Ruouh leads Tau toward the western council passage, the rose turning between his fingers. Hirana follows close behind, unwilling to surrender the lesson or the champion to him.
Ruouh Falren
Stay observant, Tau. A council passage rewards silence, especially when powerful people believe they are arguing in private.
Beyond the arch, an elderly woman with silver-streaked black hair and a crimson robe, her weathered face marked by a narrow scar beside one eye grips a sealed petition. Opposite her, a lean middle-aged man in blue council robes, his sharp-jawed face framed by close-cropped brown hair points sharply at its wax seal.
The Crimson-Robed Councillor
Orren, the Yuna family has served the crown faithfully. You cannot let one disputed petition erase generations of standing.
The Blue-Robed Councillor
Maelin, service is not immunity. The petition questions whether the Yunas have influenced royal appointments beyond their authority.
A faint enchantment glimmers across the parchment, thin as moonlight beneath the seal. Hirana’s expression tightens, while Ruouh slows without yet entering the councillors’ sight.
Hirana Yuna
That is no ordinary seal. Ruouh, if this concerns my family, Tau deserves to know what sort of witness you have brought him here to become.
✓ Quest Accepted
Observe the petition dispute without becoming part of it
✓ Quest Accepted
Learn whether the petition threatens the Yuna family's standing at court
“I cannot clearly see what the seal looks like so I grab the rose from the princes hands and, avoiding the surprised look on his face, I pluck off a part of the roses stem. There is a cat lying under a table past the councillors. I aim and throw the piece at the cat and over the councilors. I hit the cat and the cat becomes startled and walks off. This catches the attention of the councilors as they both look towards the cat and watch it. This gives me time to quickly peek around the corner and properly see what mark the wax seal holds before I dip back behind and hide again.”
SUCCESS (Good Agility, rolled +0)
Tau snatches the rose from the prince’s fingers and strips a piece from its stem. His deep-seated phobia tightens his hand, but the Steel Sword’s familiar weight steadies him.
Keen senses catch the cat beneath the table and the councillors’ shifting attention. Tau flicks the stem over their shoulders; it strikes the cat, which startles upright and pads away.
Both councillors turn toward the retreating cat. Tau slips around the corner, his scraped palm stinging where a thorn bit him, and leans close to the petition.
The wax seal bears a black crown crossed by a thin silver eye, its lines shimmering with the same faint enchantment beneath the parchment. Tau sees it clearly before withdrawing.
He ducks back behind the corner as the councillors look from the cat to the passage. The torn rose stem remains discarded beyond them, while the cut in Tau’s palm beads red.
The Crimson-Robed Councillor
A palace cat, and yet it chooses this moment to make a spectacle of itself.
Hirana Yuna
Tau, whatever you have seen, keep it to yourself until we are somewhere less exposed.
Quest Complete
Observe the petition dispute without becoming part of it