✓ Quest Accepted
Identify who issued the unauthorized custody order
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The blue shimmer beneath the battlement suddenly folds inward. The violet cord at the Young Warden’s shoulder answers with a harsh pulse, though no hand touches it.
Mira
That is not a summons from below. The fortress has just issued a custody order without the inquisitor’s seal.
Far beneath the stones, the restored crossing gives one clear tone. A second blue line appears beside the open route, angling toward the inner vaults and carrying the scent of wet copper.
Bren
Someone is trying to redirect the passage from inside Vael Turog. The route is resisting, but resistance is not the same as safety.
Mira
Then the fortress has broken its promise before the words have cooled. I will not let them bury that fact under procedure.
The cord tightens around her shoulder and projects a thin violet sigil onto the wall: CUSTODY OF ANOMALOUS CROSSING. Beneath it, a fresh blue mark writes itself: REFUSED.
Mira
If I cut this cord, they will call it insubordination. If I keep it, it may become their claim. Either choice must remain mine.
“I examine the second blue line without touching the open route. " So warden, your name?" I ask as I work”
SUCCESS (Legendary Arcana, rolled -1)
Sil'Thalis
So, Warden, what is your name?
Sil’Thalis studies the second blue line without touching the open route. His magic follows its angle toward the inner vaults, reading the wet-copper scent and the fresh mark’s edges.
The line carries a diverted custody pattern, but its refusal remains distinct from the original crossing. It points to an internal command junction rather than altering the voluntary route.
Mira
Seris Vaun. Warden of the eastern gate, though that title is less useful than it sounds today.
Mira
He examines the redirection without claiming the passage. That distinction may be the only reason it has not become a seizure.
Mira
The second line is a custody relay. I did not authorize it, and I will not let my name become permission for its use.
“" series, would you happen to have a bow , we may need it." As I trace where the order came from.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Arcana, rolled -3)
Sil'Thalis
Seris, would you happen to have a bow? We may need it.
Sil’Thalis traces the diverted blue line through the wet-copper resonance, following it beneath the battlement and into Vael Turog’s inner vaults. The pattern terminates at a custody seal bearing the Head Inquisitor’s authority, issued through an automatic relay rather than his personal hand.
Seris Vaun
I have a shortbow and six arrows. It is yours to borrow, not a pledge of my service.
Seris unhooks the compact bow from beneath her cloak and offers it grip-first. As Sil’Thalis completes the tracing, his rebuilt staff vents sharply, leaving his burned palm numb while the custody relay’s source becomes unmistakable.
Seris Vaun
The order came from the inner custody seal. It was authorized under the inquisitor’s name, but triggered without his spoken command.
Bren
Then the fortress has automated its claim. The source is known, the refusal remains separate, and the cost is already written on his hand.
The violet sigil cracks across the wall, exposing the relay’s path without altering the voluntary crossing. The bow rests in Sil’Thalis’s possession, while the blue route stays open and unclaimed.
✓ Quest Accepted
Prevent the automated custody relay from claiming the crossing
Quest Complete
Identify who issued the unauthorized custody order
New Gift: Unbroken Testimony Exalted
+ New Item Acquired
Shortbow
“" no lass, I'm a horrible shot, follow us, or shoot me , either way the bow is yours." I pass it back to her and head to the head inquisitors chamber”
SUCCESS (Legendary Agility, rolled -3)
Sil'Thalis
No, lass. I am a horrible shot. Follow us, or shoot me. Either way, the bow is yours.
Sil’Thalis places the shortbow back in Seris’s hands and turns toward the inner vaults. The custody sigil flares as he leaves its marked wall, recording his movement as unauthorized.
Seris Vaun
I will follow. If you force another bow from me, I will shoot, and I will name the reason plainly.
Seris keeps the bow lowered but ready, following beside Bren through the gatehouse. The violet cord at her shoulder tightens, raising a sharp ache beneath her armor.
Bren
The relay knows we are moving. It is not changing the crossing, but every guard will know we are approaching the inquisitor.
