The ward-marked paper on the desk answers the brass tally at Kareem Bishop's belt with the same faint pulse. The study feels suddenly smaller, as if the room itself has leaned in to listen.
The Gate Scribe lifts the paper between two fingers. The glow runs along its margins, then jumps, brightening whenever Kareem shifts his weight.
The Gate Scribe
There. It was never merely paper. It is keyed to him, and through him, to the watcher we sought.
The seal at the corner splits open like warmed wax. Hidden threads of gold-script reveal a second set of marks beneath the petition, tidy and cruel, laid over the ward authority like a net.
Magistrate Wei
By the heavens... the bait was in my hand from the start.
The Scribe turns the page toward the light, and the pulse in Kareem's belt answers, steady as a heartbeat. Whoever planted this had not been tracking the gold. They had been tracking Kareem.
✓ Quest Accepted
Confront the Gate Scribe about the tracking paper
“I confront the gate scribe”
SUCCESS (Great Willpower, rolled +0)
Kareem lets the silence sit between them, and it changes the room. The brass pulse at his belt answers the paper in the Scribe’s hands, steady and undeniable.
Kareem Bishop
So you knew what this was when you laid it on the table.
The Gate Scribe
I knew it bore a second script. I did not know it was written to follow you specifically until the tally answered.
The Scribe lowers the page just enough to show the hidden goldwork glinting beneath the petition seal. His voice stays even, but his grip tightens.
The Gate Scribe
This is a tether, not a summons. A watcher can read the pulse of your movements through the record itself.
Magistrate Wei
Then someone has turned lawful filing into a net. Who had access to this form?
The Gate Scribe glances once at Wei, then back to Kareem, and the answer lands with reluctant care.
The Gate Scribe
Enough people to make the theft look ordinary, but only one hand had the patience to hide it this cleanly. I can tell you that much, and no more unless you want this spoken into the record.
Quest Complete
Confront the Gate Scribe about the tracking paper