Heavy steps halt outside Maryam’s quarters. The door opens, and Captain Coldcock enters in a rain-darkened guard coat, broad-shouldered and iron-gray, with a scar cutting through one eyebrow; Arthur follows in militant gear, helmet tucked beneath his arm and sword belted tight.
Coldcock
Maryam. Where is the report Carmin carried away?
Coldcock closes the door behind him with deliberate care. Arthur remains near it, watchful, turning the small orderly room into a checkpoint rather than a place of rest.
Arthur
The captain was told Carmin had the registry, the red twine, and your account of the eastern trail.
Coldcock
Tomorrow’s judgment is no longer tomorrow. I need the facts tonight, before rumor gets there first.
Rain whispers against the shutters. Coldcock’s authority fills the narrow quarters, but he has not drawn steel or barred Maryam from speaking, and the night’s decision remains open to her.
Maryam's turn“I take a step back. 'Something odd is going on... What we found at the village was being hidden, but we don't know by who... Coldcock silenced that goblin before he could speak, could he be... a traitor to the crown..? Could he be involved with this? Or is it all the crown's doing?' I thought, beginning to spiral. But no, the crown would never bring harm to its citizens... Still... Why don't I trust the captain? I scratch the back of my palm. "Yes, sir. Carmin is in possession of the evidence we recovered at the scene".”
SUCCESS (Good Willpower, rolled -1)
Maryam's turn“I take a step back. 'Something odd is going on... What we found at the village was being hidden, but we don't know by who... Coldcock silenced that goblin before he could speak, could he be... a traitor to the crown..? Could he be involved with this? Or is it all the crown's doing?' I thought, beginning to spiral. But no, the crown would never bring harm to its citizens... Still... Why don't I trust the captain? I scratch the back of my palm. "Yes, sir. Carmin is in possession of the evidence we recovered at the scene".”
SUCCESS (Good Willpower, rolled +1)
Maryam takes a measured step back and scratches the back of her palm. Coldcock’s arrival presses the room tighter, but her breathing steadies beneath his scrutiny.
Maryam
The hidden registry, the silenced goblin, and the captain’s part in it do not fit together. I do not know why I distrust Coldcock.
Maryam
Yes, sir. Carmin is in possession of the evidence we recovered at the scene.
Coldcock
The registry, the red twine, and your account? He took all three beyond my reach?
Arthur
He carried them toward the captain’s quarters, sir. I saw him leave with the bundle secured beneath his cloak.
Coldcock studies Maryam for a long moment, then shifts aside from the door. Arthur remains posted there, alert but no longer blocking the room entirely.
Coldcock
Then you will give me your account now, exactly as you remember it. Start with the hidden tube beneath the grain shed.
Maryam's turn“"He did not mean anything by it. You know the young prince, he likes to have the facts organized..." I quickly dismissed. 'What could Carmin have been hiding..?' I thought. Was anyone to be trusted? I musn't falter now. I recount what I saw with clarity- Regardless of who to trust, keeping my own facts straight and upholding truth and integrity will be the approach I take.”
SUCCESS (Fair Oratory, rolled +0)
Maryam's turn“"He did not mean anything by it. You know the young prince, he likes to have the facts organized..." I quickly dismissed. 'What could Carmin have been hiding..?' I thought. Was anyone to be trusted? I musn't falter now. I recount what I saw with clarity- Regardless of who to trust, keeping my own facts straight and upholding truth and integrity will be the approach I take.”
SUCCESS (Fair Oratory, rolled +2)
Maryam
He did not mean anything by it. You know the young prince likes to have the facts organized. Carmin carried the registry, the red twine, and my account because I asked him to deliver them safely.
Maryam keeps her voice level and recounts the discovery beneath the grain shed: the hidden tube, the registry strip, the altered entry, and the matching red twine found along the eastern trail.
Maryam
Carmin opened the tube carefully, copied the names, and preserved what we found. Orren traced the cart’s path toward the shrine, but the rain erased the trail. We did not pursue the missing family.
She gives the sequence without embellishment, including her order to stop investigating and return home. Coldcock listens with his hands still at his sides, while Arthur watches the captain’s face.
Coldcock
That is clear enough. Carmin was acting under your instruction, not concealing the evidence from the guard. I will hear his copy before I judge the altered entry.
Arthur
The account matches what I saw when Carmin departed. The bundle remained beneath his cloak, secured and unopened.
Maryam's turn“"Yes, well, that was all we found, sir... Say, was there anything of note at the relic site?"”
FAILURE (Fair Oratory, rolled -3)
Maryam
Yes, well, that was all we found, sir. Say, was there anything of note at the relic site?
The question lands as a turn in the road, but Coldcock does not follow it. His gaze stays fixed on Maryam, weighing the evasion rather than the ruins.