Sil’Thalis reaches the Head Inquisitor’s chamber without resistance. The bronze doors stand open beneath fresh violet sigils, and two guards step aside rather than touch the group.
the head inquisitor
You return quickly, with my custody seal exposed and my warden armed. Enter, then. Explain why my authority moved without my command.
“I turn to Seris, "reevaluate that lass, I asked you provided eh" I turn to the head inquisitor " let me see your command cord sir."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled +2)
Sil'Thalis
Reevaluate that, lass. I asked you to provide it, eh?
Sil’Thalis turns from Seris to the Head Inquisitor, leaving the bow with its owner. The exposed custody sigils cast violet light across the chamber.
Sil'Thalis
Now, sir, let me see your command cord.
Seris Vaun
I provided it because you asked, not because I pledged myself. I will keep reevaluating every order that claims consent.
The Head Inquisitor studies the cracked custody sigil, then reaches beneath his dark collar. He draws out a narrow violet cord wound around a silver clasp and lays it openly across his palm.
the head inquisitor
Here it is. This cord bears my authority, but I did not speak the order that activated the relay. Its command was issued through the inner seal.
The cord’s threads pulse once in answer to the wall sigil. Its woven pattern is visible now: the inquisitor’s seal, an automatic custody trigger, and no mark belonging to Seris.
“I use my own cord, series, and the head inquisitor s cord to trisngleate the person who might have sent the order.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Arcana, rolled +3)
Sil’Thalis finds no personal cord among his possessions. He strips a narrow thread from his sleeve, twists it into a temporary line, and lays it beside Seris Vaun’s cord and the Head Inquisitor’s.
Seris Vaun
You may borrow mine for tracing, but it remains mine. Do not mistake contact for permission.
He aligns the three cords over the cracked custody sigil. His staff vents a thin blue pulse, and the threads answer in different tones, separating authority from activation and witness.
The Head Inquisitor’s cord carries his seal but no initiating impulse. Seris’s cord records presence and refusal. The improvised thread catches the hidden resonance that triggered the order.
the head inquisitor
Then the command did not come from me. What does the third line identify?
The resonance resolves into a personal authorization nested beneath the inner seal: Senior Custody Clerk Veyra Nhal, whose private cipher activated the relay without spoken command.
Seris Vaun
The order has a name now, and the fortress cannot bury that name beneath my obedience.
+ New Item Acquired
Improvised thread
““Well, that's unfortunate.” I stare at the name for a moment. “Before we go introduce ourselves to Senior Clerk Nhal, disable the automatic trigger. I would rather not discover halfway through questioning her that your fortress can impersonate you a second time.” I glance at Seris Vaun " and police girl, you're with us" as we go to confront Veyra nhal”
SUCCESS (Legendary Magic, rolled -1)
Sil'Thalis
Well, that's unfortunate. Before we meet Senior Clerk Nhal, disable the automatic trigger. I will not discover mid-questioning that your fortress can impersonate you again.
Sil’Thalis lays the silver thread across the three cords and feeds a measured current through his witness-staff. The hidden authorization peels away from the custody seal without disturbing the Head Inquisitor’s authority or Seris’s refusal.
The automatic trigger goes dark. The inner seal remains intact, but it can no longer issue custody in the Head Inquisitor’s name without his spoken command and a witnessed activation.
Sil'Thalis
And police girl, you’re with us.
Seris Vaun
I am with you to confront Veyra Nhal, not to surrender my judgment. If she invokes another order, I will name it.
They follow the severed relay through inner passages to a narrow records office. Veyra Nhal, an adult drow woman, with warm brown skin, a visible narrow face, and a charcoal robe with a fitted silhouette with a compact build, copper-brown braids, and ink-stained fingers, stands over a violet cipher tablet.
Veyra Nhal
You disabled my trigger and came directly here. Then ask your questions plainly, before the fortress invents another answer.
Quest Complete
Prevent the automated custody relay from claiming the crossing
Skill Upgrade: Crafting Superb→Legendary