The sigil slips through the spillway and Kareem drops into the tunnel after it. Water slicks the stone, and the market noise dies above him.
The passage opens into a ledger chamber, stacks of damp imperial records rising like grave markers. Inspector Lian and the Gate Scribe fan out behind Kareem, blades ready.
At the far end, a hooded figure grips a palm-sized brass device that throbs with the same pale light as the sigil. The glow washes over old seals and ink-stained pages.
The Hooded Figure
Too late. The tally has found you, foreign one.
The Gate Scribe
Those ledgers are audit copies. Who are you, and who sent the mark?
Inspector Lian
Hold fast, Kareem Bishop. Do not let him reach the records.
The hooded figure twists the device toward Kareem, and the sigil flares brighter, as if answering his gold.
✓ Quest Accepted
Capture and interrogate the watcher
“"I'm sure you already knew where I was since you brought me here and have me this gold "”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled -1)
Kareem Bishop
I am sure you knew exactly where I was. You brought me here, and you have this gold.
The hooded figure stills, the brass device dimming in their grip as Kareem’s words land cleanly in the damp air.
The Hooded Figure
You speak as if bait is never meant to be seen. Yes, foreign one, the trail was set for you.
The Gate Scribe
Then the mark is not random. It is keyed to his coin, and by extension to our ledgers.
Inspector Lian
Enough. Name your office, or lose your hands to the law.
The figure draws back their hood just enough to show a lacquered mask and a seal-ring pinned to their sleeve, while the chamber’s reflected light writes the symbol of an audit office across the water.
The Hooded Figure
You have identified me. Now decide whether you are witness, evidence, or problem.
Quest Complete
Identify the watcher monitoring the gold
Attribute Upgrade: Perception Fair→Good
“"Sad. It is sad that regardless of the country, city, world, or peoples that there are always those who try to use fear as a means of control. You ain't nothing but a bully. And I hate bullies" i move quick and tackle him”
SUCCESS (Good Strength, rolled +1)
Kareem Bishop
Sad. It is sad that, no matter the country or world, there are always those who use fear to control. You are only a bully.
Kareem Bishop
And I hate bullies.
Kareem moves fast, crossing the slick stone in one hard burst. His shoulder slams into the hooded figure and drives them backward, the brass tally device jerking up as they lose balance.
The figure crashes into a stack of damp records. Ledgers slide, pages slap the water, and the audit seal flashes once in the reflected light.
Inspector Lian steps in at once, pinning the figure low before they can recover. The Gate Scribe lunges for the brass device, brush forgotten, eyes wide on the seal-ring and the ward-marked paper now drifting at Kareem's knee.
The Hooded Figure
Touch me, and the office will know you forced this.
The chamber settles into a tense crouch, wet stone, broken records, and the watcher trapped under two officials, while the dimmed device gives off a stubborn pulse like a heartbeat caught in ink.
Quest Complete
Capture and interrogate the watcher
Fault Removed: Unfamiliar with Magic