Hessa closes the office door against the harbor wind and calls her clerk forward. The clerk is a thin young adult man with pale skin, sandy hair, and a brown wool vest over a linen shirt.
Merchant Hessa Vale of Coastmere
Pell, bring the Coastmere ledgers. You will witness these accounts and record every statement made in this room.
Deren Pell
My name is Deren Pell. I will bring the ledgers and write the record, Merchant Vale.
Deren laysDeren, a clean-shaven young man with a narrow face and dark trousers, lays account pages across the desk. Hessa points to black-hook entries naming three Coastmere storehouses, their receiving dates, cargo numbers, and amounts concealed as ordinary consignments.
Merchant Hessa Vale of Coastmere
Driver, identify the station clerk who gave you the routes and red-hub marks. Tell Nilsar which office directed each collection.
The Wagon Driver
You promised protection, Hessa. I carried what you ordered, and I will not name the clerk while you stand behind your own bargain.
Merchant Hessa Vale of Coastmere
I promised protection from thieves, not immunity from a royal or baronial inquiry. You carried the loads, but I received them, paid for access, and kept these accounts hidden.
“Either way you are all coming with me to Baron Edric, but tell me what you know so i can make my own judgement on if youre telling the truth.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled +0)
Nilsar Yarb
Either way, you are both coming with me to Baron Edric. Tell me what you know, and I will judge whether you speak truthfully.
Nilsar keeps his green-and-brown round shield forward, its partial gold rim and painted donkey making a guarded boundary. His two-handed axe remains lowered, while his longsword stays sheathed and concealed chainmail protects him beneath his clothes.
Merchant Hessa Vale of Coastmere
I received diverted cargo through three Coastmere stores. The station clerk supplied routes and marks, I paid for access, and my ledgers concealed the shipments as ordinary consignments.
The Wagon Driver
The station clerk gave me the red-hub route and collection hours. I hauled sealed loads from the lime kiln to Hessa’s storehouses, knowing the black hook meant they had been diverted.
Deren records each admission beside the black-hook entries. Nilsar compares cargo numbers with the Storehouse Issue Books, his craftsman’s precision separating what each witness carried, paid for, and ordered.
Merchant Hessa Vale of Coastmere
The clerk was Osric Pell at the northern station. He issued the collection instructions, received my payments through intermediaries, and can identify every account altered for this operation.
The testimony is complete and recorded. Nilsar secures the ledgers, keeps both witnesses together, and escorts them from the storehouse toward Baron Edric’s keep for formal examination.
+ New Item Acquired
Coastmere ledgers
“Osric Pell and your admins name is Deren Pell am i supposed to miss that connection? What is your relation to the other Pells?”
SUCCESS (Legendary Perception, rolled +0)
Nilsar Yarb
Osric Pell and your clerk’s name is Deren Pell. Am I supposed to miss that connection? What is your relation to the other Pells?
Hessa’s admission and the Coastmere ledgers give the names a clear trail. Nilsar’s Perception catches matching handwriting notes and repeated payment initials beside Osric’s station entries and Deren’s copied accounts.
Deren Pell
Osric Pell is my father. I copied figures for Hessa’s books, but I did not know the entries concealed diverted cargo. He sent me here after the station work became dangerous.
Merchant Hessa Vale of Coastmere
Deren is Osric’s son. I hired him for honest copying, and I kept his father’s role from him. He is not my kin, nor was he a partner in the station’s instructions.
Records Research confirms the relation in the ledgers: Deren’s wages are entered as a dependent clerk’s allowance, while Osric’s payments carry the station seal and separate authority. The names connect father and son, not two unrelated officials.
Deren Pell
I should have asked why his figures appeared in Hessa’s books. I can identify my father’s hand, his seal marks, and the accounts he altered for the shipments.
“Damn. I wanted to see if you knew about Captain Pell and if he could be involved.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Perception, rolled +0)
Nilsar reopens the Coastmere ledgers and separates every payment, route, seal, and receiving entry tied to Osric Pell. Records Research compares those marks against the earlier custody books and Captain Odran Pell’s recorded watch orders.
The comparison succeeds cleanly. Osric’s station seal appears beside the diverted shipments, while Odran’s name appears only in lawful watch assignments and custody records, with no shared payments, orders, or handwriting.
Deren Pell
My father’s entries concern the station and its altered accounts. I have seen Captain Odran’s watch orders, but none bears my father’s seal or payment marks.
Merchant Hessa Vale of Coastmere
Odran Pell never dealt with me, never received my payments, and never appeared in these Coastmere accounts. Osric was the Pell who served this arrangement.
Nilsar checks the witness statements against the ledgers once more. The evidence distinguishes the two men completely: Osric Pell is connected to the diversion, while Captain Odran Pell is not connected to this operation.
The Wagon Driver
I heard the station clerk named Pell, but never Captain Odran. The routes and collection hours came from the station office alone.
“Very well you two will return with me to Baron Edric and explain this all to him.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled -1)
Nilsar Yarb
Very well. You two will return with me to Baron Edric and explain all of this to him.
Nilsar keeps his round shield forward, its green and brown face, partial gold rim, and painted donkey forming a firm boundary. His two-handed axe remains lowered but visible, its weight lending authority without threatening a blow.
Merchant Hessa Vale of Coastmere
We will go. I will identify the accounts, the routes, and Osric Pell’s instructions before Baron Edric.
The Wagon Driver
I will tell him where I collected the sealed loads and which hours the station clerk gave me.
Nilsar leads them from the storehouse toward the keep. The shield stays between the witnesses and the harbor crowd, while the axe rests across his shoulder as a clear sign of lawful custody rather than violence.
They reach Baron Edric’s chamber without resistance. Nilsar brings Hessa and the wagon driver before the baron, with the Coastmere ledgers and their testimony ready for formal examination.
Baron Edric Vale
Bring them inside, Nilsar. Hessa Vale and the driver will give their accounts under record, and the ledgers will be examined beside them.