Eowyn and Fetren return through the drainage culvert, carrying the original treated hide. Behind them, Veyr remains bound in the warded vault under three armed watches.
The guild master waits beside the covered reliquary entrance. Fetren sets down his copied map, while the original remains with Eowyn, its charcoal marks still sharp.
Guild Master
The entries are unwatched, then. Good. The vessel stays hidden, Veyr stays bound, and neither leaves the vault without my order.
Fetren
The western wall shows ordinary traffic, not surveillance. The culvert and tannery cistern remain concealed, though one rusted hook needs removing.
Guild Master
Eowyn, recount every alteration you found in the royal summons. Not the obvious bait. Tell me what the Ashen Choir changed beneath the king’s authority.
He unfolds the summons beside the vault covering, keeping its ash-gray script beneath the lamplight. His expression is stern, but the encampment’s noise fades around the question.
Guild Master
The crown claims authority over the relic, the Choir claims knowledge of its ward, and the guild claims responsibility for keeping both from it. Choose your words carefully.
✓ Quest Accepted
Satisfy the client and conclude the deal
“I recount every ash-gray alteration in the summons, precisely and without haste. Then I ask how close we are to completing this mission and satisfying the client so we can all move on.”
SUCCESS (Great Reasoning, rolled -2)
Eowyn lays the summons flat and recounts its hidden work without haste: the genuine seal remains unbroken, while ash-gray script was pressed into the paper’s fibers beneath the royal wording.
Eowyn
The Choir altered no visible line. Beneath the king’s authority, they added signs naming the eastern gate and three guild approaches, identifying both the relic’s ward and routes toward it.
Ash dust transfers from the summons to Eowyn’s fingertips, staining her gloves and forcing her to spend a clean cloth from her kit before the marks blur.
Eowyn
How close are we to completing this mission and satisfying the client, so we can all move on?
Guild Master
The capture and recovery are complete. The reliquary is sealed, Veyr is secured, and your report gives us lawful grounds to investigate the altered summons.
Guild Master
The client is satisfied when certainty reaches him. I will send the royal examiner the summons and our findings. Once he confirms the crown’s claim, this contract is finished.
He folds the summons into a guarded case, preserving the ash-gray additions. Fetren remains by the vault entrance, while Veyr stays bound and under armed watch behind the wards.