The Clerk lays the copied custody index, black-wax docket, and annex record across the locked writing table, exactly as promised. Serren remains beside Carciel. Behind the inner door, the Registrar waits.
Court Clerk
Before the magistrates, we summon the witnesses in order. First, the maker of the copy. Then the keeper of the annex record. Last, the Registrar, to answer for the transfer seal.
The Clerk places a cord of archive-blue thread beside the documents, not touching them. Each item will be named, witnessed, and passed only after the previous hand is recorded.
The Registrar
You mean to make my custody the hinge of the accusation.
Court Clerk
No. The chain makes the evidence the hinge. Your testimony will show whether the door was opened lawfully.
A bolt shifts behind the inner door. The Registrar emerges with empty hands and a guarded face, while the Clerk seals the table’s record beneath the archive sigil. The evidence cannot be removed without leaving a mark.
Serren Vale
Then let the magistrates hear the whole chain. Nothing hidden, nothing carried alone.
The Clerk gathers the three records into a witnessed bundle, leaving the black wax visible. Tomorrow, the magistrates will receive not merely an accusation, but the path each piece traveled to reach them.
“"who authorized the seal?"”
SUCCESS (Legendary Reasoning, rolled -3)
Carciel
Who authorized the seal?
The question fixes the chain at its most dangerous link. The black wax catches the lamplight, its impression turned toward the Registrar.
The Registrar
Odran Vey's authority. The same authority behind the removals, copied into the private transfer order.
The answer lands cleanly. The seal was not the Custodian's, nor a lawful receiving mark. It carried Vey's concealed commission.
Court Clerk
State it again for the record. Did the magistrates authorize Odran Vey to use that authority here?
The Registrar
No. Not in this annex, and not for a private archive. I accepted the docket because the copied custody line made it appear valid.
The Clerk scratches the admission into the annex record. The stylus slips on the damp stone and cuts a shallow line across the page, a small blemish now preserved beside the testimony.
Serren Vale
Then tomorrow they hear both facts. The authority was false here, and the record was made to hide that.
The Registrar
They will hear it. But they will also ask whether I knowingly carried the lie. Decide how my testimony is entered.
✓ Quest Accepted
Secure the Registrar's testimony for the magistrates
“"I wish to secure your testimony"”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +1)
Carciel holds the Registrar's gaze across the locked table, making the request plainly and without threat. The room gives the silence weight.
The Registrar
They are offering a place in the record, not a way out of it.
The Registrar
Enter my testimony as a willing statement. I accepted the docket, and I will testify that its authority appeared valid only because the custody line had been altered.
The Court Clerk writes the declaration beneath the earlier admission, then draws the archive-blue cord around the annex record, docket, and index. The archive sigil flares once.
Court Clerk
The Registrar's testimony is secured for the magistrates. Their admission, the altered line, and the false authority travel with the evidence chain.
Serren Vale
Then the record carries the truth and the witness who can confirm it. No one has to speak for them.
The Registrar places two fingers on the cord, accepting its witness-mark. Beyond the annex door, hurried footsteps stop, and someone waits without knocking.
Identify the person waiting
Quest Complete
Secure the Registrar's testimony for the magistrates