The command tent falls into a hard hush as Zukalina steps in with the seal and ledger held high. Captain Marad straightens from his desk, his annoyance draining into a cold, guarded stare.
Zukalina
Marad is the one who cut the march apart.
Rusiki and Elara hold the threshold behind her, sealing the flap and cutting off the easy exits. Dispatches, wax scraps, and a stained map crowd Marad’s desk like a confession laid bare.
Captain Marad
You come armed with scraps and accusations. Say what you think you know.
Zukalina sets the ledger down beside the broken seal ribbon. The forged marks line up too neatly to dismiss, and Marad’s eyes flick to them before he can stop himself.
Elara
The seal is yours. The routes are yours. The damage is yours, too.
Captain Marad
I altered orders to keep this army from breaking itself on bad ground. The march survives if we change course now. The oasis is the only way to save it.
✓ Quest Accepted
Secure Marad’s submission
“Draw my scimitar and force Marad to his knees.”
SUCCESS (Great Melee Combat, rolled +2)
Zukalina’s scimitar flashes free in one smooth arc. Marad jerks back too late, and the blade bites past his desk, forcing him off balance as she drives him down to one knee in the sand-packed floor.
Captain Marad
So this is your answer, then? Steel instead of judgment?
His hand braces on the desk, but the point at his throat leaves him still. Rusiki stiffens at the threshold, while Elara’s gaze locks on Marad like a verdict written in ink.
Elara
Your judgment was the forged seal. Your judgment was the stolen route.
Captain Marad
I redirected the march to save it. You think one clean honor matters more than an army reaching water?
The oil-stained map trembles under his knuckles. Around it, the command-tent knot and the broken seal ribbon lie exposed beside the ledger, and the guard at the flap shifts his grip as the room waits on Zukalina’s next word.
Quest Complete
Secure Marad’s submission