The blue pulse beneath the older council seal stutters. Thin lines of unfamiliar ink rise through the ledger’s pages, threading between Oren Vale’s careful entries like roots seeking light.
Oren Vale
Registry continuation: payment marks attached to the rerouted water were received under the initials of the eastern sluice office. The first transfer bears a private ledger code.
The voice fades, then returns from deeper beneath the paper. Fresh ink beads along the margins, while the older writing begins to pale wherever the blue light touches it.
Neris Vahl
It is erasing the record as it reveals it. Tavian, hold the lamp closer. Durnan, watch the marks and tell me which ones appeared first.
Tavian Rusk
The eastern sluice office had no authority to sell that route. If those payments are genuine, someone used its records without its consent.
Neris snatches a blank folio from the shelf and presses it beside the ledger. Tavian angles the oil lamp over the pages, his injured hand still guarded against his chest.
Neris Vahl
Help us preserve the sequence, mercenary. If the ink vanishes, interpretation will be all we have left, and interpretation can be bought.
✓ Quest Accepted
Preserve the hidden payment trail as actionable evidence
“i watch the marks carefully and report to her”
SUCCESS (Good Perception, rolled -1)
Durnan studies the ledger’s shifting margins without touching them. The first marks to appear are narrow hooks beside the eastern sluice notation, followed by three dots and a hooked stroke beneath the private code.
Durnan Scalabis
The marks formed in a fixed order, but the final stroke is too blurred to read confidently.
He tracks the sequence as the blue light reaches each margin: hooks first, then dots, then the longer strokes. The effort costs precious time, and several older lines fade before he can compare them.
Durnan Scalabis
The hooks appeared first, beside the eastern sluice entry. The dots followed, then the longer strokes beneath the private code. The last stroke is unclear.
Neris Vahl
That is enough to preserve the order. I will copy the hooks and dots first, before the light takes them.
Neris writes swiftly on the blank folio, leaving spaces where the uncertain stroke belongs. Tavian keeps the lamp steady, while the ledger’s blue pulse weakens to a cold shimmer.
✓ Quest Accepted
Find who profited from the rerouted water
“lets go. we need to find who is behind this.”
SUCCESS (Fair Reasoning, rolled +0)
Neris finishes the copy and closes the ledger before the last blue shimmer dies. The preserved sequence points them beyond the archive, toward the eastern sluice office and its private payment records.
Durnan Scalabis
The order is clear, but the final stroke remains uncertain.
Neris Vahl
We start with the eastern sluice office. Its ledgers should show who accessed the private code and who authorized the transfers.
Neris folds the copied folio into her coat and leads them up the narrow stair. Tavian follows, keeping his injured hand close while the archive door settles shut behind them.
Tavian Rusk
The payment marks may expose the buyer, but not the hand that ordered the change. We should question the sluice clerks before anyone warns them.
They emerge into the council passage as evening light reaches through its high windows. Neris turns toward the eastern offices, carrying the copied evidence and the unanswered final stroke with it.
Quest Complete
Preserve the hidden payment trail as actionable evidence
Attribute Upgrade: Perception Good→Great