The shop door swings wide, and the easy warmth inside X marks the spot garment shop shifts at once. King Zafarri Hoktooey steps in wearing plain, elegant robes, his crown absent but his authority unmistakable. Princess Shiva straightens. Liza Honeycrumb goes still.
The king.
King Zafarri Hoktooey
Peace, then. I am only a customer until I am not.
His gaze moves over the blue silk, the steaming tea, and the old royal bodyguard armor on the corner rack. He stops on X Zavior, measuring him with a calm, practiced look.
King Zafarri Hoktooey
Your work reaches the palace, I hear. I would see what kind of hands shape such discretion.
Princess Shiva
Father, you arrive without warning.
Shiva’s words are careful, but her fingers tighten at her side. Liza shifts one step nearer her charge, not challenging, only ready.
X Zavior
✓ Quest Accepted
Win King Zafarri Hoktooey’s favor
“Pours another cup of tea, and hands to Zafarri. Welcome i am X. And at your service. Bows removing hat dramatically fanning out his arm with it feather brushing the ground”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled -1)
X Zavior lifts the teapot with a jeweler’s care, pours a fresh cup, and sets it into King Zafarri Hoktooey’s hand with a shallow bow. His wide hat comes off in one smooth flourish, peacock feather brushing low as he spreads one arm in practiced welcome.
X Zavior
Welcome. I am X, and at your service.
The king takes the cup without hurry. His mouth softens by a fraction, and his eyes return to X with something less formal than inspection.
King Zafarri Hoktooey
A merchant who knows how to greet a ruler earns my attention. A merchant who offers tea earns my patience.
Princess Shiva
He is reading the room, not only the cloth.
King Zafarri Hoktooey
This armor on your rack, this hidden work in blue silk, these are not ordinary goods. Tell me, X Zavior, do you sell only garments, or do you also sell trust?
The question hangs over the counter like incense. Shiva watches without speaking, while Liza keeps her stance measured, waiting for X’s answer.
“There is no mystery to the rumor. I've lived and survived long enough in these streets thanks in large part to my value as an informant to the various competitive guilds in our kingdom. But never once has it concerned the Hawktooey empire”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled -2)
X Zavior
There is no mystery to the rumor. I live and survive in these streets by being useful to competitive guilds, but my loyalty has never reached beyond good business. Not to the Hawktooey empire.
X keeps his tone smooth, but the boast costs him. His fingers tighten around the hat brim, crinkling the feathered edge, and the teapot’s warmth leaves a faint stain of steam on his cuff.
King Zafarri Hoktooey
Honesty that admits a habit is more useful than flattery that hides one. You speak like a man who knows exactly where his profit ends and his peril begins.
King Zafarri Hoktooey
If Shiva wears your work, and my bodyguard stands watch over it, then I must ask something simpler. When the court tests you, will your shop keep faith with my house?
Princess Shiva
He is not dismissing X. He is weighing him.
Liza Honeycrumb
He answers cleanly, Your Majesty. That is rarer than silk in this district.
The king takes a measured sip, then lowers the cup with the faintest nod toward the counter, where the blue silk waits beside the steaming tea and the old armor gleams in the corner like a silent witness.
“Quickly begins sewing a patch finely detailing the royal crest within. Places it on his own shoulder and states. I am at your service”
SUCCESS (Superb Crafting, rolled -2)
X Zavior sets the king’s crest in thread with careful fingers, every stitch tight and bright. The patch is done before the tea cools, and he presses it to his shoulder where all three can see it.
X Zavior
I am at your service.
The little patch holds. The silk sits clean against his shoulder, but the strain of the quick work leaves a prickle in his thumb, a tiny needle nick hidden under the cuff.
King Zafarri Hoktooey
A deliberate hand, and no wasted motion. That pleases me.
Princess Shiva
He did it without hesitation.
Liza Honeycrumb
Then the shop has answered correctly, Your Majesty.
The king studies the crest on X’s shoulder, then the blue silk, then the armor in the corner. His approval settles on the room like a seal pressed warm into wax.
King Zafarri Hoktooey
Bring the garment to court when it is finished. I would see whether your faith holds as well as your seam.
Bring the garment to court
Quest Complete
Win King Zafarri Hoktooey’s favor
New Gift: Royal Confidant