Sister Maelin steps between Nilsar and Darin Wyle, holding the sealed letter above the ledgers. Her urgency breaks the office’s careful silence.
Sister Maelin
This summons concerns more than Nilsar’s counterclaim. The baron sent me across the roads because the king’s office must answer before orders go to Scarred Dragon.
She places the letter beside Darin’s receipt but does not release it. Outside, harbor bells carry faintly through the shutters, and the ship’s crew waits under royal notice.
Darin Wyle
Sister, you are interrupting a formal examination. If you press this claim, your testimony may be examined under the same scrutiny as Nilsar’s evidence.
Sister Maelin
Then examine me. I carried the baron’s sealed instruction faithfully, and I will not watch its purpose disappear beneath a receipt and a royal file.
Darin’s clerk pauses over the ink, waiting for direction. Darin studies Maelin, then the unbroken wax, while the evidence remains spread before him and Nilsar’s response is still unanswered.
Darin Wyle
Very well. State what the summons demands beyond the counterclaim, and understand that your words may alter the orders already being prepared for Scarred Dragon.
✓ Quest Accepted
Establish what the baron’s summons demands beyond the counterclaim
“As you can see clerk, the summons says that the king requested me for a task that needed absolute secrecy and while working with the Baron under he Kings own authority i have uncovered information which must be brought directly to the king.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled -1)
Nilsar Yarb
As you can see, clerk, the summons says the king requested me for a task requiring absolute secrecy. Under the king’s authority, I uncovered information that must be brought directly to him.
Nilsar sets the Royal Writ and Signed Commendation beside the sealed summons. Identifies Authority distinguishes the king’s original command from the later examination, while Commands Respect makes his demand sound like a rightful report, not a petition.
Darin Wyle
Your documents support that distinction. The writ confirms royal purpose, and the commendation confirms the baron entrusted you with consequential work under that authority.
Darin compares the seals, then reads the commendation’s account of Nilsar’s service. The royal documents and his recorded standing leave no procedural ground to divert the report into ordinary filing.
Darin Wyle
I will not delay you. The king will receive this information directly. Come with me now, and Sister Maelin may attend as the sealed messenger who carried the baron’s instruction.
Darin opens the inner doors and leads Nilsar and Sister Maelin into the king’s private receiving chamber. The king, a silver-haired middle-aged man in a dark blue mantle with a lean build, a sharp-lined face, and a narrow gold circlet at his brow, rises beneath the royal seal as they enter.
The King
Nilsar Yarb, bring me the secret information entrusted to you. You have your direct audience, and I will hear the report before issuing further orders.
✓ Quest Accepted
Present the secret information to the king
Quest Complete
Establish what the baron’s summons demands beyond the counterclaim
Director's notewhole tale
kneel before the king
“Greetings your highness thank you for seeing me today as you know i am Sergeant Nilsar Yarb son of Gravam, i have brought you what you requested all the evidence on smuggling of supplies within the kingdom to the Empire. i have here in these reports, records and ledgers all the proof needed to convict the detained Cadrus Merrow, Lord Ivar and the Harris family for their cooperation in the acts of treachery.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled +2)
Nilsar kneels before the king, placing the Royal Writ and Signed Commendation beside the Coastmere ledgers, Harbor Ledgers, and the elderly nobleman Family Papers.
Nilsar Yarb
Your Highness, thank you for seeing me. I am Sergeant Nilsar Yarb, son of Gravam. I bring the evidence you requested: the proof of supplies smuggled within the kingdom into the Empire, implicating Caldus Merrow, Lord Ivar Sorn, and the Harris family in treachery.
Commands Respect makes the charge carry through the chamber. Identifies Authority separates Sorn’s commission from Merrow’s acts, while Keeps Reliable Accounts aligns shipment quantities, routes, collection marks, and repeated names.
Reads Legal Records traces the warrant language and seal sequence through every page. The Coastmere ledgers show diverted supplies, the Harbor Ledgers preserve their movement, and the the elderly nobleman Family Papers connect the orders to Sorn’s authority.
The King
Rise when you have finished presenting the record, Sergeant. The evidence is sufficient for a royal inquiry, and your report places Merrow, Sorn, and the Harris family within one chain of protected diversions.
The king’s clerk gathers the ledgers without breaking their order and begins a royal inventory. Darin remains beside the table, while Maelin’s sealed letter is placed with the writ as corroborating authority.
The King
You have brought the proof directly, as commanded. I will hear how you obtained it, then decide the warrants, the detained prisoners, and what authority your service has earned.
Quest Complete
Present the secret information to the king
“Thank you your highness, through many patrols along the northern road, ambushes of smugglers and long nights spent with Baron Edric and my own sister compiling all these pieces of evidence into the charges brought before you is what brought us here your highness. I led patrols and help build the reports but truly Baron Edric and my Sister Aritik deserve as much praise as i do.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled +1)
Nilsar Yarb
Thank you, Your Highness. Patrols along the northern road, ambushes of smugglers, and long nights compiling evidence with Baron Edric and my sister brought us here. I led the patrols and helped build the reports, but Baron Edric and Aritik deserve as much praise as I do.
