Lord Veyr’s hand remains clenched around the gilded table as the black-crescent token lies between him and Andras. His lion ears flatten, and the feast hall holds its breath.
Kesh
Commander Vale’s warning names the eastern patrols plainly. They were diverted by a false distress call while the Crescent moved through Brackenford.
Kesh draws the sealed warning from beneath his cloak and lays it beside the token. The wax bears Commander Vale’s mark, unbroken until now, while the golden oath-blade rests at his hip.
The Herald
Witnesses for the hall, attend. Let all hear why the eastern patrols were diverted, and by whose authority the crown’s orders were altered.
The herald’s silver staff strikes the floor. At the organizer’s quiet signal, servants move to bar the nearest doors, while nobles turn from their cups toward the dais.
Lord Veyr
A warning is not proof, Kesh. Andras placed that token before me as an accusation. If you mean to condemn me, speak the charge where every witness can judge it.
The nearest doors close beneath the servants’ hands. No one leaves the victor’s table now without being noticed, and Veyr’s gaze settles on Andras, awaiting his answer.
✓ Quest Accepted
Secure credible public testimony about the false-order conspiracy
“"then by all means. explain the diversion that you ordered. surely you would keep record of official orders no?" you state. tone firm and accusatory.”
SUCCESS (Superb Persuasion, rolled -1)
Andras
Then by all means, explain the diversion that you ordered. Surely you keep records of official orders?
The accusation settles over the hall. Veyr’s ears remain flattened, but the pressure of watching nobles and barred doors leaves him no graceful silence.
Lord Veyr
I ordered Kesh’s patrol recalled. The written order is in my private register, and I will show it now. The stated reason was a suspected breach along the western road.
Veyr unlocks a narrow drawer in the victor’s table and removes a leather register. He opens it to a sealed entry bearing his signet, then lays it beside Vale’s warning.
Lord Veyr
There is the record. It bears my authority, but not the Crescent’s. I did not order grain seized, nor did I know Brackenford would be left exposed.
Kesh
You have answered the question, Veyr. But you have also admitted the order that removed me from Brackenford and made the opening possible.
The admission costs Veyr the hall’s easy allegiance. Several nobles step back from his table, while the servants keep the doors barred and every witness hears the record named aloud.
Quest Complete
Secure credible public testimony about the false-order conspiracy
“Andras brings out several pieces of your own. the Crescent's written plans, vale's report and the Brackenford report. looking over Vale's to find anything that might prove his alignment with the crescent.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Reasoning, rolled +2)
Andras lays out the Crescent’s written plans, Commander Vale’s report, and the Brackenford report across the victor’s table. His loosened forearm binding catches on the parchment as he compares dates, seals, and named routes.
The reports align at a single point: Vale’s false distress call repeats the exact western-road wording from Veyr’s recall order, while the Crescent plans identify that diversion as the opening for Brackenford’s seizure.
A copied seal description in Vale’s report settles the matter. The distress order carried Veyr’s private signet impression beneath a scraped crown mark, and the Crescent’s plan names that altered seal as their authorized access.
Kesh
That is not merely a recall that helped them. His signet authenticated the false order, and the Crescent’s own plans expected it.
Kesh places one clawed finger beside the matching passages. Around the hall, servants remain by the barred doors while nobles lean forward, watching Veyr’s authority narrow into evidence.
Lord Veyr
A stolen impression can be planted. You have shown coordination, perhaps, but not that I knowingly served the Crescent.
Beneath the copied seal description, Vale recorded the impression’s source: Veyr’s private register, accessed before the false distress call was issued. The timing and matching mark leave his alignment plainly exposed.
Quest Complete
Expose who engineered the false order
Attribute Upgrade: Agility Great→Superb