The procession pauses in the archive vestibule. Beyond the guarded archway, officials arrange benches and witness tablets in the hearing chamber. Pale afternoon light rests across the stone floor.
Serren Vale
Before we enter, I need to make certain we understand the shape of this. I will speak to what I saw, what I carried, and why I kept silent before.
Serren draws Carciel beneath the archway, close enough for quiet words but still plainly visible to the watching guards. Their fingers worry briefly at the edge of their sleeve.
Serren Vale
The packets remain sealed. The name remains sealed unless Pell summons it before the court. I will not open either, and I will not ask you to speak for me.
Serren Vale
I spent too long mistaking silence for protection. Today, I want the truth to sound like my own voice.
The Court Clerk glances toward the arranged witness tablets, then gives the pair a little more time. Archive Guard One and Archive Guard Two remain at their posts, attentive but undisturbed. The quiet beneath the archway belongs to Carciel and Serren for another breath.
“I gently brush my hand against Serren to assure them. I am here with them.”
Carciel’s hand gently brushes Serren’s, a quiet assurance beneath the archway.
Serren Vale
Serren’s fingers close around his for a moment. “Then I will let them hear me clearly. And when they ask what you witnessed, I trust you to answer in your own voice.”
“I nod and tighten my resolve. I enter the hearing chamber with Serren”
Carciel nods, then crosses the guarded archway beside Serren. Together, they enter the hearing chamber, carrying their testimony into the lord’s waiting gaze.
“I enter the hearing chamber beside Serren”
The chamber falls quiet around their arrival. Before the lord’s waiting gaze, Carciel and Serren now stand together as witnesses, with the hearing ready to begin.
✓ Quest Accepted
Give united testimony before the lord
“I meet the lord’s gaze and prepare to recount what I witnessed.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +0)
Carciel meets the lord’s gaze across the chamber and holds it. The court’s silence gives his witness a clear place to begin.
The Lord
You stand here under the archive’s protection. Speak, then. Tell this court what you claim to have witnessed.
The Court Clerk rises. With a sharp gesture, they close the chamber doors, ending the procession and sealing the hearing into public record.
Serren Vale
I will speak for myself, plainly. Carciel witnessed the refuge, the records, and the proof with me.
The lord’s expression tightens, but the archive sigil on the witness record shines beside Pell’s seal. No private denial can erase what has been entered.
The Lord
Then let the first witness answer. Carciel, begin with the moment you entered Maelin Hart’s refuge.
“I turn to the court and regale them of what had happened in the way any bard would”
SUCCESS (Poor Persuasion, rolled +1)
Carciel
I entered Maelin Hart’s refuge beneath the shrine, following the marks she left behind. I found records altered, a watcher’s trail, and proof preserved despite the court’s orders.
Carciel gives the account the shape of a ballad, each discovery placed before the court like a bright bead on a cord. The final note catches in his throat, leaving it raw.
Serren Vale
I witnessed those records with Carciel. The refuge was not abandoned. It was being used to remove the truth.
The clerk’s quill races across the public record. The archive sigil flares, fixing their united testimony beside the sealed packets and Maelin’s name.
The Lord
An engaging account, bard. You have made suspicion sound like certainty, and placed my authority beneath its shadow.
The court does not dismiss the testimony. Instead, wary faces turn toward the dais as the lord leans forward, suspicion now openly attached to Carciel’s name.
The Lord
Serren Vale, you will answer next. Tell this court whether you stand by every word, or whether Carciel has dressed your fear in music.
Have Serren affirm the testimony before the lord
Quest Complete
Give united testimony before the lord
Skill Upgrade: Persuasion Poor→Mediocre