The scarred pursuer leads Timothy beneath the timber gatehouse, chain drawn short. Muddy guards watch from the walls as the gate shuts against the rain.
Cerdic waits beside a trestle table. He is a lean middle-aged man with sallow skin, iron-gray hair, and a dark wool coat clasped at the throat. The disputed warrant lies beside a sealed Northmere message.
Cerdic
Report. Begin with the chapel, the official, and why my prisoner entered your hands only to leave them again.
the scarred pursuer
He escaped the chapel, then returned and offered the bonds himself. The Northmere official witnessed it and forbade punishment or transfer without her order.
Cerdic’s fingers pause above the warrant. One guard closes the inner door, while another takes the chain from the pursuer and holds Timothy in place.
Cerdic
So her warning follows you here in writing, and you still believe obedience will make this arrangement respectable.
Cerdic
A protected witness is harder to break than a fugitive, but easier to discredit if he keeps choosing his own chains.
✓ Quest Accepted
Have Cerdic's authority over Timothy formally recognized
“Will I have to accept Cerdic's authority over me if his men humiliate me by pulling down my shorts?”
NO, AND WORSE (Likely, rolled 100)
The guard yanks Timothy’s chain toward the trestle, while another reaches for his soaked clothing. The gesture is meant to degrade him before Cerdic, not merely restrain him.
Cerdic
Stop. No one alters his clothing. Not because he deserves dignity, but because Northmere’s official has made his condition evidence.
The guard halts, but the chain jerks Timothy forward. A clasp tears loose from his outer garment, exposing the raw marks left by the earlier restraints without proceeding further.
the scarred pursuer
He offered the irons himself. Surely he cannot object to being displayed in them.
Cerdic
You misunderstand. The official’s sealed message orders his immediate presentation at Northmere, alive and uninjured, before any local authority questions him.
Cerdic breaks the seal. The message also names the scarred pursuer and his men as witnesses to an unlawful seizure, placing Cerdic’s domain under suspicion the moment Timothy crossed its gate.
Cerdic
You are not my prisoner. You are evidence against me, and now every man here must decide whether obedience to my order is worth answering for before Northmere.
✓ Quest Accepted
Make Cerdic feel in control
“I kneel before Cerdic and offer to be punished however he decides”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled +0)
Timothy lowers himself onto the muddy boards before Cerdic, chains settling around his wrists and ankles. He bows his head and offers himself for whatever punishment Cerdic chooses.
Timothy
Punish me as you decide, Cerdic. I will submit to your judgment.
Cerdic
You offer punishment while Northmere names you evidence. That is either courage, madness, or another attempt to control the room.
The guards glance between them. The scarred pursuer keeps hold of the chain, but Cerdic raises one hand, preventing any immediate roughness or spectacle.
Cerdic
If I punish him, I strengthen the official’s case. If I spare him, he may turn submission into another weapon.
Cerdic
Very well. Your punishment will be restraint without injury, and questioning without concealment. You will kneel here while I decide what your testimony is worth.
Cerdic orders the chain shortened and the guards to leave Timothy’s clothing untouched. His offered submission is accepted, but transformed into a public test beneath the sealed Northmere message.
Quest Complete
Make Cerdic feel in control