The room stays still after the door shuts. The Peacebringer’s blue hum hangs in the air, washing Thadeus’s hand and the doorway in a cold glow.
Marla holds her phone near her chest, watching the weapon like it might answer her. Elias keeps pacing a narrow line across the floor, then stops, then starts again.
Elias the Shopkeeper
I did not expect him to say it like that. Like he already knew us.
Thadeus lets the silence settle instead of forcing it open. The blue flare on the wall softens, still bright, but no longer climbing.
Marla
When you hit the wall, I thought he would explode. Instead he just... listened.
Thadeus Jovanović
The glow is steadier than before.
Elias the Shopkeeper
Maybe that is the point. Not to win. To make people stop long enough to hear themselves.
Marla lowers her phone a little. Elias finally stops pacing and looks at Thadeus, waiting, calmer now, as the blue light keeps breathing across the room.
✓ Quest Accepted
Talk with Marla about the recording
✓ Quest Accepted
Gather information about the Peacebringer
“Thadeus leaves his Leather Trenchcoat and Envelope in the apartment. On a coat rack in the apartment, Thadeus finds a black leather jacket, and puts in on.”
Thadeus slips off his leather trenchcoat and sets the envelope aside. On the coat rack, a black leather jacket waits, and he shrugs into it without fuss.
“I ask Marla to play back the recording so we can analyze what the Leader said.”
SUCCESS (Superb Reasoning, rolled -2)
Thadeus Jovanović
Marla, can you play the recording back so we can hear exactly what he said?
Marla
Yeah. I want to hear it again too.
She lifts the phone, thumb already moving. Elias shifts closer, watching the screen in the blue wash.
Marla
Here, listen. This is the part that mattered.
The room fills with the faint tinny playback, The Leader's voice low and stripped of its rallying edge.
The Leader
I came because I needed to know if it was real. Not for the crowd. For me.
Marla freezes the clip and looks up at Thadeus, ready to back it up if he wants more.
Quest Complete
Talk with Marla about the recording