Elyra steps into the court’s torchlight, white hair bright against the ash-dark passage, bow lowered but ready. Eli follows at her shoulder, carrying the urgency of House Veyr’s surviving testimony.
Elyra
Court-appointed ranger, recognize House Veyr’s surviving account. Living witnesses stand behind us, and their testimony cannot be sealed for Serath Vale’s convenience.
Eli
Your procedure protects a sealed court, not truth. If Serath’s order is lawful, let the ranger say so where witnesses can hear it.
Zalise shifts to cover the exits, her rune-etched blade angled toward the dark approaches. Behind the party, Gonzalo remains with the hidden captives, while the bound watcher waits for the court’s answer.
The Court-Appointed Ranger
The sealed procedure forbids unregistered testimony. Yet House Veyr’s account bears a living guarantor. I must either admit the claim or mark you as obstructing the court.
Elyra
Then mark me openly. Let Serath explain why her court fears witnesses who have already survived its silence.
Zalise Zephyr-Ashe
Choose carefully, ranger. We came seeking recognition, not a fight, but every exit is covered and nobody here is alone.
The ranger studies Elyra, Eli, and the sealed passage beyond them. At last, he raises one hand toward the torchbearers, forcing the court’s procedure into the open.
✓ Quest Accepted
Preserve Elyra’s credibility before the assembled magistrates
“I stand with Elyra alongside zesh and Zalise and make the ranger state the procedure before the court.”
SUCCESS (Superb Willpower, rolled +1)
Myk steps beside Elyra, Zesh, and Zalise, making their line visibly united. The blackened sword hangs ready at his side, while Protective Leadership steadies every ally’s position.
Marked Sorcery scatters phantom impressions across Myk’s sight, but Oathbound Negotiator preserves the exact demand: the court’s procedure must be spoken where witnesses can hear it.
His will presses through the distortion without a raised voice. The sword’s dark pull finds the safest stance, and Myk’s presence leaves the ranger no private wording to hide behind.
The Court-Appointed Ranger
Before this court, unregistered testimony is sealed. A living guarantor may submit it, but only after the court records the guarantor’s custody and verifies the account’s chain.
The court-appointed ranger speaks clearly toward the torchbearers and the passage beyond, stating the procedure aloud as required. Elyra remains beside Myk, while Zalise and Zesh keep every exit covered.
Elyra
There. The procedure is public. Now the court must follow its own words while the living guarantor and the account remain before it.
Quest Complete
Preserve Elyra’s credibility before the assembled magistrates
The caster loses part of their memories, emotions, or physical senses as the cost of the spell.