Still kneeling, Nilsar keeps his hands visible beside the ledgers. Commands Respect gives his humility the force of a formal testimony, while Identifies Authority assigns each contribution to the person who made it.
The King
You speak as a commander who knows the difference between leading an investigation and claiming every hand that made it possible. Baron Edric’s judgment and Aritik’s work will be entered beside your patrol reports.
The king’s clerk adds both names to the royal inventory, noting the baron’s direction and Aritik’s part in comparing records. Darin watches the additions without interrupting.
The King
Now tell me what the patrols found before the records were assembled. Begin with the first sign of the smugglers, and distinguish what you personally witnessed from what Baron Edric and Aritik established afterward.
The chamber’s attention settles fully on Nilsar. The king has accepted the shared credit into the royal record, and the next account must separate patrol testimony from the later documentary proof.
✓ Quest Accepted
Clarify the patrol findings for the king
“Very well your highness, the patrols uncovered wagons left at collection points for northern raiders to come and collect, each cargo was marked with the black hook of the northern families along the coal road and contained ledgers containing paper trails which i personally witnessed that led to the coast. The patrol under my command searched 2 different locations a lime kiln and line shed both along the coast containing further ledgers and black hook marked goods. After I located all these goods i returned to Anuncagra and brought the reports to Baron Edric and Aritik so we could together compile them into the charges we have brought fowards.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled +2)
Nilsar Yarb
Very well, Your Highness. My patrol found wagons abandoned at collection points along the coal road, marked with the black hook used by northern raiders. Their cargo included ledgers whose paper trails led toward the coast.
Still kneeling, Nilsar opens the Patrol Documents beside the royal inventory. Keeps Reliable Accounts orders the wagons, marks, cargoes, and routes into a clear sequence, while Identifies Authority distinguishes observed evidence from later conclusions.
Nilsar Yarb
Under my command, we searched two coastal sites: a lime kiln and a lime shed. Both held further ledgers and black-hook-marked goods. I personally witnessed their recovery and recorded each connection in the patrol reports.
Nilsar places the relevant pages before the king. The Patrol Documents preserve locations and witnesses, while Commands Respect gives the account the measured authority of a sergeant reporting what he saw.
Nilsar Yarb
I returned to Anuncagra with the recovered records and brought them to Baron Edric and Aritik. Together, we compared the accounts, routes, marks, and quantities, then compiled the charges now before you.
The king’s clerk writes the patrol findings into the royal inventory, separating Nilsar’s direct observations from Baron Edric’s direction and Aritik’s record comparisons. The chain from collection points to the coast is now formally preserved.
The King
Your account is precise, Sergeant Yarb. I accept the patrol findings and the later compilation as distinct parts of the same case. The wagons, black-hook marks, coastal sites, and ledgers justify warrants and a full inquiry into those who directed the shipments.
The king’s clerk seals the copied report into the royal case file. The king keeps the original Patrol Documents before him, ready to question Nilsar about the people who handled the wagons and issued their orders.
Quest Complete
Clarify the patrol findings for the king
“If i may your highness under Baron Edrics authority an investigation was already conducted discovering the further evidence in the back of the files i brought you which both name and prove Cadrus Merrow, Lord Ivar and the Harris family were guilty so the Baron already had them arrested, all that is left your majesty is to convict the criminals in a trail under your rule.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled +0)
Nilsar Yarb
If I may, Your Highness, under Baron Edric’s authority an investigation uncovered further evidence in the Harris ledgers and the files I brought you. It names and proves Caldus Merrow, Lord Ivar Sorn, and the Harris family guilty. Baron Edric has already arrested them. All that remains is conviction in a trial under your rule.
Nilsar remains kneeling before the king as he places the Harris ledgers beside the royal inventory. The Royal Writ establishes the king’s authority, while the Signed Commendation confirms Baron Edric entrusted Nilsar with the investigation.
Identifies Authority separates the baron’s completed arrests from the king’s power to judge. Commands Respect gives the request the force of a formal recommendation, and the organized records make the accusation precise rather than speculative.
The King
Rise, Sergeant Yarb. Your account is accepted. Baron Edric’s arrests will be recognized, and I order a royal trial for Caldus Merrow, Ivar Sorn, and the Harris family under my authority.
The king’s clerk adds the order to the case file and marks the existing arrests for transfer under royal custody. The Harris ledgers remain with the evidence, their entries now supporting a formal prosecution.
The King
You will testify at the trial, Sergeant, and Baron Edric’s records will be summoned with the prisoners. Your command authority remains intact, but your evidence will be examined openly before judgment is issued.