Morning mist clings to Bellmere’s riverside path as Carciel and Serren make ready for the southern journey. From the road, a mud-spattered courier hurries toward the quay, one hand pressed around a sealed parcel.
Serren Vale
That is no traveler’s pace. Stay where the quayfolk can see us.
The courier slows before the moorings, breathing hard but keeping both hands visible. Boatman watches from beside the tied barges, wary of the sudden arrival.
The Courier
Carciel? Serren Vale? I was told to find you here. My name is Merrin Holt. The returning barge master entrusted me with this parcel before turning south again.
Merrin Holt
The message is urgent, but I could not read it. The seal bears a mark I have never seen, and neither has the barge master, as far as I know.
Merrin extends the parcel without crossing the last few paces. Dark wax closes the wrapping, stamped with an unfamiliar symbol like a river reed split by a crown. Serren studies it while Boatman shifts nearer to the mooring post.
Boatman
If the barge master sent it, why bring it ashore by the southern road? That needs answering before anyone breaks the seal.
Merrin Holt
Because the barge master told me not to trust the river route with it. I came to deliver it safely, and I will wait while you decide what to do.
✓ Quest Accepted
Learn what the sealed parcel contains
✓ Quest Accepted
Identify who sent the sealed parcel
“I look over the letter”
From the parcel’s outer wrapping, the neat inked address becomes clear: Bellmere quay, to be carried south on the reserved barge and returned with its passengers. No summons or authority mark appears, only the split reed beneath the crown.
Serren Vale
It knows our travel plans, but it does not command them.
“"who gave you this parcel?"”
SUCCESS (Legendary Reasoning, rolled +2)
Carciel
Who gave you this parcel?
Merrin’s grip tightens around the wrapping, but they answer without looking away.
Merrin Holt
The barge master, Tovan Reeve. He placed it in my hands before the southbound crew cast off.
Serren Vale
A named sender, and not the southern archive. That keeps the choice ours.
Merrin Holt
He gave no explanation. Only this instruction: carry it to Bellmere’s reserved passengers, and let them decide what to do with it.
The parcel remains sealed between them. Its sender is known, but its contents still wait behind the split-reed-and-crown wax.
Merrin Holt
Will you take it aboard, or shall I return it to Tovan Reeve before the barge leaves?
Quest Complete
Identify who sent the sealed parcel
“"That's very odd....where is it going? Is"”
Carciel
Where is it going?
Merrin Holt
South, on your reserved barge, then back with you. Tovan gave no farther destination.
The parcel offers travel information, not an order. Its choice remains with Carciel and Serren.
“"did he say it can be opened? Or just that it had to go to and from?"”
SUCCESS (Legendary Reasoning, rolled +0)
Carciel
Did Tovan say it could be opened, or only that it had to travel south and return?
Merrin Holt
Only the route. Tovan gave no permission to break the seal, and no warning that it must remain closed. He said the choice belonged to you.
The answer settles the parcel's first mystery. Its journey is arranged, but its contents remain hidden, and no authority claims Carciel's hands.
Serren Vale
Then it carries information, not an obligation. We can take it south, return it unopened, or ask what Tovan expected us to learn from it.
Merrin Holt
Tovan looked relieved when he gave it to me. Whatever is inside, they feared losing the chance to send it more than they feared its being read.
Serren Vale
How do you want this journey to begin, Carciel, with the parcel sealed between us, or with its truth already known?
“I open the box”
SUCCESS (Superb Strength, rolled -1)
Carciel takes the parcel from Merrin and works the split-reed-and-crown seal loose with careful fingers. The wax gives way without resistance.
Inside lies a folded river chart, a small brass token, and a letter wrapped in oilskin. No hidden blade, powder, or binding mark waits beneath the lid.
Serren Vale
A route to the southern archive, perhaps. Not a summons.
The letter names Tovan Reeve as sender. It explains that a southern archive has received a request for Carciel's music and Serren's independent testimony, matching the invitation Pell brought to Bellmere.
Merrin Holt
Tovan said the brass token would pay for a safe mooring and a night's lodging, if you chose to use it. He called it courtesy, not a condition.
The chart marks the barge's landing, the return departure eight days later, and a riverside archive where the invitation may be answered or declined in person. Their passage remains theirs to keep, change, or abandon.
Serren Vale
Then we know what it carries: practical welcome, and a clearer choice. We can decide what answer to give before the barge leaves.
Quest Complete
Learn what the sealed parcel contains
New Gift: Sealed Record Reading
+ New Item Acquired
River chart
+ New Item Acquired
Oilskin letter