The herald’s declaration fades beneath renewed applause. An Elterra page approaches the arena’s edge and gestures toward a curtained passage, while the Starsa champion remains behind to receive his weapon and witnesses.
The page leads Damakos into a screened chamber adjoining the royal pavilion. Paladin Sola follows at a measured distance; Elieren’s attendants and the other dignitaries remain outside with the tournament crowd.
Elieren Gulres
The captains have sent their first report. Three unfamiliar petitioners sought access to the servants’ corridors, each asking questions about infernal blood and royal schedules.
Elieren stands beside a small table where a sealed message rests beside her slate of guard instructions. Her expression stays composed, but her fingers hold the parchment tightly.
Elieren Gulres
None has been accused. The captains observed them, redirected them, and recorded their names. I want your assessment before suspicion becomes a public charge.
Paladin Sola
A prudent course. If the report bears the cult’s pattern, we should protect those approached without driving them further into secrecy.
Elieren breaks the seal and places the report before Damakos. Inked names, occupations, and requested destinations fill the page, while muted tournament drums continue beyond the screens.
✓ Quest Accepted
Determine whether the three petitioners serve the infernal cult
“I study the petitioners’ names, occupations, and requested destinations for patterns.”
FAILURE (Great Perception, rolled -4)
“I study the petitioners’ names, occupations, and requested destinations for patterns.”
SUCCESS (Great Perception, rolled -2)
Damakos studies the page in silence, tracing the three entries from names to trades, then to their requested destinations. The ink reveals a careful pattern.
Damakos Honourbound
Each petitioner chose an ordinary occupation, but all requested passage near the royal route shortly before a scheduled procession.
A spice factor sought the servants’ corridor beside the western kitchens. A pilgrim requested the shrine passage. A hired courier asked for the records stair, though none carried a message addressed to the court.
Their names share no family mark, yet their destinations form a chain around the pavilion, giving anyone who followed them access to guards, schedules, and sealed rooms.
Elieren Gulres
You have found something. The three routes were recorded separately, but together they encircle the royal procession.
As Damakos turns the report for its final notation, the parchment scrapes sharply across the table. A waiting page outside hears it and glances in, his suspicion briefly fixed on the devil at the table.
Paladin Sola
Then the pattern is deliberate, though the petitioners may still be victims or tools. We must learn which before judgment hardens.
“"This is a pattern, but the pattern could be a cabal of my kin seeking safety. Jursial's capital had an entire militia formed from half devils who wanted nothing but to be treated fairly. These may be those making such a system here."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled -1)
Damakos Honourbound
This is a pattern, but it may be a cabal of my kin seeking safety. Jursial’s capital formed an entire militia from half-devils seeking fair treatment. These petitioners may be building such a system here.
Elieren’s fingers loosen around the parchment. She rereads the occupations and destinations, this time weighing refuge rather than intrusion, while the drums murmur beyond the screens.
Elieren Gulres
Then the routes may be a shelter’s framework, not an attack’s. They chose positions near protection, records, and the royal road.
Paladin Sola
And they may fear that asking openly would expose them. A hunted people often make maps before they make homes.
Elieren turns the report toward herself and marks a new instruction beside the three names: discreetly identify infernal blood, offer sanctuary, and summon no public accusation.
Elieren Gulres
I will have the captains approach them as protectors, not interrogators. If they seek a militia or a refuge, Elterra will hear the request before judging it.
Paladin Sola
Your warning has changed the shape of our duty. We shall guard the crown without making fear itself an enemy.
“"Can you bring me one of these petitioners some I may speak to them in private. It must be discreet so that they believe I am reaching out on my own. In that they may be willing to reveal their intent to a kindred."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled +0)
Damakos Honourbound
Can you bring me one of these petitioners, discreetly, so I may speak with them in private? They may reveal their intent to a kindred.
Elieren studies him, then folds the report and slips it beneath her slate. Outside, the drums continue, masking the quiet decision within the screened chamber.
Elieren Gulres
Yes. I will make it appear that I am sending for a witness to clarify a routine petition, nothing more.
Paladin Sola
Bring only one, and leave the others untouched. If this is refuge being formed, trust must not be mistaken for guilt.
Elieren gives a brief signal through the curtain. An attendant departs by the servants’ passage, while another draws the chamber screens closer around the table.
