The mounted royal justice leads Mara Vale along the wet road toward the old lime kiln. His clerk follows close, quill moving steadily, while Woman in Green and the black-haired woman keep pace beside Danny.
The Mounted Royal Justice
Mara Vale, begin again when we reach the kiln. State who paid you, what you carried, and who else knew of the arrangement.
Mara Vale
Oren Pell paid me. The courier knew only the road and the signal. I never met the noble patron behind the work.
The road climbs through thorn scrub and abandoned terraces. Danny’s right shoulder stays quiet beneath his armor until a fallen branch forces him to twist around it, drawing a brief, sharp pain.
Woman in Green
Someone may have reached the kiln before us. The ground near the stones is disturbed, but the rain has blurred the tracks.
The collapsed kiln appears beyond the ridge, its pale stones scattered around a blackened hollow. Fresh scrape marks cross the mud, and one loosened slab reveals a small metal token beneath it.
The Mounted Royal Justice
No one touches that token. Clerk, record its position before we expose the seal.
✓ Quest Accepted
Identify the noble patron behind the conspiracy
✓ Quest Accepted
Have the clerk record the metal token's significance as evidence
“I ask Mara what she knows of the noble patron behind the work.”
FAILURE (Great Willpower, rolled -2)
“I ask Mara what she knows of the noble patron behind the work.”
SUCCESS (Great Willpower, rolled +2)
Danny Black
Mara, what do you know about the noble patron behind this work?
Danny asks without raising his voice. His superstitious caution makes him watch Mara’s hands and the kiln stones, while Motive Discernment separates her guarded manner from deliberate evasion.
Mara Vale
I never saw the patron’s face. Oren Pell said the payment came from a noble house that needed the sentry list moved quietly.
Mara glances toward the loosened slab, then lowers her voice. Her hesitation concerns the patron’s identity, not the truth of the arrangement.
Mara Vale
Oren showed me a black signet bearing a crowned stag. He called the patron Lord Carrow, though I cannot swear that was the lord’s true name. The rest was written in Oren’s hand.
The Mounted Royal Justice
Clerk, record Lord Carrow, the crowned stag, and Mara’s uncertainty about the name. Then we search the kiln for Oren Pell’s payment.
“You asked the the justice. Is if he has heard of this. This noble before. Uh oh, with the description of a stag.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Reasoning, rolled +1)
Danny Black
Justice, have you heard of a noble house marked by a crowned stag? Mara says Lord Carrow was behind this work.
Danny states the evidence plainly, helped by Clear Testimony. Superstitious caution still makes him wary of attaching guilt to a noble name from a single signet.
The Mounted Royal Justice
I have heard of House Carrow. Its crowned stag is old and recognizable, but the sign alone proves no patron’s involvement.
The mounted royal justice turns from the kiln stones to Danny, answering without hesitation. Mara watches him closely, while the clerk’s quill pauses above the record.
The Mounted Royal Justice
Carrow lands lie east of here. Lord Carrow has influence, certainly, but I have no lawful warrant naming him in this arrangement.
The Royal Justice's Clerk
Recorded: House Carrow bears the crowned stag, and the justice confirms recognition without confirming the patron’s identity.
“You're saying he'd never hershey's face somehow? Either the king or anyone? Or gives an identity or one. A bit. I thought you were the Lord Justice his This this somehow?”
SUCCESS (Legendary Reasoning, rolled +1)
Danny Black
Justice, have you ever seen Lord Carrow’s face, or received his true identity from the king or another lawful authority? You speak as though you know the house, but are you his justice?
Danny keeps the question measured, separating what Mara reported from what the justice himself can establish. Clear Testimony gives the inquiry a clean shape, while his superstitious caution refuses to treat a signet as a face.
The Mounted Royal Justice
No. I have never seen Lord Carrow’s face, and neither the king nor my superiors have supplied me with a confirmed likeness or fuller identity for this affair.
The Mounted Royal Justice
And no, I am not his justice. I serve the crown. My authority is to investigate this road, the payment, the courier, and any evidence connecting them to House Carrow.
Motive Discernment finds no evasion in his answer: he distinguishes knowledge of House Carrow from knowledge of its lord’s face, and crown authority from household service.
The Royal Justice's Clerk
Recorded precisely: the justice has no firsthand sight of Lord Carrow, no confirmed identity from the crown, and no allegiance to House Carrow.
“So we can't be this noble patron, and that happens to be him.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Reasoning, rolled +2)
Danny Black
Then the noble patron can be Lord Carrow, and that is the man Oren named.
Danny sets the evidence in order: Mara heard Oren name Lord Carrow, and the crowned stag on Oren’s signet matches House Carrow. Clear Testimony keeps the conclusion exact, while Motive Discernment separates a linked identity from proof of the lord’s presence.
Danny Black
The signet identifies the house; Oren’s words identify the patron he claimed to serve.
The Mounted Royal Justice
Yes. On this evidence, Lord Carrow is the named noble patron of the arrangement, though his face and personal involvement remain unproved.
The conclusion settles cleanly, despite Danny’s superstitious caution urging him not to trust a symbol too quickly. The symbol alone is weak, but joined to Mara’s account and Oren’s naming, the connection holds.
The Royal Justice's Clerk
Recorded: Oren Pell named Lord Carrow as patron, and the crowned stag links that patron to House Carrow. Identity established as the working conclusion, not personal proof.
Quest Complete
Identify the noble patron behind the conspiracy
Skill Upgrade: Lore (Local) Great→Superb
“I ask the clerk to record the token's significance”
SUCCESS (Legendary Reasoning, rolled +0)
Danny Black
Clerk, record the token's significance: it was concealed beneath the loosened slab at the old lime kiln, the place named for Oren Pell's payment.
Danny’s legendary reasoning distinguishes the token’s known location from what it cannot prove. Clear Testimony keeps the request exact, while superstitious caution prevents him from claiming the token identifies its owner.
The Royal Justice's Clerk
Recorded: the token lay beneath the loosened slab at the lime kiln, the designated payment site. Its position links it to the arrangement, but does not identify its owner.
The royal justice's clerk writes the location, the slab, and the limitation beside the earlier entries. The small token remains untouched in the mud, its significance preserved without turning suspicion into proof.
The Mounted Royal Justice
Good. That is a lawful record of relevance, not an accusation. The token may connect the kiln to the payment, while its owner remains unknown.
The justice nods toward the slab without touching it. Mara watches the token in silence, and the clerk closes the entry only after the wording is complete.
Quest Complete
Have the clerk record the metal token's significance as evidence
Skill Upgrade: Diplomacy Mediocre