Bren leads Kynes up the neglected bell tower, cloak drawn around the receipts and sealed name-card. Below, dock smoke thins over Baldur’s Gate as distant bells mark the hours before dawn.
Seln remains hidden in a safe waterfront lodging, while Bren and Kynes climb alone. Dusty stairs wind beneath warped beams, and the tower’s cracked windows overlook the merchant quarter.
Bren
The payments prove Vey served someone else, love. Marrow Quill paid for the hunt, but the name tells us nothing about what he wants from the vessel.
At the bell platform, Bren unfolds the receipts beneath the pale sky. Inked transfers, false freight charges, and repeated payments to Vey’s agents form a careful trail toward the Marrow Quill.
Bren
We can confront Vey first, with this in hand, or follow Quill’s trail through the merchant quarter before he learns Seln’s records are gone.
Bren
If Quill has other agents in the city, rushing him may scatter the only trail we have.
Bren
Your warning to Vey already changed the board, love. Tell me whether we make him answer now, or hunt the hand that paid him.
✓ Quest Accepted
Confront Vey with the payment proof
“" I would prefer to get everyone in one place so I don't burt the entire city to the ground." I say plainly”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled +0)
Kynes
I would prefer to get everyone in one place, so I do not burn the entire city to the ground.
The plain admission settles beneath the bell tower’s open sky. Bren studies him for a moment, then folds the receipts with deliberate care.
Bren
Then we bring Vey and Marrow Quill into the same room, love. No scattered threats, no frightened streets, and no reason for you to level Baldur’s Gate.
Her decision is immediate. She tucks the sealed name-card inside her cloak and separates the payment notes into a neat, accessible packet.
Bren
We use the proof to summon Vey, and his fear to draw Quill’s attention. Seln stays hidden until we know which man speaks first.
Below, the merchant quarter stirs awake beneath thinning smoke. Bren steps toward the stair, already shaping the confrontation around one controlled meeting instead of a city-wide pursuit.
Bren
Come on, love. We will make them gather themselves, then let the truth leave them nowhere safe to hide.
Kynes leaves Neglected Bell Tower behind and arrives at Marrow Quill.
“" yup, let's go visit Quill" I say”
SUCCESS (Legendary Agility, rolled +1)
Kynes and Bren arrive at Marrow Quill’s townhouse before the morning bells finish ringing. Black shutters, polished brass, and a discreet river-stone crest mark the narrow entrance.
Kynes
Yup, let’s go visit Quill.
The door opens before Bren can knock. Marrow Quill, a slender middle-aged man with silver-streaked hair, olive skin, and a blue-black coat, regards them from the lamplit hall.
Marrow Quill
Kynes. I wondered how long it would take you to follow the money. Come inside, and leave the assassin’s hands visible.
Bren
You know who we are, then. That saves time, Quill. We have your name-card, your payments, and a very interested magistrate.
Quill’s composure holds, but a servant behind him, a young adult woman with a slim build, brown skin, tightly cropped black hair, and a plain gray-and-brown house uniform quietly lowers a bronze bar across the inner courtyard gate. Bren notices first, while Kynes sees a second exit beyond the parlor.
Marrow Quill
Those records tell you I paid Vey. They do not tell you why. If you want the truth, ask before someone less patient arrives.
“" you're adorable" I cast a compulsive spell to summon vey here. " Please explain."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Arcana, rolled +3)
Kynes
You’re adorable. Please explain.
Kynes’s spell catches the townhouse in a silent violet ring. The air folds beside Quill, and Vey is drawn through the summoning path into the lamplit hall, arriving upright and unhurt.
Veyr
Kynes. Your command reached me clearly. I came because you called, though I do not know this man or his purpose.
The compulsive magic settles around Veyr and the room, compelling direct answers from anyone who speaks within its circle. Quill’s servant releases the courtyard bar, visibly unsettled.
Marrow Quill
That is an aggressive way to request a conversation. Very well. I paid Vey to locate the vessel because its seal conceals a name my employers need.
Veyr
I have never served Marrow Quill. His payments moved through intermediaries, and their instructions sought the vessel’s location, not its opening.
