The garden path falls quiet as Ruouh Falren approaches from the palace, a freshly cut rose resting between his fingers. Deliberate amusement brightens his deep blue eyes.
Ruouh Falren
Your palace education deserves a lesson from someone who survives courtly traps every day. Come, Tau. I am offering my expertise.
Hirana Yuna
Offering? You arrived carrying a rose and an invitation designed to steal him from my instruction. That is not education, Ruouh. It is a challenge.
Ruouh rolls the stem between his fingers, glancing from Hirana to Tau as though the garden itself has become a game board. The rose remains conspicuously unoffered.
Ruouh Falren
You mistake generosity for theft. Besides, if Tau hopes to serve the royal family, he should learn from more than one guide.
Hirana Yuna
He should learn from guides who do not turn every lesson into a performance. Your courtly traps are usually the reason I must teach him caution afterward.
Hirana shifts closer to the seating plan, placing herself between Ruouh’s rose and the receiving room. Ruouh’s smile deepens, making the invitation plainly a contest over access to Tau.
✓ Quest Accepted
Learn what Ruouh wants from Tau
“I bow towards the prince to not be disrespectful. “Your majesty, we are greatly honored you have set aside some of your time to come and see us. If I may ask, what do you need me for?” I look at the prince as I await his answer, and avoid looking at the rose.”
SUCCESS (Great Willpower, rolled +1)
Tau Heathsburough
Your majesty, we are greatly honored you have set aside some of your time to come and see us. If I may ask, what do you need me for?
Tau bows toward Ruouh, keeping his gaze on the prince and deliberately away from the rose. His Steel Sword rests at his hip, its familiar weight grounding the formal gesture.
Keen senses catch the faint catch in Tau’s breath and the rose’s sharp fragrance, while his deep-seated phobia stirs at the prince’s scrutiny. He steadies himself through the sword’s worn hilt.
Ruouh Falren
A courteous question, Tau. I need you to accompany me to the western council passage and observe a conversation without becoming part of it.
Hirana’s hazel eyes narrow. She shifts beside the seating plan, still between Ruouh and the receiving room, her expression warning Tau that the request carries courtly weight.
Hirana Yuna
How generous of you to explain the purpose after asking him to follow you. What conversation requires a champion as silent witness?
Ruouh Falren
One involving a petition concerning the Yuna family’s position at court. Tau’s presence will show me whether its author fears a guard’s eyes more than a prince’s questions.
Quest Complete
Learn what Ruouh wants from Tau