The cellar breathes damp stone and old herbs. Merrin lays the ledgers flat on the rough table, their names now plain in the weak violet wash. BonerFart stands with the others, the powder haze thinning around him.
Merrin
He earned his keep, but I do not like unknown hands near our work. Not yet.
Garrick
He warned us. He brought the key. That counts for something.
Steven
So does fear, when it is honest. The question is whether his is.
Joe
We keep him close, or we watch him leave. I would rather choose the first.
Edrin Vale
They are weighing me like coin. Fair enough. I only need one of them to believe I am still useful.
Edrin stays near the wall, hands open, no attempt to press forward. The ledgers rustle as Merrin turns a page and finds another familiar name.
BonerFart
The ink is older than the lies.
For a moment, no one reaches for a blade. The cellar settles around the table, and the group lets the silence do some of the work.
✓ Quest Accepted
Prove Edrin Vale's loyalty
✓ Quest Accepted
Settle the ledgers' meaning with the allies
“I personally grow tired of the "can we trust him" game. I approach Edrin my dagger ready and at his gut. I say to him, with your words as your only weapon.. CONVINCE ME you are still of use and NOT a rotten seed in my company and do it quick! Because for all I know you have set us up to a trap and my reputation speaks for itself.. loudy! Merrin and Joe studying and learning from the ledgers. Garrick at my arm ready to act. Steven prepared to act either way, welcome an allied partner OR loot and hide a body. So Edrin.. i ask.. it's your last chance better make it a good one...”
SUCCESS (Superb Persuasion, rolled -1)
BonerFart closes the distance to Edrin, dagger low but certain. The room tightens around the point of steel, and the talk dies in everyone else's throats.
BonerFart
Convince me you are still useful, and not a rotten seed in my company. Do it quickly.
Edrin Vale
Then look at me, not the fear. I did not bring you here to sell you out. I brought the ward-key, I named the clerk, and I stayed when I could have fled.
Merrin
He is right about the key, and right about the names. The ink trail matches what he said.
Joe
These pages line up with his story. Routes, seals, payments. It is all here.
Garrick
A liar would be reaching for a door by now. He is not.
Edrin does not step back. He points instead, to a margin note and a copied seal mark, and the others lean in. The violet glow fades further as their attention settles on the same ugly pattern.
Steven
Then we have our answer. He is useful, and the ledgers say why.
BonerFart's blade lowers a fraction. Around the table, suspicion gives way to a shared reading of the proof, and Edrin remains in place under their gaze, accepted for now.
Quest Complete
Prove Edrin Vale's loyalty
Quest Complete
Settle the ledgers' meaning with the allies