Captain Mara Venn escorts Kynd and the four bound prisoners from the holding yard into the courthouse. The young clerk follows with her wax tablet, while guards remain behind at the gate.
Within the vaulted chamber, an elderly man, lean and pale-skinned, with close-cropped silver hair above his beard, with a narrow face and silver beard waits beneath carved scales of justice. His dark magistrate’s robes fall in severe, orderly folds.
Mara places the confiscated weapons before the magistrate, and the young clerk sets down the crowded wax record. A coil of frost-stiffened rope follows, its fibers still glittering.
The Magistrate
I am Magistrate Oren Vale. Traveler, give this court your account of the roadside encounter, from the first threat to the prisoners’ delivery.
The four prisoners stand in a short linked line before the bench, unarmed and watchful. Their former leader’s death hangs over the chamber, while the clerk readies her stylus.
The Magistrate
You four will answer separately when called. The roadside death is part of this hearing, and silence will not erase it.
The Remaining Bandits
We will answer. But let the court hear that he chose the killing after we were trapped.
✓ Quest Accepted
Provide testimony to Magistrate Oren Vale
“"Alright then, I will repeat what I had said to the guard. I was in my camp when these fellows and their boss attacked me. I drew my sword to drive them back, but the boss cut my arm. Thus I cast a spell to freeze them in place and killed their boss. Afterwards, I used my Divine Blessing to heal my arm and found rope to bind them. I then brought them to the city, and now we are here. That is all I remember from the battle"”
SUCCESS (Good Reasoning, rolled +1)
Kynd
I was in my camp when these fellows and their boss attacked me. I drew my sword to drive them back, but the boss cut my arm.
Kynd
Thus I cast a spell to freeze them in place and killed their boss. Afterwards, I used my Divine Blessing to heal my arm and found rope to bind them.
Kynd’s account carries cleanly through the vaulted chamber. The young clerk’s stylus moves across the wax, while Oren Vale listens beneath the carved scales of justice.
Kynd
I then brought them to the city, and now we are here. That is all I remember from the battle.
The final words settle over the court. The four remaining bandits stand linked before the bench, their expressions guarded as the clerk finishes the record.
The Magistrate
Your account is entered. The sequence is clear enough for this hearing to proceed, including the death of the roadside leader.
The Remaining Bandits
Then hear the whole account, Magistrate. We attacked, yes, but he chose to kill our leader after taking control of the fight.
Quest Complete
Bring the surviving bandits to court
Attribute Upgrade: Reasoning Good→Great
Quest Complete
Provide testimony to Magistrate Oren Vale