Harlan Voss steps through the sealed threshold alone, leaving his four mercenaries beyond the doorway. The dead royal messenger remains beside the blood-marked wall between him and Sehra.
Harlan Voss
Surrender the dispatches, Captain. City custody has made Aldren more vulnerable, not less.
His gaze fixes on Sehra’s thigh pouch, then shifts to the messenger’s outstretched hand. Outside, boots scrape once, but none of the mercenaries crosses the threshold.
Harlan Voss
My employer is already moving against the harbor watch. Every guard who handles those papers becomes a mark, and you have placed the whole watch in his path.
The claim hangs over the corpse and the unopened seals. Harlan keeps both hands visible, but his shoulders remain set like a man arguing from a position he expects to enforce.
Harlan Voss
Look at his final orders. They were meant to move Aldren quietly, beyond the crown’s reach. Your jurisdiction cannot change what the dead man was trying to accomplish.
Beyond the doorway, Harlan’s mercenaries wait in tense silence. Inside, the dead messenger, the royal seals, and the contested route make the storeroom feel smaller than before.
✓ Quest Accepted
Defend city jurisdiction over the investigation
✓ Quest Accepted
Protect the harbor watch from Harlan Voss’s employer
“I keep the dispatches and summon the approaching watch to secure the warehouse. I tell them that he's made vague threats to the safety of the Harbor Watch, claiming his employer will possibly attempt to enforce those threats and to take him into custody for further questioning. "This is a murder within city jurisdiction that concerns the royal family, this is our case to deal with even if that means we need to go elsewhere."”
SUCCESS (Great Diplomacy, rolled +3)
Sehra
Keep the dispatches in city custody. Harbor Watch, secure this warehouse and take Harlan Voss into custody for questioning.
Sehra
He has made vague threats against the Harbor Watch, claiming his employer may enforce them. This murder concerns the royal family, and it is our case, wherever the investigation leads.
The approaching watch enters in a disciplined file. Their sergeant hears Sehra out, then orders the doorway, the sealed room, and the waiting mercenaries placed under guard.
Harbor Watch
Harlan Voss, you are held for questioning under city authority. Surrender your weapon and come quietly.
Harlan studies the watch, then unbuckles his sword and gives it over. Two guards escort him outside while the remaining watch secure the warehouse and keep his mercenaries separated.
Harlan Voss
You have made this official, Captain. My employer will answer by his own methods, but I will not make a spectacle of resistance here.
The sergeant seals the warehouse under Sehra’s authority and records her custody of all three dispatches. The watch’s written report will now carry her jurisdiction beyond the harbor.
Quest Complete
Defend city jurisdiction over the investigation