Two surrendered raiders guide Sakara through the fort, leaving their unconscious companion in the yard beneath watch. The tiefling handmaiden and the white mare remain concealed beyond the ravine.
A cramped command chamber waits above the postern stair. Wax tablets, marked route cords, and stolen caravan seals crowd a scarred table beneath a single smoking lamp.
Among the clutter lies a ledger bound in dark leather, its pages listing northern tribal crossings beside dates and movements that match the Moon Prince’s operations. Gold dust crusts its binding.
Southern Raiders
That book came from the commanders’ chamber. We were forbidden to open it, though they used its routes whenever they planned a raid.
One marked cord runs from the northern crossings to the hill-fort, then onward toward the river settlements. Several caravan seals bear no tribe’s insignia at all.
Southern Raiders
The commanders received orders from beyond the Isles. We thought they were merchants’ instructions, until the gold dust began appearing on everything they touched.
The chamber falls quiet above the sealed reliquary. The ledger remains open, its careful columns offering the first clear shape of a conspiracy reaching far beyond this fort.
✓ Quest Accepted
Secure the commanders’ ledger.
Director's note
with this tribe submitted, that’s all 6 northern tribes agreeing to Kendethar’s rule
“I pick up the ledger. It’s not in Brail, so I can’t read it unless I’m alone, less I petrify someone. But it will be better in my hands than theirs. “Good. You have done well. Your tribe will benefit when Kendethar’s rein reaches the isles. See to it that yout people cause no further trouble””
SUCCESS (Good Thievery, rolled +1)
Sakara lifts the dark leather ledger from the scarred table and secures it among her provisions. Its pages remain unreadable to her touch, but the book is safely hers now.
Sakara
Good. You have done well. Your tribe will benefit when Kendathar’s rein reaches the Isles. See to it that your people cause no further trouble.
The two surrendered raiders bow their heads. Their empty hands and lowered weapons make the dismissal plain, while the smoking lamp throws gold across the ledger’s binding.
Southern Raiders
We understand. Our people will keep the roads clear and obey the terms of the Moon Prince’s rule.
One raider gathers the marked route cords and steps aside from the table. The other opens the chamber door, revealing the stair down to the postern and the sunlit yard beyond.
Southern Raiders
We will return to our people and carry your command. The fort will trouble no Moon Dragon travelers again.
The raiders withdraw down the stair without protest, leaving the command chamber to Sakara and its stolen records. Beyond the fort, the tiefling handmaiden and the white mare still wait concealed in the ravine.
Quest Complete
Secure the commanders’ ledger.
+ New Item Acquired
Commanders’ ledger
“That’s all 6 northern tribes having submitted, completing my other quest”
SUCCESS (Fair Reasoning, rolled +0)
Sakara opens the commanders’ ledger beneath the smoking lamp, tracing its marked cords and dated entries against the six northern crossings recorded there.
Sakara
Six northern tribes are recorded as submitted to Kendathar’s rule.
Each crossing ends with a fresh obedience mark, and the final entry matches the southern raiders’ route records. The ledger verifies all six agreements.
The verification costs time. By the time Sakara finishes comparing every cord and date, the lamp has burned low and afternoon light has shifted across the chamber floor.
Zamanie
Sakara? The fort is quiet. Have you found what you needed?
Her voice reaches from below the postern stair, distant but clear. The ledger rests secured among Sakara’s provisions, its six northern submissions now confirmed rather than assumed.
Zamanie
Then the northern tribes are accounted for. Kendathar’s alliance has reached all six.
Quest Complete
Bring the northern tribes into submission.
Skill Upgrade: Persuasion Good→Great