Bren leads Sil’Thalis and Seris through a narrow stair into a quiet stone gallery overlooking Vael Turog’s eastern approaches. Behind them, Veyra and the Head Inquisitor remain with the originals and two duplicate ledgers.
The copied ledger stays in Sil’Thalis’s possession beneath his arm. Below, guards resume their posts along the road, while the fortress bell’s final echoes fade into the morning air.
Bren
Evidence matters because people can deny what happened. But it cannot become another command that decides where we stand, whom we trust, or whether we are allowed to leave.
Seris Vaun
That distinction is harder inside a fortress. Every record becomes a rule eventually, unless someone keeps asking who gave it authority.
Bren rests both hands on the gallery’s worn parapet, watching a pair of wagons pass beneath the gate. She does not reach for the ledger or ask Sil’Thalis to surrender it.
Bren
I want these names preserved, and I want the injured heard. I do not want their suffering to become the reason we stop living beyond the archive.
Seris Vaun
If I carry this record, I must remain its witness, not become its keeper.
“" here, read through all of it. I have done horrendous things. All in the name of a crown that I believed was doing right. " I take a ledger that I pulled from the office. "Read this as well. It is where I was for five years." I pause" and when I came back , no questions just the next mission. From that point is when I made my decision Bren. So yes take them." I say plainly”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled +0)
Sil'Thalis
Bren, read through all of it. I have done horrendous things, all in the name of a crown I believed was doing right.
Sil’Thalis opens the duplicate restraint ledger beneath his arm, then draws out the separate ledger taken from the office and offers it to Bren across the parapet.
Sil'Thalis
Read this as well. It records where I was for five years. When I came back, there were no questions, only the next mission.
Sil'Thalis
From that point, I made my decision, Bren. So yes. Take them.
Bren
I will. I will read what you are giving me, and I will keep your years separate from the fortress’s account of them.
Bren accepts both ledgers with deliberate care, keeping them visible between her hands rather than claiming them as private property. Her gaze stays on Sil’Thalis.
Bren
I will not turn this into a verdict, or a command about who you must become. I will witness it, and I will tell you where my account differs.
✓ Quest Accepted
Ensure the injured witnesses are heard