Jeniwei reaches for the latch as the service door creaks inward on its own. Fresh red wax gleams on the frame, and a harried shopkeeper appears in the gap, ledger clutched tight to his chest.
The wax seal is newer than the door.
The Shopkeeper
Hold, please. I mean no harm.
He freezes at the sight of her, then flicks a nervous glance back at the wax as if it might hear him.
The Shopkeeper
I am only keeping accounts. Whatever you think is in here, I was told not to ask questions.
The Shopkeeper
If you came for the notice, I swear I do not set such things. I only open when they knock.
The alley feels smaller with both of them boxed beside the half-open door, the festival noise muffled to a distant murmur behind the square.
✓ Quest Accepted
Learn what the shopkeeper knows about the man in clean gloves
“Does the shopkeeper recognize the signet ring I describe?”
YES (Likely, rolled 20)
The Shopkeeper
That ring... a serpent coiled around a silver quill. I have seen it only once, on the finger of the man who pays for the silence of this door.
Jeniwei
The shopkeeper knows the mark, and his fear is not for me, but for the man who wears it.
“Is the man in clean gloves watching this door?”
YES, AND MORE (Likely, rolled 9)
A subtle shift in the air draws Jeniwei's gaze toward the alley entrance, where a gloved hand rests against the brickwork, perfectly still. The shopkeeper follows her line of sight, his face draining of what little color remained as he realizes they are being observed.
The Shopkeeper
He is here. He has been watching the whole time.
“I step back from the door and keep watching”
SUCCESS (Great Perception, rolled -1)
Jeniwei eases back from the open doorway, putting a sliver more brick between herself and the alley mouth, while keeping her eyes fixed on the still hand at the corner.
The shopkeeper sees the movement and flinches toward her instead of the alley, ledger trembling against his chest.
The Shopkeeper
Don’t let him see your face. He uses faces. He uses names.
The Shopkeeper
He comes when the wax is fresh, and if he speaks to you, you answer wrong and he knows you are his.
A smear of dark red wax glints on the doorframe as the alley shadows tighten, as if the watcher has shifted his weight.
The Shopkeeper
Please, just go, or he will make me call the guard and I will have no choice.
The shopkeeper’s terror turns outward now, toward the square and the hidden observer, and Jeniwei catches the certainty in it before he can choke it down.
Quest Complete
Learn what the shopkeeper knows about the man in clean gloves