The Orchard shrine greets them with herb-sweet air and old paper dust. Slaan steps inside, and the faint sigil in her memory answers with a pulse from below the stone.
The Scribe looks up from a stack of scrolls. Spectral bonds still hold their wrists and shoulders, but their eyes sharpen at the glow spreading across the floor.
The Scribe
That mark. I have seen it in the foundation records. It is not a blessing. It is a witness seal.
Ilaris
A witness seal means someone meant to watch the archive, not just hide it.
The violet light widens into a thin line, pointing deeper under the shrine, toward the inner sanctum.
Nhal
Then the shrine is part of the same design. The archive was curated, not merely stored.
The Merchant, still hanging lower in Slaan’s telekinetic grip, goes pale as the line settles on the sealed floor.
The Merchant
I did not know the purpose. I only moved what Hest told me to move.
✓ Quest Accepted
Identify the witness seal’s keeper
“I look at the merchant... " So help me shhh or you end up like hest" I say coldly”
SUCCESS (Good Intimidation, rolled -1)
Slaan
Shh. Keep talking and you end up like Hest.
The words land like a knife laid flat. The Merchant goes rigid in Slaan's grip, his mouth snapping shut as the violet line at the shrine floor steadies under the silence.
The Merchant
He swallows hard, eyes fixed on Slaan, and stops struggling.
Ilaris
That is enough to make the point, and little enough to keep us all breathing.
Nhal
Good. Then listen. The seal is answering the witness, not the thief.
The Scribe
...That mark belongs in the foundation register. I knew it would be there.
A faint shimmer climbs the sealed slab, and for a heartbeat the witness sigil shows a second shape beneath it, a hooded outline pressed into old stone. The Merchant pales further, and the shrine stays quiet except for the soft hiss of settling light.
“I check the scribes arms for tattoos or brands”
SUCCESS (Fair Perception, rolled +0)
Slaan lets the silence do the work, then turns the Merchant’s restraint just enough to give her a clear view of the Scribe’s forearms.
A pale brand sits near the inside of one wrist, half-hidden under old ink. Not a common mark, but a deliberate one, cut in the shape of a tiny hood and ringed with faint script.
The Scribe
Foundation mark. Witness-knot. They used the arms for it.
The Scribe shifts, bound wrists tightening against their chest, and the glow from the floor catches the same sign in the seam of their sleeve.
Ilaris
That is not a thief’s brand. It is a keeper’s seal.
Nhal
Then the witness was marked to watch, not merely to hide.
The hooded outline beneath the slab sharpens for one breath, as if answering the recognition. The shrine’s stillness holds, but the seal now points inward, toward the person who wore it.
Quest Complete
Identify the witness seal’s keeper
Skill Upgrade: Intimidation Good→Great