The sealed intake record rests within a fresh circle of witness lamps, held lawfully by Tuiwen. Its wax remains unbroken, while the courier’s separated command-thread lies dark around his wrist.
Maereth arranges blank record leaves beside the circle. A archive bearer checks ink and rulers, while the Court Herald stands ready to witness each transfer without touching the seal.
Maereth
We begin with custody, not interpretation. The record’s condition, bearer, hour, and witnesses must stand apart from every inference.
Círdan watches from beyond the lamps, his attention fixed on the distinction between a message intended for Lady Nerissa and one lawfully received by her harbor office.
Serevan
The thread gives no answer to lawful receipt. It only darkens when the record enters the route it was meant to announce.
A archive bearer lifts a fresh leaf and waits beneath the lamps. The Court Herald raises one hand, holding the chamber silent before the first custody entry is spoken.
Maereth
Let the record show that Tuiwen holds the sealed intake under witness. No comparison begins until that fact is entered.
“Trace the record’s custody toward Lady Nerissa”
SUCCESS (Legendary Reasoning, rolled +0)
Tuiwen follows Bereth’s intake record through its custody marks, comparing dates, receiving hands, and the copied route without breaking the wax or confusing any copy with the original.
The sequence resolves: Bereth’s southern protection office released the record into the coastal transfer, where an unwitnessed receiving hand directed it toward Lady Nerissa’s harbor office, where Lady Nerissa, a middle-aged woman with a sturdy build, warm brown skin, dark braided hair, and a deep blue wool gown, keeps her watch at Dol Amroth.
Archive Bearer 1
The dates and marks establish intended delivery to Lady Nerissa’s office. They do not establish lawful receipt there, nor identify the coastal hand.
The archive bearer copies the chain in two forms, setting the confirmed southern custody apart from the unwitnessed coastal passage. The sealed intake remains secure in Tuiwen’s hands.
Maereth
Record Lady Nerissa’s harbor office as the intended recipient, and the absence of proof of acceptance as a separate finding.
The custody trail now reaches Lady Nerissa’s office as a documented destination, while lawful receipt remains unclaimed. The distinction is entered beside the sealed record and witnessed.
“I ask the courier to describe the coastal hand”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled -2)
Tuiwen
Describe the coastal hand: the person who received or carried the record after it left Bereth’s office.
Serevan
I saw the hand at the quay beneath a hooded mantle. It was narrow, ink-stained at the thumb, with a missing nail on the smallest finger. The bearer wore no harbor badge.
The salt-stained coastal courier studies Tuiwen through the witness lamps, then turns his marked wrist away from the sealed intake. The command-thread darkens, as though resisting the description.
Serevan
The voice was low and careful. A woman, I think, though the mantle concealed her face. She carried the copy inside a leather tube marked with three pale cuts, not the harbor sign.
Maereth
Record the description as Serevan’s observation, not an identification. His uncertainty and the absence of a lawful badge must stand beside it.
A archive bearer copies the narrow hand, missing nail, leather tube, and three pale cuts on a separate leaf. The Court Herald witnesses each detail without approaching the sealed record.
Serevan
I have given you what I saw, but the harbor folk will hear that I named one of their own without proof. My standing there is spent unless the hand is found.
The description secures a concrete lead, but Serevan’s admission becomes a recorded social cost: his credibility at the harbor now depends upon evidence beyond his testimony.
✓ Quest Accepted
Secure Serevan’s protected testimony
“I ask Maereth to place Serevan under formal witness protection.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled +3)
Tuiwen
Maereth, place Serevan under formal witness protection. His testimony has exposed a route, and his standing at the harbor is now at risk.
Maereth answers without hesitation. She draws a fresh protection leaf apart from the custody record, while the Court Herald steps closer to witness the order.
Maereth
Granted. Serevan is protected from summons, retaliation, and public questioning until his testimony is entered and examined under witness.
The Court Herald records Serevan’s protected status and escorts him inside the witness boundary. His statement, identity, and harbor standing are sealed from casual disclosure.
Serevan
Then I will give the full route without fear of being dragged before the harbor folk alone. I know where the leather tube changed hands.
Maereth orders a protected deposition and directs that the coastal receiving hand be sought through sealed inquiry, giving Serevan safe standing and the investigation its next lawful path.
Quest Complete
Secure Serevan’s protected testimony