Nilsar remains beside the hearth while Eiluj supports his injured shoulder and works warmth into the stiff muscles. His shield, axe, helmet, and sword rest safely beyond reach.
The cottage door opens, and Aritik enters carrying copied camp records and town rolls tied in separate bundles. She lays them across the rough table, keeping the pages clear of the hearth’s sparks.
Aritik Yarb
These names appear in both sets of records, but the payments do not match the injury reports. I need your knowledge of the camps before I take anything else to Baron Edric Vale.
Aritik points to several entries with the end of her quill: timber camps, dates, foremen, and workers marked as injured or absent. The copied ink varies where the original rolls were damaged.
Eiluj Yarb
Let him answer only what he can without shifting that shoulder. The records can wait for careful words.
Aritik Yarb
I will. Nilsar, which camps used these marks, and which foremen had authority to alter a worker’s entry? I need facts the baron cannot dismiss as family defense.
She leaves the pages spread before him and waits beside the table. Eiluj keeps one steady hand beneath Nilsar’s arm, while the cottage settles into the quiet crackle of the hearth.
“These Timber Camps all appear to belong to the Village Chief and Lucas! There family has been wrapped up in this since the beginning!”
FAILURE (Good Lore (Local), rolled -3)
Nilsar Yarb
These timber camps all appear to belong to the village chief and Lucas. Their family has been wrapped up in this from the beginning.
Nilsar studies the marks Aritik indicates without taking the records from her. His smith’s eye compares repeated timber symbols and altered lines, while local knowledge places the camps along Harris-controlled roads.
Aritik Yarb
The camp names recur under Harris leases, yes. But these are copies, and the ownership columns are damaged where the payment entries begin.
Aritik turns one bundle toward the hearthlight. The surviving marks connect Lucas’s family to the camps’ operation, but not cleanly enough to prove the village chief ordered altered injury reports.
Eiluj Yarb
Then the careful answer is that the records point toward their control, not yet toward their guilt. Do not let anger make the missing ink speak.
Aritik Yarb
I cannot take this to Baron Edric Vale as proof of a family conspiracy. I can request the original rolls and mark the Harris connection as an unresolved lead.
Quest Complete
Have Aritik uncover more in the records
Attribute Upgrade: Perception Great→Superb
New gift: Records Research
“We must find a better connection between the Harris' and whoever is paying these amounts, you must go to the Baron and request the original files under an investigation, if you inform him its about the wrongful cases he will understand what you mean.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled +3)
Nilsar Yarb
Aritik, go to Baron Edric Vale and request the original camp files under an investigation. Tell him it concerns wrongful injury cases, and he will understand.
Nilsar keeps his injured shoulder supported while Records Research guides his argument: the copied marks identify Harris leases, damaged payment columns, and matching injury entries without proving guilt. His measured appeal makes the request precise rather than accusatory.
Aritik Yarb
I will present it as an investigation into wrongful cases, not a charge against the Harrises. With the originals, I can compare the payment marks against the injury reports properly.
Aritik gathers the copied records and leaves for the castle. Her legal authority and Nilsar’s careful comparison give her request weight, and she returns before the hearth burns low with a sealed packet and the baron’s written permission.
Aritik Yarb
Baron Edric Vale released the original files for inspection. He also ordered his clerk to witness every comparison, so no one can claim the records were altered in our hands.
Eiluj Yarb
That is a fair safeguard. Nilsar, let Aritik work at the table while you keep the shoulder still.
Aritik breaks the baron’s seal and lays the original rolls beside the copies. Beneath the cleaner entries, repeated payment marks run beside several Harris camp names, ready for a careful comparison.
“I will keep my arm in its sling while i wait for it to heal next to the hearth and watch as my sister goes over the files, maybe father has some insight?”
SUCCESS (Superb Perception, rolled +3)
Nilsar keeps his arm supported in the sling beside the hearth. Aritik sorts each original roll beside its copy, while Eiluj watches his posture and Gravam comes in from the adjoining room.
Aritik Yarb
The payment marks repeat beside injuries recorded on different dates. I am checking whether the hand changed, or only the entries did.
From the hearth, Nilsar tracks the repeated marks without lifting a page. Records Research joins the damaged copies to their originals, while his trained eye notices one small hooked stroke beside every disputed payment.
Gravam Yarb
That hook is not a foreman’s mark. The timber camps used it for supplies issued from the chief’s storehouse, never for wages or injury settlements.
Gravam leans over the table and points to the oldest roll. Aritik compares the notation against a clean supply record, then finds the same hook beside material deliveries, not worker payments.
Aritik Yarb
Then the marks were copied into the payment columns to disguise supplies as settlements. I can separate the false entries and request the storehouse issue books next.
Eiluj Yarb
That gives the baron a clear discrepancy without requiring us to accuse anyone before the records are complete.
