The recovered treaty brazier rests beneath the harbor lamps, its tarred canvas removed but its fittings untouched. Lady Nerissa has kept her records chamber secured, while Círdan, the archive bearer, and the Court Herald remain as witnesses.
The ancient western ward is copied beside the empty socket’s removal trail, the recovered vessel’s harbor pitch, and Círdan’s sealed statement. Each record remains separate, but their custody marks now face one another under witness.
Lady Nerissa
We will reconcile the ward’s purpose with the vessel’s passage, then compare that chain with the statement. No lawful receipt will be inferred from resemblance alone.
The archive bearer lays fresh leaves in a measured row. The ancient inscription identifies a protected warning network; the stair abrasions establish removal, while the stores record recovery without naming the hand that moved it.
Círdan
My statement records the maritime failures, not the guilt of any haven. Its route can be joined to this ward only where a witnessed hand or lawful custody mark confirms the passage.
The chamber settles into protected inquiry. The ward, the removed brazier, and the compromised warnings form one question with several proven links, while the receiving chain beyond the seaward stores remains open for examination.
− Story Quest Removed
Identify who removed the signal brazier
“"Let us seek witnesses who may have seen the removal of the brazier. It seems likely someone might have noticed."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Perception, rolled +1)
Tuiwen
Let us seek witnesses who may have seen the brazier removed. Someone may have noticed.
Tuiwen surveys the western stair, stores, and seaward quay. Eyes of the Unseen catches two impressions overlooked in ordinary dust: a paused handcart and a lantern lifted toward the tower. Sovereign Heritage gives her request immediate weight, and Lady Nerissa summons those who worked nearby.
An elderly harbor clerk, an elderly man with a narrow face and salt-white hair approaches in a brown robe, followed by a young rope-maker, a young adult woman in a green tunic, broad-shouldered and freckled. Tuiwen’s Oath-Bound restraint keeps the impressions as leads, not accusations.
The Elderly Harbor Clerk
I saw the vessel lowered after dusk. A hooded bearer carried it toward the seaward stores, but I never saw the face or lawful mark.
The Young Rope-Maker
I heard rope strain above the western stair. A boatman waited below, then pushed away when the wrapped brazier reached the stores.
The witnesses’ accounts join the proven removal trail without exceeding their knowledge. Lady Nerissa orders both statements recorded separately, and the Court Herald marks the hour, place, and limits of each observation.
Lady Nerissa
Their testimony is secured. We know the removal was witnessed from stair and quay, while the bearer’s identity and authority remain unproved.
The final statements were sealed beside the treaty brazier, each witness protected from the others and from the court's pressure.
Lady Nerissa
The chain is narrowed. We will not mistake that for proof.
The Court Herald
Then the record shall say precisely what was seen, and no more.
Círdan
The ward endured because someone kept faith with it. Now the inquiry must keep faith with truth.
Tuiwen
The darkness had a shape at last, even if it had no name.
The ancient western ward, the removal trail, and Círdan's statement now stood together in lawful record. The brazier remained evidence, not accusation, while the hooded bearer and the waiting boatman passed into the inquiry's guarded silence. Tuiwen left the chamber with the witnesses protected and the sea routes watched, carrying the quiet satisfaction of a truth preserved without being forced.