Maryam reaches the neglected archive beneath Rifden’s courthouse, the idol warm beneath her cloak. Dust lies thick on private warrants and confiscation orders, untouched except near one cabinet.
The cabinet bears the hooked mark, freshly disturbed. Between warped shelves, several missing Rhukkhadevata names appear in an older hand, preserved where the crown’s records erased them.
Maryam
The idol’s warmth is stronger here.
A scrape sounds beyond the shelves. An elderly woman, one eyebrow bisected by a pale scar, steps into view, thin and severe, with brown skin, white hair braided close, and a courthouse clerk’s dark robe.
Ilyra Morn
You are far from the public records, girl. Put your hands where I can see them, and tell me who sent you.
Her gaze fixes on the cabinet rather than Maryam’s face. Somewhere behind the sealed shelves, a second presence shifts its weight, careful not to reveal itself.
✓ Quest Accepted
Learn who preserved the Rhukkhadevata names
Maryam's turn“"I am Maryam of clan Rhukkhadevata. I've come to find out what became of my people, and who brought them to their demise," I say earnestly.”
SUCCESS (Good Oratory, rolled -1)
Maryam's turn“"I am Maryam of clan Rhukkhadevata. I've come to find out what became of my people, and who brought them to their demise," I say earnestly.”
SUCCESS (Good Oratory, rolled +0)
Maryam
I am Maryam of clan Rhukkhadevata. I've come to find out what became of my people, and who brought them to their demise.
The clerk's severe composure breaks. Behind the shelves, the hidden watcher shifts again, no longer careful enough to conceal that Maryam's name has been heard.
Ilyra Morn
I am Ilyra Morn. Your people were not lost to raiders. Crown officials marked the Rhukkhadevata for removal, and magistrates here made the deaths appear lawful.
Ilyra Morn
The order came through the royal court. Lord Veyran carried it south, and Marshal Dask arranged the soldiers who burned your settlements. Their names are in that cabinet.
Ilyra unlocks the cabinet with a key sewn into her sleeve and draws out a thin black folio. The pages hold the execution order, its seals, and the names she has given.
The Hidden Watcher
You have said her name aloud, Ilyra. Now the court will know the survivor has found us.
Ilyra Morn
Then you owe me protection, Maryam of the Rhukkhadevata. Take the folio, but swear you will expose the court before you expose this archive.
The truth is placed in Maryam's hands, but her declaration has cost secrecy. Ilyra's demand binds the archive's survival to what Maryam does with the names.
Quest Complete
MaryamReach Rifden and investigate what summoned Maryam there
Attribute Upgrade: Willpower Good→Great
+ New Item Acquired
Black folio