The novice lays fresh parchment beside the sealed evidence packets. Sister Agnes dictates beneath the infirmary lamp while Garran Holt remains nearby under witnessed penance, his surrendered sword in separate custody.
Sister Agnes
Record the garden attack, Elianor’s healing of Old Martin, and Garran Holt’s confession naming Vey of the western roads office. The letter must reach the Duke sealed and witnessed.
Garran identifies the road-office contacts named in the surviving letter, speaking carefully while the novice copies each name. Sister Agnes checks the account against the oilcloth and the forged writ.
Maurice Headsman
The Duke may invite you into the Duchess’s personal guard because of your new power.
Elianor Vale
That protection could honor my independence, if I enter by choice. But it could also give the baron another claim to contest.
Sister Agnes
Then the petition must state the distinction plainly. Service under the Duchess may be freely chosen, but neither rank nor divine favor makes Elianor anyone’s possession.
The novice sands the finished account and folds it with the evidence summary. Before sealing the ducal courier’s packet, Sister Agnes turns to Elianor, leaving the decision openly before her.
✓ Quest Accepted
Train Elianor for service as a divinely blessed bodyguard.
“I begin to training Elianor, while letting her know the service to the Duchess also means she will become a Lady-In-Waiting, meaning the duchess will try to find her a noble husband Elianor would accept.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Melee Weapons, rolled -3)
After the packet is sealed, Maurice begins Elianor’s training in the rain-muted yard, drilling stance, measured footwork, and how to keep a witness’s distance.
Maurice Headsman
Service to the Duchess may make you a lady-in-waiting. She may also seek a noble husband for you, but only one you freely accept.
Elianor repeats the guard’s turning step until her boots stop slipping. Maurice’s bruised ribs pull sharply during the demonstration, forcing him to spend the lesson working through pain.
Elianor Vale
Then I must learn both courtly movement and the language of refusal. A title or husband cannot become another custody claim.
He teaches her to present a hand, turn aside an intrusive grasp, and place herself where witnesses can see. Her golden strand catches the pale daylight.
Elianor Vale
If I enter the Duchess’s service, I will enter it informed, skilled, and under terms I choose.
Sister Agnes
Then the petition will state that any office, courtship, and marriage remain Elianor’s decisions. Training may prepare her for court, but it cannot bind her to it.
“Ask Agnes to dispatch the sealed petition and help Elianor train to improve her healing power.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled +1)
Maurice Headsman
Sister Agnes, dispatch the sealed petition to the Duke. Then help Elianor train her healing power, under her patron’s guidance and by her consent.
Sister Sister Agnes retrieves the sealed packet from the records chest, checks its witness marks, and places it in the hands of the convent courier before the witnesses.
Sister Agnes
The petition goes under seal and sworn escort. Elianor’s terms, testimony, and divine favor will reach the Duke together, altered by no ambitious clerk.
In the infirmary, Sister Agnes clears a table beside Old Martin’s resting cot. Elianor Vale washes her hands, lays them over a bruised practice bundle, and steadies her breathing.
Elianor Vale
I will not command the gift. I will listen for my patron’s answer, then stop if the favor is not freely given.
Sister Agnes
Good. Begin with warmth and relief, never ambition. Let the smallest healing teach you its measure, and let every witness record what truly changes.
Under Sister Agnes’s instruction, Elianor Vale eases the bundle’s bruising without strain or spectacle. The novice records the hour, her method of prayer, and the clear improvement.
✓ Quest Accepted
Establish Elianor's safe limits for healing.
“I have Elianor test a gentler healing on Old Martin, focus on connection to her patron while doing so.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled +0)
Sister Agnes draws back the infirmary curtain and makes room beside Old Old Martin’s cot. Rain whispers against the shutters as Elianor kneels and places two fingers over his wrist.
Elianor Vale
I listen first. If my patron gives no answer, I will not force the gift.
Elianor closes her eyes. A faint warmth gathers beneath her touch, gentler than before, spreading through Old Martin’s cramped hand and easing the tightness in his breathing.
Old Martin
There, girl. The pain loosens, but you bear no weight that is not freely given.
Elianor Vale
I feel the answer. It is small, but clear. I will guide it only as far as you need.
The warmth settles into Old Old Martin’s wrist. His fingers uncurl, his breathing smooths, and no golden strand changes this time. The novice records the gentler healing and its limits.
Sister Agnes
Then connection, consent, and restraint are part of the gift. Record that plainly. Elianor has learned its measure without surrendering her will.
Quest Complete
Establish Elianor's safe limits for healing.
“Train Elianor in grappling and the use of a dagger, as Duchesses guards are to keep their weapons hidden until they are to be used.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Melee Weapons, rolled +0)
In the rain-muted yard, Maurice sets his sword aside and positions Elianor opposite him. Sister Agnes watches from the infirmary threshold while the novice prepares parchment.
He demonstrates a concealed dagger’s draw from beneath the sleeve, keeping the motion compact and the point close to his body. Elianor repeats it until the weapon appears only at the final instant.
Elianor Vale
The hand must look empty until the moment protection requires otherwise.
Maurice closes distance, catches her wrist, and turns her balance without striking. He shows her how to frame with the forearm, step across the hips, and break a stronger grip.
Elianor Vale
A hidden weapon is not permission to threaten. It is a last answer when escape and witnesses fail.
Elianor applies the sequence cleanly, slipping from Maurice’s hold and placing the practice dagger against the marked stopping point beneath his ribs. He nods once and resets her stance.
Sister Agnes
Record that the training teaches concealment, restraint, and escape. The Duchess’s guard must protect without turning every encounter into a challenge.
Quest Complete
Train Elianor for service as a divinely blessed bodyguard.
Skill Upgrade: Athletics Great→Superb