The service road winds uphill between Lavendara’s outer gardens, where wet roses and lavender release their heavy perfume. Ahead, Rosethorne Manor rises beyond purple wisteria.
Before Desdemona reaches the garden wall, a wary middle-aged man steps from the shadows. He is lean and gray-haired, dressed in a dark green servant’s coat, with a silver key-ring at his belt.
the wary servant
Stop there. That cloak belonged to the man who came through the western woods.
His gaze lingers on the torn hem and the horn barely hidden beneath the hood. Behind him, the manor’s imposing black door waits beneath the wisteria, its raven knockers gleaming.
the wary servant
Before dawn, a packet was delivered to the manor. It was sealed in red wax and marked with blood. The household has not opened it.
the wary servant
If that packet concerns the assassin, you may be carrying the only warning that reaches us in time. Will you enter openly, or be hidden through the servants’ way?
He shifts aside without lowering his suspicion, revealing a narrow gate concealed among climbing vines. The road remains open behind Desdemona, but the manor’s windows watch from above.
✓ Quest Accepted
Obtain the blood-sealed packet
“I show the torn cloak and request the packet before dawn breaks.”
SUCCESS (Superb Diplomacy, rolled +0)
Desdemona Blackwood
I show him the torn cloak and request the packet before dawn breaks.
Desdemona draws the weather-dark cloak forward, displaying the ragged hem and the horn that its torn hood can no longer conceal. Rose-scented mist curls around the gate.
the wary servant
Then you understand its urgency. Come through the servants’ way, and I will place it in your hands.
The wary servant unhooks the vine-hidden gate and leads her beneath the garden wall. His key-ring whispers as he unlocks a narrow side door in the manor’s stone foundation.
Inside, a single candle burns beside a chapel-like alcove. The red-wax packet rests on a cedar table, its seal stamped with a dark, unfamiliar sigil.
the wary servant
Here it is. No one has broken the seal. Whatever warning it carries, you have it before dawn.
He places the packet before Desdemona and withdraws his hand. Beyond the walls, Lavendara’s bells begin marking the approach of morning.
Quest Complete
Reach Lavendara
✓ Quest Accepted
Discover who commissioned the assassin
“Is the packet a warning about the assassin?”
YES (Likely, rolled 45)
The packet’s red wax catches the candlelight. Beneath the unfamiliar sigil, faint ink has bled through the folded parchment, forming the unmistakable outline of a drawn sword.
the wary servant
That mark was not there when it arrived. The messenger said only that it concerned the man in the western woods.
A second impression becomes visible along the packet’s edge: a dull red cord wound around a black blade, matching the assassin’s wrist-mark and the contract he described.
the wary servant
The assassin was not merely passing through. Someone expected his work to reach Rosethorne Manor.
The servant’s suspicion shifts from Desdemona to the sealed warning. He glances toward the black door above, where the silent manor keeps its household sleeping.
the wary servant
It names the assassin, then. Whatever he was paid to do, the danger did not end when he let you pass.
Beyond the foundation walls, dawn bells answer one another across Lavendara. The packet remains sealed before Desdemona, carrying a warning meant for the Blackwood household.
“Which of my Uncles wanted me dead? I don't think I have time to find out..... Please, if you know anything, write to me at the guild. I will go by Lillia now. Thank you. Thank you for everything!”
SUCCESS (Superb Diplomacy, rolled -2)
Desdemona Blackwood
Which of my uncles wanted me dead? I do not think I have time to find out. If you learn anything, write to me at the guild. I will go by Lillia now. Thank you, for everything.
The wary servant studies her beneath the candle’s thin light, then lowers his gaze to the sealed packet. The name Lillia settles between them like a fresh disguise.
the wary servant
I cannot name the uncle from what I know. But I will write to the guild under Lillia, and I will send whatever the manor uncovers.
He takes a small ledger from his coat and records the name beside a private cipher. The pen scratches loudly in the chapel-like alcove as dawn bells continue outside.
the wary servant
Keep the packet, Lillia. If its warning concerns the assassin, your uncles may not be the only hands moving against Rosethorne.
A floorboard creaks somewhere above them. The wary servant closes the ledger at once, but the noise has carried through the sleeping foundation, costing them the safety of silence.
the wary servant
Go now, before the household wakes. The servants’ passage reaches the lower gardens, and I will make the guild letter ready before the next bell.
Quest Complete
Obtain the blood-sealed packet
Skill Upgrade: Diplomacy Superb→Legendary
+ New Item Acquired
Blood-sealed packet