Coldcock
There was, but that is not your concern yet. You are giving me an account, not questioning my investigation.
Arthur
The relic site remains under the captain’s authority. The young prince will receive its report when the captain is ready.
Arthur’s answer closes the offered path as firmly as a barred gate. Coldcock steps toward the table and extends one gloved hand, palm upward.
Coldcock
You will write this account again before dawn, with every uncertainty marked plainly. Then you will come with me while I hear Carmin’s copy.
The captain’s demand turns Maryam’s attempted retreat into an immediate escort and a formal record. Arthur opens the door, waiting for her to move first.
✓ Quest Accepted
Present the full evidence of the eastern incident to Coldcock
Maryam's turn“I shoot Arthur a glare- I don't need his damn reiteration of everything the captain says like I'm some kind of dolt. 'I love my captain- I have always trusted him... So... Why now is his urgency regarding this incident so concerning? Goblin religion would never have been such a dire topic any other day... So why now is the captain in such a fuss over it?' I rationalized in my head. Regardless of how I feel, I give my best, honest account.”
FAILURE (Fair Oratory, rolled -1)
Maryam's turn“I shoot Arthur a glare- I don't need his damn reiteration of everything the captain says like I'm some kind of dolt. 'I love my captain- I have always trusted him... So... Why now is his urgency regarding this incident so concerning? Goblin religion would never have been such a dire topic any other day... So why now is the captain in such a fuss over it?' I rationalized in my head. Regardless of how I feel, I give my best, honest account.”
SUCCESS (Fair Oratory, rolled +2)
Maryam shoots Arthur a sharp glare, then turns back to Coldcock. She gives the captain her account without trimming away her own orders or the trail’s uncertainty.
Maryam
I have always trusted my captain. Why does goblin religion suddenly trouble him so much, when it never did before?
She recounts the concealed tube beneath the grain shed, Carmin’s careful opening, the registry’s farm entries, and the altered mark beneath one rewritten name.
She describes the blood-dark cart, its snapped harness, and the red twine found along the eastern trail, including Orren’s report that the tracks turned toward the shrine.
Coldcock
That is a complete account. You have given me what you witnessed, what you ordered, and what remains unknown.
Arthur
Carmin’s copy can be compared against it without contradiction, Captain.
Coldcock
You will come with me to hear Carmin’s copy. Tonight, I will explain why the shrine matters.
✓ Quest Accepted
Receive Coldcock's explanation of the shrine's significance
− Scene Quest Removed
Present the full evidence of the eastern incident to Coldcock
Maryam's turn“"Understood, sir. Thank you for your time, apologies for the miscommunication,"”
SUCCESS (Fair Oratory, rolled +0)
Maryam's turn“"Understood, sir. Thank you for your time, apologies for the miscommunication,"”
FAILURE (Fair Oratory, rolled -3)
Maryam
Understood, sir. Thank you for your time, apologies for the miscommunication.
The apology is properly spoken, but its polished formality lands like a closed door. Coldcock hears obedience without the easy reconciliation Maryam intended, and his expression remains unreadable.
Coldcock
Accepted. Keep your account precise, Maryam. Courtesy does not replace clarity, especially where a shrine and missing families are concerned.
He turns toward the open doorway rather than inviting further explanation. Arthur steps aside, leaving the passage clear, while the captain’s decision makes another apology pointless and sends the matter onward.
Arthur
Carmin is waiting with the copied record, Captain. He will want the comparison made in his presence.
Coldcock
Then we go to him now. Bring your cloak, Maryam. This report leaves your quarters with us, and no detail is to be added from memory afterward.
Maryam's turn“"Understood, sir. Thank you for your time, apologies for the miscommunication,"”
SUCCESS (Fair Oratory, rolled +2)
Maryam takes her cloak from its peg and follows Coldcock into the rain-cooled passage. Arthur falls in behind them, keeping the quarters and its unanswered questions at their backs.
Coldcock
The shrine is not merely a goblin haunt. Its symbols appeared in records tied to farms, deliveries, and bloodline rites. That makes the missing families part of a larger design.
Arthur
Carmin has been waiting in the captain’s quarters. He refused to hand over the copy until you were present for the comparison.
They cross the narrow guard passage beneath dripping eaves. At the captain’s quarters, Carmin stands beside a table, the copied registry laid flat beneath a weighted cup.
Carmin
I preserved the altered entry exactly as I found it. The older mark is not a family notation. It matches the symbol beneath the grain shed.
Coldcock bends over the copy without touching it. Arthur closes the door, and Carmin turns the page toward Maryam so every erased stroke remains visible in the lamplight.
Quest Complete
MaryamReceive Coldcock's explanation of the shrine's significance
Skill Upgrade: Oratory Fair→Good