The warehouse settles into a hard, ringing quiet. The hit squad fans out beneath the rafters, and the men who were holding the line are already disarmed, wrists folded, rifles kicked away.
A senior Corvi operative steps into the light, his eyes going first to the master list in Francesco Fontaine's hand, then to the blood on Francesco's chest. The old paper cut has split open into a clean, dark smear, like a feather mark made by force.
The Senior Corvi Operative
That wound earns its meaning now. You brought the list back, and you brought the names with it.
He gives a curt nod to Francesco Fontaine and Lorenzo, then gestures once. Don Diego Vitale is hauled upright, Nino Rinaldi beside him, both held fast and silent.
The Senior Corvi Operative
Take them. The Family wants the rot cut out clean.
The handbill with the circled names is unfolded at last, and Francesco can see it clearly now, not a shipping sheet but a purge list, targets marked for removal in the Corvi's hand. Every circle means someone already judged.
Lorenzo
So this was always the point of the ledger. Not cargo, verdicts.
As the prisoners are marched out, the senior operative lowers his voice, his gaze steady on Francesco Fontaine and Lorenzo.
The Senior Corvi Operative
You two did not just uncover a conspiracy. You named the guilty before they could vanish.
✓ Quest Accepted
Secure Francesco's standing with the Corvi
“Hand the master ledger to the operative to prove my loyalty.”
SUCCESS (Superb Willpower, rolled +3)
Francesco lifts the master ledger from his chest, the paper edge dark with his blood, and extends it toward the senior operative. The whistle in the rafters keeps time over the warehouse hush.
The operative takes the ledger without hesitation, opening it at once. His thumb stops on a column of initials, then on a second mark tucked beside one name.
The Senior Corvi Operative
Good. This is not just proof. It is access.
He folds the page back and turns one corner toward Francesco, exposing a penciled route to a separate account book, one kept off the main floor.
The Senior Corvi Operative
You brought the Family the map, and the lock to the map.
Lorenzo’s head lifts a fraction, as if the room has shifted under him. The prisoners keep moving out into the dark while the operative studies Francesco like a man measuring a tool he intends to keep.
The Senior Corvi Operative
Loyalty is noted, Francesco Fontaine. You will be heard before this is done.
Quest Complete
Secure Francesco's standing with the Corvi
“I try to fix my bleeding chest”
SUCCESS (Good Health, rolled -2)
Francesco presses cloth to the wound, then ties it down with a spare strip torn from his own lining. The bleeding slows to a dark seep, and the pain settles from sharp to thudding.
The Senior Corvi Operative
Good. A man who can keep himself in one piece is useful.
He lowers the ledger and gives Francesco a brief, weighing look, the kind that tests whether gratitude is earned or merely performed.
The Senior Corvi Operative
You did not panic. You did not run. That matters.
Lorenzo
He is being measured, not dismissed. That is better than mercy.
The whistle in the rafters keeps ticking above them while the bodies are dragged farther into the dark, out of the office light and into the warehouse ribs.
The Senior Corvi Operative
When this is finished, your name will be carried with the report. For now, stay where I can see you.
✓ Quest Accepted
Earn the Senior Corvi Operative’s formal backing
“I stand tall and nod, keeping my eyes fixed on the operative to show my readiness.”
SUCCESS (Superb Willpower, rolled -1)
Francesco straightens from the crate, shoulders squaring despite the pull at his chest. He meets the operative’s eyes and gives one steady nod, the kind that does not ask for permission.
The Senior Corvi Operative
Good. Hold that posture. A man who can bear pain and still look back is worth something.
The operative’s thumb taps once against the ledger cover, then he folds his hand around it as if sealing the matter in place.
The Senior Corvi Operative
You brought us a clean spine to the rot. That is not the work of a liability.
Lorenzo
He sees it now. Francesco is not being weighed for survival alone, but for rank.
Behind them, the rafters whistle on, thin and constant, while a shadow from the warehouse mouth shifts with the last bodies being hauled away.
The Senior Corvi Operative
Stay in sight. When the report goes forward, your name goes with mine.
Quest Complete
Earn the Senior Corvi Operative’s formal backing
“I stand tall and nod, keeping my eyes fixed on the operative to show my readiness.”
SUCCESS (Superb Willpower, rolled +0)
Francesco holds the operative’s gaze without flinching. The chest wound tugs once under his shirt, but he does not break posture.
The Senior Corvi Operative
That is the face I want in my reports. Not hunger, discipline.
The operative lowers the ledger to his side and gives Francesco a short, public look of appraisal.
Lorenzo
He is being marked now, not merely spared.
The Senior Corvi Operative
You keep your nerve when the room turns bloody. That earns a place beside men who matter.
Behind them, the rafters keep whistling over the warehouse hush, while the last shadows at the door thin under the pulling night.
✓ Quest Accepted
Leave the warehouse
“Is there a place for me beside the Corvi?”
YES (VeryLikely, rolled 54)
The Senior Corvi Operative
You have a seat at the table, Francesco. The ledger you brought us is the key to the city, and you are the one who turned it.
Francesco Fontaine
The weight of the ledger is gone, but the path ahead feels heavier than the steel in my pocket.
Lorenzo
He has earned his keep, and then some. The Family does not forget a debt like this.
“I head to Ignazios to heal up.”
SUCCESS (Great Agility, rolled +2)