The witness table remains ordered beneath the rain-muted lamps: Círdan’s offered seal lies beside the separately sealed petition, while the unopened charter stays in his custody. The packets remain untouched.
Maereth
These are the custody slips for Lethwen’s access. The missing witness line appears here, before the maritime mark enters any copied request.
Archive Bearer 1
I can compare the hands, dates, and marks without opening either packet. If the sequence holds, Lethwen’s unverified passage is the first point connecting the archive list to Círdan’s seal.
A archive bearer spreads the slips in a careful arc, keeping every original apart from its copy. Maereth marks each movement, while Círdan watches the sealed petition without surrendering his custody.
King Théoden
Proceed under witness. Compare the custody chain and the seal’s reach, but open neither packet. Every omission and every confirmed link must be entered separately.
The comparison begins. Dates align across the older slips, but the witness column breaks beside Lethwen’s entry; farther along, a copied pressure mark echoes the sharp flaw in Círdan’s seal. No conclusion is yet entered.
“I trace the custody slips to the maritime mark”
SUCCESS (Legendary Reasoning, rolled -2)
Tuiwen follows the custody slips from Lethwen’s dated entry through the copied list, matching each hand and mark beneath the witness lamps. The sequence reaches Círdan’s maritime seal through an unverified copy made after Lethwen’s access.
Tuiwen
The maritime mark entered through the unwitnessed passage after Lethwen’s lawful access.
The finding identifies the connection without opening either packet: a copied archive list carried the altered pressure mark outward, where it was reproduced on the maritime charter. The originals remain separate and sealed.
Archive Bearer 1
The chain is established. Lethwen’s witnessless passage is the first link, and the maritime mark appears only after that copied transfer.
Maereth
Record the connection, but preserve the uncertainty precisely. We can identify the passage that carried the mark, not the hand that first copied it.
The comparison has consumed the chamber’s remaining hour, and the copying hand still requires separate examination. Maereth enters the confirmed link and its limit while King Théoden orders the slips resealed.
✓ Quest Accepted
Obtain Lethwen’s testimony
“I ask King Théoden to summon Lethwen under witness.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled -1)
Tuiwen
King Théoden, I ask that Lethwen be summoned under witness, with her access record preserved and her testimony kept separate from later copies.
The request settles into the ordered silence of the chamber. Rain whispers beyond the shutters while the sealed slips remain untouched beneath the witness lamps.
King Théoden
Granted. Let Lethwen be summoned under witness at once. Her testimony shall distinguish what she received from what was copied afterward.
The Court Herald receives the order and departs to summon Lethwen, while two appointed witnesses are named in the record. No sealed packet is opened or moved.
Maereth
I will mark the summons separately from the custody slips. Her appearance, words, and any limits to her memory will each be entered without inference.
Archive Bearer 1
The access entry remains sealed as received. I will prepare its witnessed comparison before Lethwen is questioned, preserving the original apart from every copy.
The order is entered and dispatched. Lethwen will be brought before the inquiry under witness, while the archive’s originals, copies, and omissions remain separately protected.
“I question Lethwen under witness”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled -1)
The Court Herald returns with Lethwen, who takes her place beneath the witness lamps. The access record remains sealed, and Maereth marks the questioning’s beginning.
Tuiwen
Lethwen, describe what you received, whom you permitted to see it, and what was copied afterward.
Lethwen
I received the restricted list lawfully and logged its titles. Later, a courier without an office mark asked to compare routes named there. I showed the list, but no witness was present.
Lethwen keeps her hands folded as a archive bearer compares her words with the sealed access entry. The dates agree, while the missing witness line remains visible in the copy.
Lethwen
The courier copied three titles and the route marks beside them. He said the request came through lawful protection, but he showed no seal, office, or custody record.
Archive Bearer 1
Her account matches the dated entry and explains the first exposed passage. The later copies began from those three titles and route marks.
Maereth enters Lethwen’s testimony separately from the access record. King Théoden’s inquiry now confirms what Lethwen received, what she permitted, and where the unwitnessed transfer began.
Quest Complete
Obtain Lethwen’s testimony
New Gift: Unerring Truth Seeker