The Shopkeeper yanks Jeniwei inside and slams the service door shut. An iron bar thunks into place, and the alley noise dies to a muffled hush.
Dust hangs in the warm light of the shop. Shelves crowd the walls with cracked masks, saint bones, glass bottles, and wrapped relics. Dried herbs scent the air, sharp and calming.
The Shopkeeper
Not here. Not now. Let it be over, let him not come looking.
He leans back against the barred door, shaking. His gaze keeps slipping to Jeniwei, then to the floor, as if he expects the room itself to betray him.
The Shopkeeper
The man with the serpent ring, he does not merely bribe. He takes a face, a name, a place in the world. Then the world agrees with him.
The Shopkeeper
The wax seal is how he listens. The ring is how he writes himself into you. I think... I think he needs a willing hand, or at least a frightened one.
He swallows hard, then lowers himself onto a stool beside the door. For the first time, his shoulders lose a little of their lock-tight tension.
The Shopkeeper
If you want the rest, sit. I can tell you where the first seal came from.
✓ Quest Accepted
Learn where the first seal came from
“I pull up a crate and sit, waiting for him to tell me about the first seal.”
SUCCESS (Good Willpower, rolled -1)
Jeniwei drags over a narrow crate, sets it down by the herb-scented worktable, and sits with a soft creak of old wood. The shopkeeper watches her settle, then exhales like he has been holding his breath for hours.
The Shopkeeper
Good. If she sits, maybe she is listening, not hunting.
The Shopkeeper
The first seal came from the river quarter, from a little wax house under the dye steps. I was told it was ordinary sealing wax. It was not.
He lifts his ledger with both hands, opens it to a page marked by a dark red smear, and taps a crowded line of numbers and initials. His fingers tremble, leaving a faint dust print on the page.
The Shopkeeper
He paid me to copy who visited that place, who bought dye, who asked questions. Then he came back for the copies, every time. Always clean gloves. Always that ring.
Jeniwei
The wax house and the ledger both matter.
The Shopkeeper
I kept one page back. Not for bravery. For insurance. If you want it, I can show you, but I do not want to be the one who hands it over.
He turns the ledger slightly toward Jeniwei, then stops, one thumb holding the page shut as if the paper itself might accuse him. The room falls quiet except for the crackle of herbs drying overhead.
Quest Complete
Learn where the first seal came from