Marrow Quill
The name belongs to a living claimant in Baldur’s Gate. If the vessel reaches them first, my employers lose their strongest leverage, and several careful arrangements collapse.
✓ Quest Accepted
Identify the living claimant named by the vessel’s seal
“" appertly I missed Veyra, while your here. Go grave me the magistrate if you please."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled -2)
Kynes
Veyr, I apparently missed you. While you are here, go bring me Magistrate Orlan Vey, if you please.
Veyr
I can retrieve him. However, you are asking me to cross his wards publicly and make your summons known. You will owe me a service in return.
Veyr dissolves into violet smoke and slips through the townhouse wall. The compulsive ring remains steady, while Marrow Quill watches Kynes with renewed caution.
Marrow Quill
You collect magistrates as though they were witnesses summoned to a private tribunal. That makes this meeting considerably more dangerous for everyone involved.
Minutes later, the air folds open beside the parlor hearth. Veyr returns with Magistrate Orlan Vey, who arrives upright, pale, and visibly furious beneath his formal coat.
Magistrate Orlan Vey
Kynes. I was told this concerned the vessel. I will answer plainly, but I will not accept another public humiliation disguised as diplomacy.
Veyr
The magistrate is here as requested. Remember the service you owe me, Kynes. My assistance has now become visible to men who may profit from that knowledge.
“"yup, and I've always repaid you old friend" I say .”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled -1)
Kynes
Yup, and I have always repaid you, old friend.
Kynes keeps his voice easy, meeting Veyr’s faceless gaze without evasion. The violet ring hums softly around the townhouse, holding every witness to the exchange.
Veyr
That is true. You have honored every service I rendered, even when the cost was inconvenient. I accept your assurance, Kynes.
The tension in Veyr’s translucent form eases, and the shadows around his limbs settle into a steadier rhythm. His warning has become an acknowledged obligation, not a challenge.
Magistrate Orlan Vey
Then let us hope your old friend’s price is not greater than the answers you intend to extract from me.
Marrow Quill
A debt accepted in public is a useful restraint. I would prefer this gathering remain orderly, especially with the magistrate now present.
Bren
Orderly is easy, love. Everyone speaks plainly, Vey explains his involvement, and Quill tells us whose claimant he fears.
“"first thing is first." I cast sea of shadows and envelope the magistrate. The teeth carve liar across every inch of his body.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Arcana, rolled +2)
The violet ring collapses into a surging sea of shadows. Darkness coils around Magistrate Orlan Magistrate Orlan Vey, swallowing the lamplight and sealing him within its silent tide.
Within the shadow, pale spectral teeth move across Magistrate Orlan Vey’s formal coat and skin. When the darkness thins, the word liar stands clearly inscribed across him, unmistakable and complete.
Magistrate Orlan Vey
You promised a warning, not this.
Magistrate Orlan Vey remains upright, shaken but conscious. The compulsion ring holds steady, while the fresh mark answers the shadow magic with a faint, ominous glow.
Marrow Quill
That is no warning now. It is a public sentence, and every person who sees him will understand what you called him.
Bren
He did promise you, love. You simply decided that promises were less serious when made to you.
Veyr
The mark carries no command beyond its declaration. It will remain visible, and the magistrate cannot honestly deny what has been written.
“I bargain with Quill for the claimant’s name. " Unless you would like a similar fate, I suggest you speak freely and plainly." I say with a grin”
SUCCESS (Legendary Intimidation, rolled +0)
Kynes
Unless you would like a similar fate, I suggest you speak freely and plainly.
Kynes grins as the word liar glows across Vey’s skin. The violet compulsion tightens around the parlor, and Quill’s practiced composure finally breaks.
Marrow Quill
Enough. The claimant’s name is Ilyra Voss, a living heir of the Voss shipping concern. She is hidden in a riverside countinghouse under my protection.
Magistrate Orlan Vey
Quill, you were ordered to keep that name sealed. You have just placed yourself beneath the same scrutiny as I.
