Willowford’s chapel door opens onto a low hearth and bare benches. Bren guides Seamus inside, while Alexandre follows with the monastery token clenched in one scarred hand.
Bren Riverglade
Sit here, Seamus. Small sips first, then warmth. Timothy, the dry place by the fire is yours if you need it.
Bren settles Seamus near the hearth, removes the wet outer cloth, and wraps him in a chapel blanket. He checks the boy’s pulse and offers watered broth.
Alexandre Reaper
The token stays here. Tell me what you know of the men behind us, and do not spend truth merely to win sympathy.
Seamus
They wore no single badge. One had the monastery’s cord, another carried a reeve’s warrant, and the third knew Alex’s name.
Alexandre places the token on the chapel table. His gaze shifts from Seamus to Timothy, measuring the monastery’s reach against the boy’s exhausted testimony.
Seamus
They said Timothy had taken something from the abbey. They said Bren was helping a heretic. I do not know what is true, but they meant to seize you both.
Establish a shared plan to protect the chapel from the monastery’s agents
Learn who is directing the monastery’s pursuers