Imperial riders emerge through the silver mist and halt within sight of the shrine. Their horses stamp in the mud, pennants hanging limp beneath the rain.
At their head sits High Marshal Grahamin, an older, broad-shouldered man in battered plate and a deep blue surcoat. His copper face is weathered, his brown curls streaked with gray.
High Marshal Grahamin
Hold position. No one advances.
The soldiers lower their weapons but do not relax. Grahamin studies Effruin through the mist, recognition hardening his expression without becoming fury.
Vas the Vanguard
That is not mercy. It is the last breath before a cage.
Vas shifts toward the rear of the shrine, keeping the stonework between himself and the riders. His hands remain empty, though his shoulders tense beneath the weathered leather.
High Marshal Grahamin
Effruin. You have a narrow chance to speak before this becomes an arrest. Use it, if you have anything worth saying.
✓ Quest Accepted
Avoid imperial arrest
Director's note
Effruin acknowledges Grahamin with utmost respect
“Greetings, Grahamin. I tell you that I seek no quarrel with you, and that I have no part in Vas' banditry.”
SUCCESS (Good Reasoning, rolled +4)
Effruin
Greetings, Grahamin. I seek no quarrel with you, and I have no part in Vas’s banditry.
Effruin gives High Marshal Grahamin his full attention beneath the rain-dark shrine roof. The riders remain poised, but the moment does not break into violence.
High Marshal Grahamin
Your courtesy is noted, Effruin. I believe you. Vas answers for his raids, while you answer only for yourself.
Vas the Vanguard
Believe him quickly, then. Every breath spent beneath these pennants serves the empire.
High Marshal Grahamin
You are not under arrest. Leave the shrine by the eastern track, and my riders will not pursue you. The patrols there have been recalled to the river forts.
High Marshal Grahamin raises two fingers, and his soldiers ease their weapons. The eastern track opens behind the shrine, clear of mounted pursuit and watched only by the thinning rain.
Quest Complete
Avoid imperial arrest
Attribute Upgrade: Reasoning Good→Great
✓ Quest Accepted
Learn Grahamin’s purpose
“Does Grahamin seek something from me beyond Vas's capture?”
NO, AND WORSE (Unlikely, rolled 96)
High Marshal Grahamin
No, Effruin. I seek nothing from you beyond the truth you have already given. Vas is the reason I came.
A horn answers from the eastern track, low and urgent. High Marshal Grahamin turns toward it, and the ease leaves his face as rain-dark pennants rise beyond the hedges.
Vas the Vanguard
You said that road was clear.
High Marshal Grahamin
It was. Someone has recalled the patrols and sent them here instead. That order did not come from me.
Hoofbeats gather on both sides of the shrine. The soldiers under High Marshal Grahamin’s command tighten formation, while distant voices call Vas the Vanguard’s name and add Effruin’s to the warrant.
High Marshal Grahamin
Worse, the order now brands you accomplice to his raids. I can deny it here, but once those riders arrive, my word may not matter.
Vas the Vanguard
There is your empire’s mercy, drow. It gives you one road, then closes every road behind you.
“I use a stunning strike to knock Vas unconscious, leaving him to be captured by Grahamin. I then depart.”
SUCCESS (Superb Melee Combat, rolled +2)
Effruin crosses the space between them in a sudden blur. His remaining hand finds Vas’s jaw as the strike lands, and the gnome collapses unconscious in the mud.
High Marshal Grahamin
Stand down. Take Vas alive and bind him securely.
High Marshal Grahamin’s soldiers move at once, surrounding the fallen gnome and securing his wrists. High Marshal Grahamin watches Effruin rather than raising a weapon.
High Marshal Grahamin
You have made your choice clear. I will remember that you left him for lawful judgment.
Effruin turns from the shrine and departs through the rain, leaving the soldiers, Vas, and the converging patrols behind him. No rider follows.
High Marshal Grahamin
Let him pass. Our warrant concerns the gnome, not a man who has just surrendered him.
Behind Effruin, Vas remains unconscious beneath the shrine while High Marshal Grahamin’s troops lead him away. The road ahead opens into mist and wet silence.
Quest Complete
Learn Grahamin’s purpose