After several quiet minutes, the attendant returns with the spice factor. The petitioner enters alone, wary beneath travel-stained finery, and the curtain falls shut behind them.
the spice factor
Princess Elterra said a kindred visitor wished to speak without witnesses. I came because secrecy is familiar to those who need shelter.
“"That it is my friend, I am the kindred." I make a discreet hand sign to test if he is from the Militia in Jursial.”
SUCCESS (Great Perception, rolled +2)
Damakos Honourbound
That it is, my friend. I am the kindred.
Damakos gives a discreet hand sign, shaped by the old signals of Jursial’s half-devil militia. His gesture is small enough to pass as courtesy, yet precise enough for a trained eye.
the spice factor
The sign is genuine. No outsider would know that final turn.
the spice factor
Then the road has carried one of our own farther than I expected. Yes, I served in Jursial’s militia, beneath captains who taught us to guard one another.
The spice factor’s guarded posture eases, though his gaze still flicks toward the curtained walls. He answers softly, keeping every word beneath the distant tournament drums.
the spice factor
We are not plotting against Elterra. We are seeking a place where our kind may stand together without waiting for a mob or a cult to name us first.
Elieren Gulres
Then your purpose is refuge, not treason. You have my protection while we determine how Elterra can receive your request safely.
“"The roads I travel are long, I hail from the most southern of Starsa's wintry lands. yet here I stand."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled +2)
Damakos Honourbound
The roads I travel are long. I hail from the most southern of Starsa's wintry lands, yet here I stand.
The spice factor studies Damakos anew, hearing in the words not merely a claim of kinship, but the measure of distance crossed to reach this chamber.
the spice factor
Then you know what it is to leave a hard homeland and carry its cold with you. Starsa's southern lands teach endurance, though they offer little shelter to those already feared.
Elieren Gulres
Your shared origin strengthens the trust between you, but it also explains why these petitioners chose caution. They have crossed far from safety, as you did.
Beyond the screens, the tournament drums mark another contest. Within the chamber, the spice factor's shoulders settle, and his guarded expression gives way to reluctant recognition.
the spice factor
We came seeking what your people built in Jursial: a place where our blood is not a sentence. If you stand with us, perhaps Elterra may become such a place.
Elieren Gulres
Then let this meeting begin there. You have a witness who understands the road, and you have my word that refuge will not be treated as treason.
“"It would appear my services have concluded. I must beg my leave, I need to rest for the next round of the tournament."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled +0)
Damakos Honourbound
It would appear my services have concluded. I must beg my leave. I need to rest for the next round of the tournament.
The spice factor bows, accepting the dismissal without offense. Elieren gathers the report and seals it beneath her slate, preserving the petitioners' privacy.
Elieren Gulres
You have served Elterra well today, Damakos. Rest without concern. I will see that these petitioners are protected discreetly.
the spice factor
Then go with my thanks, kindred. Your words have given us a safer road than the one we arrived upon.
Paladin Sola
Rest is no retreat from duty. You have guarded the innocent and shown restraint before every watching kingdom.
Elieren signals the attendant to clear the way. The curtain parts onto a quiet passage leading toward the champions' quarters, while tournament drums continue beyond the pavilion.
Damakos leaves the screened chamber and is escorted to a reserved room beneath the royal pavilion. Inside, a narrow bed, washbasin, and folded tournament garments await his recovery before the next round.
“I discreetly question the remaining two petitioners”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled +0)
Before resting, Damakos quietly sends word through the attendant. The pilgrim and hired courier are brought separately to the reserved room, with no guards inside.
Damakos Honourbound
You have my discretion. Tell me plainly what brought you to these corridors, and what you hope to build here.
the pilgrim
A refuge, kindred. The shrine passage gives access to healers and travelers, people who might shelter us without asking which blood runs in our veins.
The pilgrim produces a small cord marked with Jursial’s militia knot. It matches the spice factor’s signal, though the pilgrim keeps one hand protectively over it.
Damakos Honourbound
And the records stair? Why seek that route?
the hired courier
To find names of households willing to receive us, and to learn which officials can grant lawful protection. We carry no orders from any cult, nor designs against the crown.
Their accounts align: the three petitioners are organizing a lawful refuge modeled on Jursial’s half-devil militia. The infernal trail has not led to an attack, but to frightened people seeking safety.
Quest Complete
Determine whether the three petitioners serve the infernal cult
Attribute Upgrade: Perception Great→Superb