The hall turns cold as the seal falls away. On the torn paper, a hidden mark flashes for all to see, surrender, not trade. The merchants stiffen, and Don Esteban Valcárcel goes white.
The Merchant in Crimson
A tidy little trap. This is no petition, it is a kneeling.
Warders lock the exits, halberds leveled toward the center. The dockworkers at the back crane for a better look, while the room’s murmur sharpens into accusation.
Don Esteban Valcárcel
Stand down. This hearing is not yet broken. The document will be judged by its merits, not by this trick.
The Merchant in Crimson lifts the torn seal between two fingers, smiling thinly. Several rivals lean in, hungry to see Swanga fail in public.
Swanga
Swanga keeps the room on the proposal, refusing the bait and forcing every eye back to the paper.
For a breath, the snare holds. Then the hall settles on one brutal truth, if Swanga cannot prove this is a lawful bargain, the merchants will name it surrender and bury his claim.
✓ Quest Accepted
Prove the proposal is a lawful bargain
“Demand the Merchant in Crimson read the specific trade terms aloud to the room.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled -2)
Swanga
Read the trade terms aloud. All of them, to the room.
The Merchant in Crimson
Very well. The bargain grants shipment rights, harbor preference, and two sealed escorts... and it names surrender where your dignity should be.
A ripple of laughter dies fast when the phrase lands. Several merchants stare harder at the page, suddenly less eager to cheer.
Don Esteban Valcárcel
Enough. The terms are public now. Let the hall judge whether this was a lawful instrument or a poisoned one.
The Merchant in Crimson folds the broken seal into his fist, and the sharp edge bites his palm. A dark bead marks his glove as he keeps reading.
The Merchant in Crimson
The witness is still not named. Without that, this paper leans on rumor and theater.
The room leans with him. The terms are heard, but the blood on his glove gives the hall a new reason to distrust the man speaking them.
“I press the witness to name himself”
FAILURE (Legendary Willpower, rolled -4)
Swanga
Name the witness.
The Merchant in Crimson
So direct. So poor a mask. You hear the paper, but not the hand behind it.
He lifts the bloodied glove a fraction, letting the cut show, then taps the torn margin where a signature should have been. Around them, the merchants stop shifting and start measuring him.
Don Esteban Valcárcel
State the name, or stop circling the point.
The Merchant in Crimson
Gladly. If I give you a witness, I also give you a chain. That witness stands inside your own favor, Swanga.
The accusation lands without a name, but it narrows the room. Esteban’s jaw tightens. The warders keep their halberds leveled at the doors, and the paper in Swanga’s hands suddenly feels less like proof than bait.
The Merchant in Crimson
Choose your next claim carefully. If you want my name for the witness, you will need to earn it in front of the hall.
“I challenge the merchant to name the witness”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +2)
The merchant’s challenge hangs there a heartbeat longer, and then the hall answers in a low rustle of silk and boots. Swanga keeps the document up, unflinching, as the blood on the glove begins to darken.
Swanga
Name the witness.
The Merchant in Crimson
Gladly. He is no phantom, and no clerk. He is a man who stood beside your bargain and saw what it truly was.
He lets that settle, then turns the torn page toward the lamps. The merchants lean in. Esteban’s shoulders stiffen, but he does not interrupt.
The Merchant in Crimson
His name is Doctor Aurelio Mendez. He drafted the witness line, and he sealed it after your hand was already gone.
Don Esteban Valcárcel
A doctor? Then speak plainly, merchant. Why was he inside this business at all?
The Merchant in Crimson
Because he was paid to make it lawful, and because he feared the debt that came with refusing. That is the sort of paper this is.
A few merchants trade looks at that, less certain now, while the warders hold still at the doors. The question shifts, sharp and human, toward the unseen doctor behind the seal.
✓ Quest Accepted
Expose Doctor Aurelio Mendez
− Scene Quest Removed
Prove the proposal is a lawful bargain
“Turn to Esteban and insist he summon the doctor to testify immediately.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +1)
Swanga
Summon Doctor Aurelio Mendez. Now, before this hall buries the truth.
Don Esteban Valcárcel
At once.
Esteban snaps to the warders with a curt slash of his hand. One guard wheels toward the doors, while the merchants tighten into a wary half-circle, suddenly interested in who hears what next.
The Merchant in Crimson
Good. Let him answer here, beneath every lamp, where no one can hide a forgery behind courtesy.
The merchant’s bloodied glove lowers, and the torn page trembles once in the lamplight. Behind Swanga, the hall’s entrance stands crowded and tense, but the way is no longer theirs to close.
A warder strides out through the doors to fetch the doctor, and the room holds its breath, waiting for what that summons will drag back.