Marrow Quill
Your orders bought silence, Vey, not loyalty. Ilyra carries a lawful claim to property your employers diverted, and the vessel contains proof of succession.
Bren
There it is, love. A claimant, a hiding place, and the reason they wanted custody of that vessel before she could be found.
Marrow Quill
She is beneath the old riverside customs house, behind the disused ferry office. If you mean to reach her, go before my employers learn I spoke.
Quest Complete
Identify the living claimant named by the vessel’s seal
New Gift: Vessel-Claimant Insight
“I use the compulsive spell to summon Ilyra Voss here.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Arcana, rolled +1)
Kynes extends the compulsive ring through the townhouse, binding its violet current to Ilyra Voss’s hidden presence. Space folds open beside the hearth.
Ilyra Voss, a young adult woman with a slender build, warm brown skin, and long black hair braided with copper thread, steps through in a dark green traveling coat. A silver signet rests at her throat.
Ilyra Voss
Ilyra Voss. I came because the spell demanded my presence, but I will speak plainly while it holds us.
She steadies herself beneath the townhouse’s lamplight and surveys Quill, Vey, and the marked magistrate. The compulsion settles over her without pain or visible restraint.
Marrow Quill
Ilyra, you were supposed to remain beneath the customs house. This gathering is no longer controlled.
Ilyra Voss
It was never controlled, Quill. You hid me from those hunting my inheritance, but you also hid the truth about who paid you.
Magistrate Orlan Vey
Then answer this plainly, Ilyra. What does the vessel contain, and why does its succession proof threaten my employers?
“I lay out the evidence,. " Lass these fools wished to turn what ever favor with you into personal gain. They used bribery, extortion, and all manor of herasment." I give her a mesured look. "Now why is that lass." I ask”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled -1)
Kynes
Lass, these fools tried to turn whatever favor they had with you into personal gain. They used bribery, extortion, and every manner of harassment. Now why is that, lass?
Kynes lays out the payment notes and receipts from Seln’s chest, then presents the sealed name-card. The evidence settles between Ilyra and the men who concealed it.
Ilyra Voss
Because my inheritance exposes a theft. The Voss shipping concern was diverted through false transfers, and the vessel contains the succession proof that restores my lawful claim.
Ilyra Voss
Your magistrate’s employers feared I would reclaim the property, name the people who profited, and force their arrangements into the light. So they bought Vey, pressured Quill, and sent others to frighten me into surrender.
Ilyra’s gaze moves from the receipts to Vey’s marked face. The compulsive ring gives a low violet hum as her account finds no contradiction in the gathered evidence.
Magistrate Orlan Vey
I was told the claim was fraudulent and that the vessel would prove it. I accepted payment to secure it before anyone could examine the succession record.
Ilyra Voss
They wanted custody of the proof, not justice. Now that you have exposed their chain of payments, I will identify every name attached to my inheritance.
Quest Complete
Confront Vey with the payment proof
New Gift: Ledger-Witness Mastery
“" do with it as you see fit, I would start with making things right with Elira Thorne, Savvy?" I ask, " also I hardly care about property law lass, I just stumbled on to this mess." I say plainly”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled +0)
Kynes
Do with it as you see fit, lass. I would start by making things right with Elira Thorne, savvy? I hardly care about property law. I stumbled into this mess.
The statement cuts through the room’s legal tension. Ilyra studies Kynes, then the receipts, weighing not the claim itself but the people harmed while others fought over it.
Ilyra Voss
Then Elira comes first. I will meet her, explain what the vessel protects, and make certain no one uses my inheritance as an excuse to threaten her again.
Marrow Quill
That is more restraint than my employers showed. If Elira holds the vessel, Ilyra can confirm its proof without surrendering custody to anyone.
Ilyra Voss
I will not seize it. I will ask Elira what she needs, and I will repair what my enemies damaged, whether or not the law recognizes the debt.
Magistrate Orlan Vey
If she gives testimony against the people behind my orders, I will record that cooperation. Their claim of fraud will not survive an honest examination.
Bren
Good. Elira gets a choice, love, and Ilyra gets the truth without another frightened official standing over her. Let us go before anyone rearranges the story.