The meal has barely ended when a hard knock strikes the cottage door. Corvin Hale enters carrying a sealed royal packet, travel dust on his cloak.
Corvin Hale
Nilsar Yarb, a buyer connected to Karosh wants your goods placed under crown protection. Payment releases only after you accept the kingdom’s oversight.
Bram shifts beside the door, watching the road through the narrow window. Tomas reaches for his account book, while Corvin sets the packet beside the empty bowls.
Tomas
Crown oversight means inspection, valuation, and a recorded claim. I should write down every condition before anything changes hands.
The wax bears a royal device, but beneath it appears the name of the dead lord, a nobleman dead before the northern voyage began.
Corvin Hale
The seal is genuine, though the authority behind Lord Athel Vey’s name requires examination. I was ordered to offer protection, not conceal that complication.
The packet remains unopened on the table. Crown protection could secure profitable buyers for the cargo, but it may also place Scarred Dragon, Yrsa’s brokerage, and Nilsar’s accounts under royal scrutiny.
✓ Quest Accepted
Establish who authorized Lord Athel Vey’s royal packet
✓ Quest Accepted
Keep control of the trade goods
“Send a letter to Edda asking her to send Mara the captured woman from the ship to his cottage as danger may be coming and he wants her protected, thank you for this information Corvin but i have just returned from a long journey will you allow me 2 days to think it over?”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled -1)
Nilsar Yarb
Edda, bring Mara from the ship to my cottage. Danger may be coming, and I want her protected. Corvin, thank you for the warning, but I have just returned from a long journey. Will you allow me two days to consider the crown’s terms?
Corvin listens without interrupting. Nilsar’s Keeps Reliable Accounts sets the requested delay apart from the cargo terms, while Reads Legal Records distinguishes consideration from acceptance of crown oversight.
The Coastmere ledgers, Harbor Ledgers, and Rell Family Papers are placed beside the sealed packet. Identifies Authority separates Lord Athel Vey’s disputed name from the genuine royal device and leaves no ambiguity about what Nilsar has yet to accept.
Corvin Hale
Two days are granted, Nilsar Yarb. I will record that you requested time to examine the terms, not that you accepted the kingdom’s oversight. The packet remains sealed until you are ready.
Corvin writes the delay into his field record and signs beneath it. The account preserves the exact condition, while the ledgers keep the crown proposal separate from Nilsar’s goods and Yrsa’s brokerage.
Corvin Hale
I will return after the second day. Until then, no crown buyer will claim your collection under this packet, and no payment will be released without your decision.
A messenger is sent toward the harbor with Nilsar’s letter for Edda. Mara will be brought to the cottage for protection, while Corvin departs with the sealed packet and the agreed two-day interval recorded.
“In the morning summon Aritik and her legal knowledge to look over the Rell, Coastmere and Harbour Ledgers looking for anything that may tie Athel Vey to Cardus in the north and his grand schemes.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Lore (Local), rolled +0)
By morning, Nilsar sends for Aritik. She arrives from Anuncagra with legal copies, settles at the cottage table, and clears space among the sealed records.
Aritik Yarb
Show me every reference to Athel Vey, Caldus Merrow, and any northern office tied to either name. We will separate proof from assumption.
Records Research aligns dates, seals, berth entries, and payment marks across the Rell Family Papers, Coastmere ledgers, and Harbor Ledgers, exposing repeated links hidden beneath different offices.
Reads Legal Records distinguishes ownership from issuing authority. The Rell papers place Athel Vey’s name above northern permissions, while Coastmere entries show Merrow invoking those permissions for protected shipments.
Aritik Yarb
Here. Merrow did not merely borrow the crown seal. He cited Vey’s northern authority whenever he redirected cargo, which makes the dead lord’s name part of the scheme’s structure.
Aritik compares the Harbor Ledgers’ copied passages with the Rell seals and finds matching northern routing marks beside Merrow’s private instructions. The pattern ties both names to one organized design.
Aritik Yarb
You have the link, Nilsar. I can state that Merrow used Athel Vey’s recorded authority to support the northern scheme, and I can defend that conclusion before the crown.
“Then we must keep this evidence safe Bram im charging you with protecting my sister from now on as a bodyguard, you will stay in the castle servant quarters getting free food and drinks as long as you protect her. Take you helmet, chainmail and weapon and head there with her now.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled +1)
Nilsar Yarb
Bram, you are my sister’s bodyguard from now on. Take my northern helmet, chainmail, and two-handed axe, then escort Aritik to the castle servant quarters. You will have food and drink there as long as you protect her.
Bram accepts the charge without hesitation. Nilsar fits the Northern Helmet over his head, its masked northern face, dark bronze cheek guards, and chainmail neck covering protecting him as a visible sign of authority.
Nilsar fastens the Chainmail Armour over Bram’s shoulders and settles the Two-Handed Axe into his grasp. The armour guards against piercing and slicing blows, while the heavy weapon makes the appointment unmistakable.
Bram
I accept, Captain. Aritik will reach the castle safely, and I will remain in the servant quarters whenever she needs protection.
Aritik Yarb
That is a serious appointment, Bram, but I accept the protection. I will make certain the castle staff understand your authority and provide what was promised.
Aritik gathers the legal copies and seals them in her satchel. Bram takes position at her side, armed and armoured, while Nilsar’s authority makes the arrangement clear to everyone in the cottage.
Aritik and Bram leave for the castle together. By the time the afternoon bells sound, Bram is installed in the servant quarters with meals and drink secured, and Aritik has her appointed bodyguard.
“Well Thomas just you and me now my friend i feel as though those two may end up connecting harder than i had planned. I need you now to find out who gave Athel vey the Authority in the first place, they are the big fish we need to catch.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Lore (Local), rolled +0)
Nilsar Yarb
Well, Tomas, it is just you and me now. Those two may end up closer than I planned. Find who granted Athel Vey his authority. That is the big fish we need.
Tomas draws the Coastmere ledgers, Harbor Ledgers, and Rell Family Papers into one careful spread. Records Research aligns dates, seals, and routing marks while Reads Legal Records separates Athel Vey’s title from the authority behind it.
Tomas
The grant was not issued by Vey himself, nor by the harbor reeve. The original authority came from Chancellor Ivar Sorn in Karosh, under the king’s northern trade commission.
The Harbor Ledgers place Vey’s authority beside protected northern routes, while the Coastmere ledgers show Merrow exploiting it. The Rell Family Papers preserve the copied warrant and its chain of seals.
Tomas
Sorn granted Vey authority to certify protected shipments and appoint local agents. Vey later delegated access to Merrow, but the original grant belongs to Sorn’s office and bears his countersignature.
Tomas copies the warrant’s wording, seal sequence, and date into the account book. The evidence identifies Chancellor Ivar Sorn as the authority who empowered Athel Vey, placing the highest surviving link in Karosh.
Quest Complete
Establish who authorized Lord Athel Vey’s royal packet
New Gift: Traces Authorization
Quest Complete
Keep control of the trade goods
Skill Upgrade: Survival Superb→Legendary