The Courier’s footsteps fade behind you. Evening mist silveres the river gate, where a fresh copy of Bellmere’s quay rules hangs beneath the awning.
The Patrol Captain
Carciel. Serren. I asked you here because these rules must be more than ink. Witness what happens when authority meets the people it serves.
A moored barge rocks against the gate. Its crew stands around a fee ledger while a patrol hand keeps one finger pressed to the posted schedule.
The Barge Master
The old charge was three coppers. This new demand is five, and no one can show us where the extra two belong.
Serren Vale
Then the question is not whether the crew can pay. It is whether Bellmere’s rule applies equally when an official benefits from changing it.
The Patrol Captain turns toward the ledger, face still hidden beneath the shadow of their hood. The disputed fee, the public rule, and Bellmere’s shared compact now meet in one narrow space.
The Patrol Captain
Witness this plainly, Carciel. If the fee is lawful, it will stand in the open. If it is not, I will correct my own patrol before this crew leaves the gate.
“I compare the ledger against the public schedule”
SUCCESS (Legendary Reasoning, rolled -1)
Carciel lays the public schedule beside the open ledger and follows each line from berth to cargo class.
The figures agree until the final entry. The posted rule names three coppers for this passage, while the ledger demands five without naming any lawful addition.
Serren Vale
There it is. The extra two are not a fee in the rule. They are only an entry in this ledger.
The Barge Master
And the clerk told us payment was required before our ropes could be released.
The Patrol Captain removes the schedule from beneath the patrol hand and holds it against the ledger, making the conflicting amounts visible beneath the awning.
The Patrol Captain
The public rule governs this gate. Three coppers is the lawful fee, and the unmarked addition is struck from the account.
With a charcoal stub, the Captain crosses out the extra charge and writes the reason beside it: no compact authority, no collection. The patrol hand lifts their finger from the old schedule.
The Patrol Captain
Barge Master, pay the stated fee only. Then tell me which clerk demanded the rest, because this correction must enter the gate record before the next barge arrives.
✓ Quest Accepted
Have the unlawful extra charge entered into the gate record
✓ Quest Accepted
Identify the clerk who demanded the unlawful extra fee
“I ask the Barge Master which clerk demanded the extra two coppers.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +0)
Carciel
Which clerk demanded the extra two coppers?
The Barge Master
Mira Quill. She works the west tally desk, beneath the blue awning. She said the new amount came from above, but showed no order.
The name settles over the ledger. The Barge Master points across the gate, where the west tally desk stands empty beneath its blue awning.
The Patrol Captain
Mira Quill is entered as the collector named in this complaint. The gate record will preserve the public fee, the unlawful demand, and the absence of any authorizing mark.
They add the clerk's name, the two-copper demand, and the witnesses' names beneath the crossed-out entry. A fresh patrol notice is pinned beside the schedule: no extra fee may delay a rope, cargo, or departure.
Serren Vale
The rule now has teeth. But whether Mira answers for this should be decided in the open, not behind another desk.
The Patrol Captain
Then choose the next mark in the record. Do we summon Mira Quill here before the next barge, or post this correction first and call her afterward?
Quest Complete
Identify the clerk who demanded the unlawful extra fee
Quest Complete
Have the unlawful extra charge entered into the gate record
“I summon Mira Quill before the next barge”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +3)
Carciel
Summon Mira Quill before the next barge. Let her answer here, before the witnesses and the rule.
The Patrol Captain copies the summons into the gate record, then sends a runner beneath the blue awning. Before the next barge sounds its approach, Mira Quill arrives with ink-stained fingers and a sealed pouch at her belt.
Mira Quill
I came because the notice named me. I will answer the charge in the open.
She places her tally book on the gate table. Its last page bears the five-copper demand, but beneath it lies a folded order bearing no magistrate's mark.
The Patrol Captain
Then the record gains more than a name. It gains the instrument used to justify the extra fee.
Serren Vale
And now the question is plain. Mira, who gave you this order, and why did you trust it?
“"Please answer truthfully Mira, you're not in trouble"”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +2)
Carciel
Please answer truthfully, Mira. You're not in trouble.
Mira's guarded posture loosens. She turns the unmarked order so every witness can see its blank seal and faded instruction.
Mira Quill
I found it beneath the west tally desk three mornings ago. It told me the passage fee had changed, and named no magistrate because I assumed the gate office had received the authority separately.
Mira Quill
No one corrected me. Each day I took the five coppers, recorded them, and waited for the order to be replaced.
The Patrol Captain
You should have asked for the mark before collecting a single extra copper. But your answer distinguishes a mistaken clerk from a secret author.
The Captain writes Mira's explanation beneath the unlawful demand, then marks the order as evidence. The gate notice remains posted: three coppers for every lawful passage, with no private addition.
Serren Vale
Then let the record show both things, the fee was unlawful, and Mira has answered openly. What happens to the coins already collected?
Mira reaches for the sealed pouch at her belt, but pauses with her fingers on its cord, waiting for the Captain's ruling.
✓ Quest Accepted
Have the unlawfully collected fees returned
“"There's no harm done. It was a simple mistake. Just return it"”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +2)
Carciel
There's no harm done. It was a simple mistake. Just return it.
The Captain studies Carciel, then the pouch at Mira's belt. His quill stops above the record.
The Patrol Captain
Agreed. The extra charge was unlawful, and the coins belong to the boatmen who paid it.
Mira loosens the cord. The Captain counts the coins against her tally book, naming each affected passage in the gate record.
Mira Quill
I will return every extra copper publicly, and I will mark each repayment beside the original entry.
Before the next barge departs, Mira carries the pouch to the quay. The affected boatmen receive their two coppers each, while the Captain witnesses every handoff and adds the completed repayments to the gate record.
The Barge Master
Then the rule means what it says. Three coppers, for everyone.
Under the awning, the posted notice gains a fresh line: unlawful additions must be returned to those charged, with the gate record open for inspection.
Quest Complete
Have the unlawfully collected fees returned