A month after the road compact, the new house stands ready beneath fresh timber and blue ward-stones. Winter stores fill its sheds while the household works in practiced rhythm, and Olyra’s promised repairs continue along the western road.
At the yard’s edge, a young adult courier woman, with a weathered face and a small silver earring waits beside her travel mule, slim beneath a gray cloak, dark braid tucked under a wool hood. She holds two sealed papers without crossing the gate.
One bears House Trisyran’s old symbol in black wax. The other is a smaller note, marked only with the coded phrase, “When the Red Howls come.” Raedwulf watches her with a cold, smug scrutiny.
Tavin Rusk
That seal has traveled a long way to reach a lawful home. I doubt the sender expects a warm welcome.
Tavin remains close at hand, while Sava, Marra, Dorran, and Dame Olyra gather near the storehouse doors. Olyra’s guarded trust has survived the month, but her eyes sharpen at the Trisyran mark.
Dame Olyra Venn
The courier has not opened either message. That leaves the choice with you, Silverfang. We can examine the seals together, or preserve your family’s first move for the record.
Sava
Whatever the phrase means, it was meant to be recognized by someone who remembers the old house. Let us hear what reaches your threshold before winter closes the roads.
✓ Quest Accepted
Identify the threat signaled by the Trisyran messages
“I ask the courier where she received the note marked “When the Red Howls come.””
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled +1)
Raedwulf
Where did you receive the note marked, “When the Red Howls come”?
Raedwulf steps nearer the gate, his cold, smug gaze fixed on the courier. Tavin remains beside him as the household watches the sealed papers.
the courier
At the old ashwood milestone, two days east of here. I found it tucked beneath the marker stone before dawn.
the courier
No one gave it to me directly. A hooded rider left the place shortly before I arrived, heading south toward the abandoned Trisyran road.
She lifts the smaller note without breaking its seal. Frost clings to its edges, while the black Trisyran wax remains unmarked and intact.
Sava
The ashwood milestone lies beyond the treaty road, but still within routes House Trisyran once watched. Someone expected this message to be found.
Dame Olyra Venn
Then the place, timing, and phrase belong in the record. We should preserve both seals and learn whether the rider came from the old house or merely used its shadow.
Director's notewhole tale
I tell both Sava and Olyra to ease there concerns.
“"Theirs only one person I know besides me that known that phase." "Siveril."”
SUCCESS (Great Reasoning, rolled +2)
Raedwulf
There is only one other person I know who knows that phrase. Siveril.
Raedwulf steps beside Tavin, resting an arm across the young rider’s shoulders like an old friend. His gaze moves from Marra to Dorran, then to the sealed note.
Sava
Siveril Trisyran. Your cousin, and a man with access to the family’s inner records. That makes the phrase older and more deliberate than I feared.
Dame Olyra Venn
If Siveril knows it, the message may be a warning rather than a summons. Or House Trisyran wants you to believe he sent it.
Dorran
Then both seals remain untouched. We record Siveril as the only known person besides Raedwulf who recognizes the phrase, and we inspect the milestone before choosing a reply.
Tavin Rusk
That gives us a name to trust carefully, and a road to question. I will have the western watch look for the rider’s trail.
The courier lowers the note without breaking its wax. Around the gate, the household’s attention settles on the old Trisyran symbol, while winter wind moves through the new ward-stones.
✓ Quest Accepted
Establish whether Siveril sent the Trisyran message
“Has my cousin Siveril found something important, that request my presence?”
YES (Likely, rolled 52)
The smaller note gives a faint crack beneath its wax, not from any hand nearby. A hidden line of ink rises through the paper, revealed by the cold.
the courier
There is writing beneath the seal. It says, “Raedwulf must come in person. Siveril has found the original household register and the second order bearing Solianna’s hand.”
The yard falls silent. Even the winter wind seems to pause around the new ward-stones as the message confirms Siveril’s discovery reaches beyond a warning.
Sava
The original register could establish your mother’s place in House Trisyran, and the second order may prove Solianna acted beyond the fire and pursuit.
Dame Olyra Venn
Then Siveril is not asking for your presence out of sentiment. He has found evidence powerful enough to require a witness he trusts, and dangerous enough to conceal.
Dorran
The request is important, but the road is not safe. We preserve the seals, record the message, and decide how to answer without surrendering Hearthhollow’s protection.
Tavin Rusk
If Siveril found the proof, Caldris and Solianna are not the only ones who should fear what reaches the treaty courts.
Director's note
I say with a concerned look on my face, as I read the letter in my hands
“"That also put my cousin and his family in a great deal of danger." "And I know my family too well when they want something to disappear."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled -2)
Director's note
I say with a concerned look on my face, as I read the letter in my hands
“"That also put my cousin and his family in a great deal of danger." "And I know my family too well when they want something to disappear."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled +1)
Raedwulf
That also puts my cousin and his family in a great deal of danger. I know my family too well when they want something to disappear.
Raedwulf walks up beside Tavin and rests an arm across the younger rider’s shoulders, his manner almost casual. His gaze moves from Marra to Dorran and the sealed note.
Sava
Then Siveril’s household may be guarding more than records. If Solianna learns where the register is, blood and parchment may vanish together.
Dame Olyra Venn
Your caution is justified. Evidence that threatens a noble house rarely remains safe without witnesses, copies, and a lawful path to the treaty courts.
Dorran
We will not leave Siveril’s family exposed. Hearthhollow can send a sealed escort and record the warning before any reply travels east.
Tavin Rusk
Then let me join that escort. I know how Caldris’s riders move, and I owe you more than one drink by now.
Marra takes the smaller note without breaking its seal and signals the clerk. The household closes around the evidence, turning Raedwulf’s warning into a recorded protection measure.
Quest Complete
Identify the threat signaled by the Trisyran messages
Skill Upgrade: Lore Mediocre