte
There he is. My little one, come here at once. I have been worried sick.
Charlotte gathers Adrian against her, wrapping him in both arms and pressing his head beneath her chin. Her white hair brushes his cheek as she holds him close.
Still tucked against his mother, Adrian points urgently back toward the monastery gates, then reaches toward his father. George lowers his practice sword and gives him his full attention.
King George
Come, son. Tell me what happened. Your mother and I are listening.
Arthur, Sebastian, and Leo pause their training nearby while Charlotte keeps Adrian securely cuddled. The yard grows quiet around the youngest prince and his waiting father.
“Tells dad everything about the crime I heard in town but I am having trouble talking because I don't know some big words yet”
SUCCESS (Mediocre Reasoning, rolled +1)
Adrian tries to explain from his mother's arms, pointing toward the monastery and then toward his father. The important words tangle together in his small mouth.
Adrian de Vauclair
The hurt soldier said the merchant was not... not innocent. He said it was love, but forbidden, and the girl did not kill him.
Adrian de Vauclair
Her purse was found by her door, he said. She said she never touched the merchant. The messenger said nobody could leave until you heard both stories.
He pauses repeatedly over the larger words, rubbing one fist against his mother's gown. The tale comes out complete, though he cannot remember whether the purse belonged to the merchant or the prisoner.
King George
You have told me enough to understand the matter, son. That uncertainty about the purse is important, and I will have it checked.
Queen Charlotte
Well done, my little one. You did not need every grand word to bring the truth home.
George looks toward the castle doors, his scarred face hardening. Charlotte keeps Adrian close while the princes watch their father summon the nearest guards.
Quest Complete
Keep the royal family's connection out of the accusation
Attribute Upgrade: Reasoning Mediocre→Fair