The courier reappears at the solar threshold beneath the escort of two inner guards. Pale and dusty, he keeps the leather folio secured beneath one arm, while his other hand remains tightly closed.
the Baroness
Enter, courier. The road has delayed you, and your face says the delay was not peaceful.
The courier crosses the threshold and bows first to the Baroness, then toward Odo Pell. Dust streaks his brown riding coat, but the folio’s seals remain intact beneath his arm.
Courier
A mounted party blocked the road before the north bridge. They showed no writ, named no authority, and withdrew when Hawkness guards approached.
Courier
One rider pressed this into my palm before they withdrew. I do not know its purpose, but I kept it separate from the Baroness’s folio.
He opens his dusty hand. A small, dark token rests there, cut from pale bone or hard ivory and marked with three shallow lines. Lady Elin and Mara fall silent beside the table.
Odo Pell
Set it on the table, but do not pass it hand to hand. Baroness, shall I record the token with the road report before anyone examines its mark?
✓ Quest Accepted
Identify who sent the bone token and what it signifies
“Without touching the token can I tell anything about it from simply looking at it?”
YES, AND MORE (VeryLikely, rolled 16)
From where he stands, Isenborn can see that the token is ivory rather than bone. The three lines are cleanly cut, but one ends in a tiny hooked notch, deliberate and unmistakable.
Isenborn
The mark is a sign, not a written message, and the hooked notch identifies one particular token.
The notch also reveals a faint dark residue along its edge, as though the token was recently pressed into warm sealing wax. Whoever sent it expected its bearer to be recognized without a spoken name.
the Baroness
Yes, Odo. Record the three lines and the hooked notch, but leave the token untouched. If its bearer was meant to be recognized, its mark may tell us whom the riders served.
Odo Pell
I can draw the mark exactly, my lady. The notch is distinct enough to compare against any sign or seal later placed before Hawkness.
Courier
Then the token may prove more useful than the road report. I saw no such mark on the riders, but I can recognize it if another messenger carries its twin.
The courier keeps his hand open above the table without lowering it. Odo begins a careful sketch, while the Baroness’s attention sharpens: the token offers Hawkness a way to identify the riders’ network without surrendering the evidence.
“"Was there anything distinct about the mounts that bore the riders, Courier? Sometimes a mount betrays more than its master does?”
SUCCESS (Fair Oratory, rolled +1)
Isenborn
Was there anything distinct about the mounts that bore the riders, courier? Sometimes a mount betrays more than its master does.
The courier considers the question, eyes narrowing as he searches the memory of the road. Odo pauses his sketch, and the Baroness waits without interrupting.
Courier
Yes. The lead rider had a tall black gelding with a white star and a ragged left ear. It favored neither leg, but its shoes were unusually bright, freshly fitted.
Courier
The second rode a dun mare with a dark stripe down her back and a pale muzzle. Her bridle carried three brass studs, all polished despite the muddy road.
Odo adds the details beneath his drawing of the ivory token. The Baroness’s expression tightens at the care shown to the horses and their equipment.
the Baroness
Record every feature. A distinctive mount may identify the riders sooner than any claim they make at Hawkness’s gate.
Courier
I will know the black gelding again, my lady. That white star was broad enough to see through the bridge mist.
The courier lowers his hand only after Odo finishes the entry. The token, its hooked notch, and the riders’ mounts now form a description the watch can circulate.
“"It is strange that the mounts gear bore so little sign of dust or mud upon them. They can't have traveled far along the road or they would have acquired more grime from the journey"”
SUCCESS (Good Perception, rolled -1)
Isenborn
The mounts’ gear bore remarkably little dust or mud. They cannot have traveled far along the road.
The courier glances toward the Baroness, while Odo’s quill pauses above the ledger. The two inner guards, both young adult men in matching blue-gray surcoats over chainmail, with close-cropped brown hair and round steel helmets remain stationed at the threshold, listening.
Courier
That fits what I saw, Sir Isenborn. Their cloaks were road-stained, but the bridles and saddle straps were unusually clean.
The observation sharpens the road report: the riders may have approached the bridge from nearby ground, not traveled a long distance. Checking the detail has delayed Odo’s record by several minutes.
the Baroness
Record that distinction, Odo. Clean gear beside dusty cloaks suggests a short approach or a recent change of mounts, though it proves neither.
