The iron key still lies on the floor, and the amended warrant remains open beside Cerdic’s released declaration. The scarred pursuer waits near the doorway for Timothy to move.
Harlen
Before anyone takes a step, the boundaries must be spoken plainly. Timothy travels freely, the pursuer answers for his safety, and no one may bind or redirect him.
Garran
I understand. I lead him openly to the riverside countinghouse, then name the reeve’s agent before the reeve. I claim no right to restrain him.
Cerdic
My release stands. I provide no escort and claim no authority, but the declaration remains evidence that his consent was withdrawn before departure.
Hrodric
I will preserve the original warrant, the struck travel clause, the payment confession, and Cerdic’s release. Copies can follow Northmere’s officials.
the Northmere official
The journey is permitted under those terms only. The pursuer must present Timothy before the reeve, and any attempt to conceal him voids this permission.
Harlen steps aside without touching Timothy, leaving the path clear. Cerdic remains by the records table, Hrodric beside the evidence, while every witness waits for Timothy’s first movement.
✓ Quest Accepted
Reach the riverside countinghouse
“I remind the Northmere official, Harlen and Cerdic that I have a tendency to flee custody when emotional, and on these grounds I persuade them to let the scarred pursuer shackle my wrists and ankles to ensure my safe conveyance to the reeve as agreed.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled +0)
Timothy
I remind you all that strong emotion has made me flee custody before. Shackle my wrists and ankles, so I reach the reeve safely as agreed.
The request settles over the records room. The Northmere official studies Timothy, then the pursuer, weighing a restraint meant for conveyance rather than punishment.
the Northmere official
I permit it under strict terms. The shackles secure him only during travel, remain visible, and come off before the reeve for questioning.
Harlen
I will inspect the fit and walk beside him. If the pursuer tightens them, diverts him, or threatens him, I intervene.
Cerdic
His reasoning is sound, provided this is his choice. I claim no renewed custody, but I will witness the restraint and its purpose.
The scarred pursuer unlocks a set of travel irons and waits for permission. With the witnesses watching, he fastens Timothy’s wrists and ankles securely, leaving enough slack for measured steps.
Garran
They are for safe conveyance only. I will bring you openly to the reeve, and every witness here can testify to that agreement.
+ New Item Acquired
Travel irons
“I walk openly with the scarred pursuer at the start of our long journey on foot to the riverside countinghouse, asking his name and how long he has been in this line of work.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled -1)
The party leaves the gatehouse by the rain-dark road. Timothy’s travel irons clink with each measured step, visible and loose enough for walking, while the scarred pursuer leads openly.
Timothy
What is your name, and how long have you worked in this line of custody and collection?
Garran
Garran. I have worked such roads for twelve years, first as a guard, then as a reeve’s hired hand when coin was short.
Harlen walks at Timothy’s side, inspecting the irons whenever the road dips. Behind them, the monastery road fades into rain and low fields, leaving the countinghouse still far ahead.
Garran
I have carried warrants, debts, and reluctant witnesses. Most work is escorting people who know they have little choice, though this bargain is different.
Garran
He asks like a clerk taking testimony, not a captive fearing the road. I must keep every promise made before those witnesses.
Garran keeps his hands away from Timothy’s irons and maintains the agreed pace. The road bends toward the river, and the journey proceeds under the witnesses’ recorded conditions.
“I continue friendly conversation with Garran and Harlen, first expressing fascination with their work, flattering their professionalism, and then asking them to compare how often they have had to inflict torture or other painful force upon captives, debtors, reluctant witnesses, prisoners and criminals.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled +0)
Timothy
Your work fascinates me. You both conduct yourselves with unusual care, and I am curious how your experience compares when force becomes necessary.
The road slopes toward the river, its muddy ruts shining beneath the rain. Garran keeps his pace measured, while Harlen glances from the irons to the fields.
Garran
Flattery will not make the work gentler, but I accept the respect. In twelve years, I have used painful force against captives and debtors perhaps a dozen times, usually to stop escape or compel compliance.
Harlen
Less than that for me. I have guarded prisoners and criminals, but restraint usually sufficed. I have struck only when someone endangered another person or refused every safer command.
Timothy
Then Garran has seen more coercion, while Harlen has kept closer to restraint. How often was torture ordered, rather than merely threatened or carried out in panic?
Garran
Ordered torture? Twice, by men with authority and coin enough to make refusal dangerous. I carried out neither order fully. Pain was threatened more often than it was inflicted.
Harlen
I have witnessed one deliberate beating and stopped another. Garran’s distinction matters: many call cruelty procedure after the fact, but the body knows the difference.
“I ask Garran what methods of torture are most often used against young male prisoners.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled -1)
Timothy
Garran, what methods of torture are most often used against young male prisoners?
Rain ticks against leather and iron as the road descends. Garran keeps his eyes forward, considering the question without slowing his measured pace.
Garran
The commonest are deprivation, prolonged standing, cold, confinement, and threats against kin. Men call those lesser methods because they leave fewer marks.
Harlen
And when those fail, some use beating, suspension, or restraints held too long. None becomes lawful merely because an official orders it.
Garran
Against boys, captors often rely on fear and exhaustion rather than elaborate devices. They isolate them, deny sleep, promise relief, then demand names or confessions.
Garran’s jaw tightens. The muddy road opens toward reeds and the river, while the travel irons give a quiet, regular clink with each step.
Garran
The worst part is how ordinary it looks afterward. A chair, a locked room, a basin of water, and men insisting the prisoner chose to speak.
“Are Garran or Harlen interested in passing the time on our journey by hearing a lengthy description of some of the whippings I received as a blacksmith's apprentice and then as a novice in the monastery?”
YES, AND MORE (Unlikely, rolled 1)
Garran
If you can bear telling it, I will hear it. Such accounts teach me where a captor’s claims of necessity usually conceal choice.
Harlen
I will listen too, but not as entertainment. Speak of what was done, who ordered it, and whether anyone witnessed the orders.
Garran’s expression hardens, and Harlen draws nearer despite the mud. Neither asks Timothy to hurry; the road and its rain grant him time to set the account in order.
Garran
There is an advantage in telling it before we reach the countinghouse. My former reeve kept payment ledgers, including assignments made to hired custodians. If your account names dates or officials, those pages may support it.
Harlen
Then I will remember each detail separately from rumor. A clear account may protect you better than any claim that you submitted willingly.
The road descends beside the reeds, and Garran no longer treats the journey as a simple delivery. He listens as a collector of evidence, while Harlen prepares to witness the story rather than merely escort its teller.