The wheel ruts lead through thinning mist to the ruined tollhouse. Beneath a broken timber shelter, a wounded middle-aged man crawls into view, lean and mud-streaked, with a gray beard and torn brown coat.
Oswin Pell
Do not draw, master. I am Oswin Pell, toll keeper here. I have no weapon left, and no quarrel with you.
Maurice halts, one hand near his sword. He places himself between Oswin and Elianor, scanning the road, the marsh, and the empty shelter.
Maurice Headsman
You saw the household cart. Tell us who took it, and tell it plainly.
Oswin Pell
Armed riders came questioning the driver. They took the cart toward Blackmere, saying the Baron required its provisions. Their leader wore a red cord beneath his cloak.
Oswin Pell
Before they left, a priest arrived from the chapel road. Father Ceredan had ash rubbed into the scar on his cheek, and he called the silver-marked woman an offering that must arrive alive.
Oswin’s raised hands tremble above the mud. Maurice’s expression hardens, while the mist carries a faint creak of wheels from somewhere beyond the tollhouse.
✓ Quest Accepted
Establish whether Oswin Pell's testimony is trustworthy
“I look at oswin through the eyes of my patron to determine if there is truth to his words.”
SUCCESS (Fair Perception, rolled +1)
Elianor fixes her gaze on Oswin Pell and reaches through the silver brand to her patron. The mist, mud, and torn clothing lose their importance beneath that borrowed sight.
Truth gathers around Oswin Pell’s words with a steady clarity. His fear is genuine, and his account is honest: the riders took the cart, and Father Ceredan named the silver-marked woman an offering.
Elianor Vale
His words are true.
Maurice Headsman
You have seen enough. What did the patron show you?
The warmth beneath Elianor’s brand recedes, leaving only the cold rain against her throat. Oswin Pell lowers his hands slightly, watching her with exhausted uncertainty.
Oswin Pell
I told you what I saw. The riders took the road toward Blackmere, and the priest followed them after speaking of the offering.
Maurice Headsman
Then the cart is ahead of us, and the chapel has declared its purpose plainly. We follow, but we do not walk blindly into their hands.
Quest Complete
Establish whether Oswin Pell's testimony is trustworthy