X Zavior rises from his stool, parchment held high like a courtly script, and his voice fills the silk-lit shop. He reads with grand solemnity, turning each line as if it were a stage cue.
X Zavior
X Zavior gestures grandly toward the tea service, inviting the royal pair to drink as he reads.
The blue brew steams in its cups, sweetened too carefully, its perfume thin beneath the spice. The hidden strength in it finally makes sense, not as refreshment, but as a gentle loosening of tongues.
Princess Shiva
She stiffens at the cups, then at the note in X's hand. Her gaze flicks to the tea, and the warning lands too late.
King Zafarri Hoktooey
A clever flourish, X. Let us hear every word.
As X performs the message’s sharpest turns, the royal seal’s meaning shifts in the room. The plea is not only private, it is seditious, a bid to hide truth beneath ceremony.
Liza Honeycrumb
Princess, do not answer yet.
The cups wait between them like a decision. Outside, sunset deepens over the counter, and inside, the next sip may decide who speaks freely first.
“X lays down the script and pours himself a cup of tea while secretly placing the wax seal in a hidden pocket”
SUCCESS (Superb Thievery, rolled +0)
X Zavior lowers the parchment and sets it aside with measured care. With one smooth reach, he lifts a fresh cup for himself and pours the blue brew, while his other hand slips the broken seal into a hidden pocket beneath his finery.
X Zavior
The seal disappears cleanly.
Princess Shiva
You keep your hands very busy, X Zavior.
The princess watches the cup, not the man, and her shoulders loosen against her will. The tea’s spice rises stronger now, curling through the room like a soft command.
Liza Honeycrumb
Princess, do not drink unless you mean to speak plainly.
King Zafarri Hoktooey
Then let plain speech begin. What, exactly, is being hidden from my house?
Silence gathers between the three royals. The hidden slip, marked with blue tracking dust, lies exposed beside the broken scroll, and the first sip hangs in the air like a verdict.
✓ Quest Accepted
Expose the truth behind the royal scroll
“If you must know, a confidant of Shiva. The one and only Sylvain, Captain of the royal gaurd proclaims his love for Shiva, snd is planning to expose their private affair at the wedding”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled +1)
X Zavior lets the silence stretch, then names the truth with silk-smooth precision. He points, not at the king, but at the blue-dusted slip on the counter, and says a confidant of Shiva, Captain Sylvain, proclaims love for her and means to expose the affair at the wedding.
King Zafarri Hoktooey
Sylvain? My captain of the guard?
Princess Shiva
No... not here, not now.
The king’s composure cracks by a hair. Shiva goes still, and Liza’s warning hand drops as if the floor tilts beneath her.
Liza Honeycrumb
If this is a lie, X Zavior, it is a costly one.
King Zafarri Hoktooey
Then it is spoken plainly. I will hear every detail.
The truth settles over the shop like incense, undeniable and hot. The blue tracking dust glitters on the slip between them, and the king fixes X Zavior with a look that is no longer merely suspicious, but alert to how much he has just learned.
Quest Complete
Expose the truth behind the royal scroll