Batoco’s tavern district hums under lantern light and spilled ale. Voices bounce from open doors, dice rattle, and sailors crowd the street with red cheeks and loud opinions.
Zacvi stands near the curb of the square, charmed by the noise, when a tall man in a travel-worn cloak climbs onto a barrel and lifts one hand for silence.
The Stranger
Hear me, people of Batoco. A grand tournament is called in Charaza. Glory waits for the bold, and the prize is a sword lost to my father’s house.
The crowd leans in. The man’s voice is polished, but his eyes keep flicking to an unseen script, as if the words arrive by order rather than grief.
Behind a stack of casks, several robed monks from the Serene Shrine stand shoulder to shoulder. Their lips move in a tight, rhythmic chant, and a faint unnatural glow stirs in their eyes.
Zacvi
The monks are hiding in plain sight. The lord is reading, not speaking from the heart.
The Stranger raises a hand toward the road north, promising a relic sword that can break the grip of corrupt nobles across Mitaka. A few listeners cheer. Others glance around, uneasy.
The Stranger
Who among you will come to Charaza with me, and claim a place in history?
✓ Quest Accepted
Expose the monks' manipulation to the tavern crowd
“Can I see the monks' chant affecting the stranger's behavior?”
NO (Likely, rolled 91)
Zacvi watches the monks closely, but their rhythmic chanting remains entirely detached from the stranger's performance. The man continues his rehearsed speech without a single flicker of influence or magical tether connecting him to the robed figures.
“I call out the monks to the crowd”
SUCCESS (Superb Persuasion, rolled -2)
Zacvi raises his voice, and the square snaps toward him. The monks keep chanting, but their rhythm now lands like a tell, not a blessing.
Zacvi
He calls out that the monks are working the crowd, not the stranger.
A few listeners recoil from the casks, trading startled looks. The stranger falters mid-line, script still in hand.
The Stranger
What? No, I am only offering a fair chance in Charaza.
The monks do not stop. Their calm faces remain fixed, but the nearest townsfolk begin to whisper, eyes moving from the chant to the stranger's page.
The Serene Shrine Monks
The way is prepared. The willing may hear.
Zacvi's words carry, and the crowd's attention splits cleanly between the script and the chant. The price is immediate, though, his voice cracks a little from the strain, and every eye now knows he is the one stirring the square.
Quest Complete
Expose the monks' manipulation to the tavern crowd