✓ Quest Accepted
Obtain the storehouse issue books
“I think its a great idea you should speak with the Baron first thing tomorrow morning”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled +2)
Nilsar Yarb
I think it is a great idea. You should speak with Baron Edric Vale first thing tomorrow morning.
Nilsar keeps his arm supported while his Records Research places the repeated hooks beside the original supply entries. His calm, precise counsel gives Aritik a clear request grounded in the records rather than accusation.
Aritik Yarb
Yes. I will meet Baron Edric Vale at first light and request the storehouse issue books under his written investigation.
Aritik separates the disputed entries from the clean records, marking each hooked stroke and its matching injury report. The comparison forms a concise brief she can place before the baron tomorrow.
Eiluj Yarb
That is the proper course. Let the original storehouse books answer what these rolls cannot, and let the baron witness the comparison.
Gravam Yarb
Take the oldest supply records first. If the hook belongs to the storehouse, its earliest entries should show who issued the materials.
Aritik ties the marked rolls into a fresh bundle and places it beside the sealed originals. By morning, she will carry the evidence and her request directly to Baron Edric Vale.
“While his sister gets the files i must focus on healing as much as possible and wait for her return.”
SUCCESS (Good Health, rolled -1)
Nilsar settles beside the hearth and follows Eiluj’s instructions, keeping his left shoulder supported while warmth loosens the stiff muscles. Eiluj checks the joint calmly and adjusts his posture.
Eiluj Yarb
Keep the shoulder still, Nilsar. Breathe slowly, and let the warmth do its work instead of forcing the joint.
Using his Skilled Craftsman’s eye, Nilsar reshapes the folded cloth beneath his arm and wedges it securely against the chair, distributing pressure without straining the injured joint.
Nilsar Yarb
The support holds without pulling at the shoulder.
The careful adjustment eases the ache, but maintaining the position leaves Nilsar’s shoulder trembling. A sharp throb follows when his arm slips, and Eiluj quickly steadies it before the strain worsens.
Eiluj Yarb
There. The pain is settling again. Rest has helped, but you have paid for that small effort with fresh strain.
Nilsar remains quiet beside the hearth while Eiluj continues the treatment. After the light fades, the cottage door opens, and Aritik returns carrying the sealed files and storehouse records.
“Follow my mothers instructions while i wait for my sister to return with the files”
SUCCESS (Good Health, rolled +1)
Nilsar follows Eiluj’s instructions, keeping his left shoulder supported against the folded cloth. His Skilled Craftsman’s eye adjusts the padding until the joint rests without strain.
Eiluj Yarb
Good. Keep it there, and do not test the shoulder while we wait. Rest is doing more for you than effort would.
The hearth warms the cottage as the minutes pass. Nilsar remains still, breathing evenly, while Eiluj watches his posture and keeps the support secure.
At last, the door opens. Aritik steps inside with the sealed files and storehouse records bundled against her chest, then sets them carefully on the table.
Aritik Yarb
I have the books Baron Edric Vale released. The clerk’s seal is intact, and I am ready to compare the storehouse issues with the disputed camp entries.
Eiluj Yarb
Then begin at the table, Aritik. Nilsar will listen from the hearth, and his shoulder will remain supported while you work.
✓ Quest Accepted
Compare the storehouse issues with the disputed camp entries
“Grab the the storehouse issue books from the table and begin reading them matching the prices with those from the copies tying the Harris to the crimes of forgery.”
SUCCESS (Superb Reasoning, rolled -2)
Nilsar reaches to the table with his right hand, draws the storehouse issue books toward him, and opens them beside the copied camp records. His left shoulder stays supported.
Records Research guides the comparison: he aligns dates, prices, supply marks, and worker names across both sets. Repeated hooks appear beside cheap timber and lamp issues, while the copies call them injury settlements.
One column settles the matter. The original books record materials issued through Harris-controlled camps, but the copied rolls replace those prices with false payments beside injured workers’ names.
Aritik Yarb
There it is. The prices were altered, the supply marks were recast as settlements, and the forged entries all pass through Harris leases. This ties Lucas Harris’s operation to the falsification.
The comparison proves the forgery and its connection to the Harris camps, but the work consumes the afternoon. Several damaged pages still leave the individual hand behind the alterations uncertain.
Eiluj Yarb
That is enough for a careful report, but not a reason to forget the shoulder. Leave the books on the table and let Aritik carry the finding to the baron.
Aritik Yarb
I will copy these matched prices and request that Baron Edric Vale summon the Harris leaseholders for examination. The records now show forged settlements, not merely suspicious marks.
Quest Complete
Obtain the storehouse issue books
Attribute Upgrade: Health Good→Great
New gift: Keeps Reliable Accounts
Quest Complete
Compare the storehouse issues with the disputed camp entries
+ New Item Acquired
Storehouse Issue Books