Odo Pell
I will add it beneath the horses’ identifying marks, my lady. The report will state the inference and preserve the uncertainty.
✓ Quest Accepted
Establish whether the riders approached from nearby ground
− Scene Quest Removed
Identify who sent the bone token and what it signifies
“I wait until Odo finishes entering what is required in the ledger.”
Isenborn waits beside the solar door while Odo Pell completes the ledger entry. The quill moves steadily beneath the recorded token, its hooked notch, the riders’ mounts, and the clean gear.
The courier remains near the table with his empty hand lowered. The two inner guards hold their positions at the threshold, watching the quiet corridor while Odo checks each detail against his notes.
Odo Pell
The road report is complete, my lady. I have separated what the courier witnessed from what the clean gear merely suggests.
Odo sands the fresh ink, closes the ledger, and places the sketch beside it. The token remains untouched on the table, while the sealed folio stays secured beneath the courier’s arm.
the Baroness
Good. Preserve the report and the token as evidence. We will circulate the riders’ description to the watch without claiming more than the facts establish.
The Baroness gives Odo a final nod. With the entry finished, the solar settles into orderly silence, and Hawkness’s record now holds both the warning and its limits.
“Are Lady Mara and Lady Elin still present in the scene?”
YES (VeryLikely, rolled 47)
Lady Elin and Mara remain in the solar beside the table, listening as the Baroness closes the ledger. The token and its careful sketch lie between them.
Lady Elin Veyne
My lady, the riders’ sign may concern my family, but I am grateful it was recorded without giving them a claim over Hawkness.
Mara Veyne
And the distinction matters. A warning is not proof of Lord Veyne’s authority, nor does a token make his demand lawful.
The Baroness regards both women, then the sealed folio beneath the courier’s arm. Her protection remains explicit, while the new evidence is kept apart from the inheritance record.
the Baroness
You both remain under Hawkness protection. Odo will preserve this report, and no rider’s sign will alter the lawful hearing already granted.
Odo Pell
The record will show precisely that, my lady. The token remains evidence of an approach, not evidence of guilt or authority.
“I ask Mara and Elin if they recognize the token or know anything about it?”
SUCCESS (Great Diplomacy, rolled +3)
Isenborn
Mara, Lady Elin, do either of you recognize this token, or know what its three lines and hooked notch signify?
Mara Veyne
I recognize the pattern. Veyne couriers used a plain token like this to confirm a message had passed through a trusted hand. The hooked notch marks a private route, not Lord Veyne’s authority.
Lady Elin Veyne
I have seen its twin in my father’s study, kept among his sealed correspondence. It identified the northern road servants who carried instructions without naming the sender.
Mara leans over the untouched ivory token without taking it. Elin points to the hooked notch, and Odo’s sketch suddenly becomes a means of sorting Veyne messages by route.
Mara Veyne
This one belongs to the northern route. If the riders carried its twin, they were likely sent to observe or intercept, not to present a lawful demand.
Lady Elin Veyne
Then Hawkness can warn its northern watch without naming my father as guilty. The route mark tells us where to look, while the token itself proves only contact.
The Baroness orders the northern watch quietly alerted and has Odo add the route meaning to the record. Hawkness gains a targeted warning without surrendering its lawful position.
“I ask the courier if he noticed where the riders approached from.”
SUCCESS (Fair Oratory, rolled +2)
Isenborn
Courier, did you notice where the riders approached from?
The courier turns from the ivory token, weighing the question against the road’s confusion. The Baroness and Odo wait silently for his answer.
Courier
I did. They came from the east, not along the north road. I saw them leave the alder thickets beside the old quarry track, then circle toward the bridge.
Courier
The ground there is broken and screened by brush. A rider could wait unseen, watch the road, and approach the bridge without crossing Hawkness’s outer roads.
Odo adds the eastern approach beneath the earlier note, separating the courier’s direct sight from the inference about concealment. The Baroness studies the route in the ledger.
the Baroness
Record the old quarry track as the riders’ approach, Odo. Send the warning east as well as north, but keep the report confined to what the courier witnessed.
Quest Complete
Establish whether the riders approached from nearby ground
Skill Upgrade: Diplomacy Great→Superb