The party reaches the timber hall beneath the Duchess’s keep. Oswin Pell remains behind at the ruined tollhouse, while Elianor, Maurice, and Father Ceredan enter with the covered cart and cracked writ.
Clerks pause over their tablets, and petitioners fall silent as Maurice’s towering figure escorts the shaken priest beneath the hall’s rafters. Ceredan keeps close beside him.
A court usher, a middle-aged woman with a square build, iron-gray hair braided beneath a blue hood, and a red ledger tucked beneath one arm, steps down from the clerk’s bench.
the court usher
The writ, if you please. And state your standing here. Does the silver-marked woman claim sanctuary, formal protection, or merely the Duchess’s attention?
Her gaze settles on Elianor’s fresh brand, then shifts to the red-sealed barricade token hanging from Maurice’s belt. The hall waits for an answer.
Father Ceredan
I come under guard as a witness. I will name Chancellor Veyr and Sister Maelin, and I will testify to the Baron’s order.
Maurice Headsman
The priest travels under protection, and the writ shows an attempt to bind Elianor’s healing gift. Let the Duchess’s officers hear the matter before the Baron’s men reach this hall.
“I claim formal protection for Ceredan”
SUCCESS (Good Diplomacy, rolled +2)
Elianor Vale
I claim formal protection for Father Ceredan under the Duchess’s authority. He is a witness against the Baron, and he must be heard safely.
The court usher opens her red ledger. Her iron-gray braid shifts beneath the blue hood as she records Ceredan’s name, the cracked writ, and the claim of protection.
the court usher
The claim is entered and granted. Father Ceredan stands under the Duchess’s formal protection from this moment, and the Baron’s men may not remove him.
Two hall guards, two young adult human men with sturdy builds, close-cropped hair, and dark blue uniforms with polished leather belts, step from the pillars and take positions beside Ceredan without touching him. The priest exhales, his shoulders lowering as the clerks resume their writing.
Father Ceredan
Then I will speak fully. Chancellor Veyr drafted the order, Sister Maelin witnessed the Baron’s seal, and the chapel was meant to make coercion appear lawful.
the court usher
The Duchess’s magistrate will hear that testimony before sunset. Maurice Headsman may remain as escort, while the writ and barricade token pass into official custody.
A clerk reaches, a young adult woman with brown skin, tightly curled black hair, and a slim build beneath a russet-and-cream clerical robe, for the parchment with careful hands. Outside, the keep bell sounds the hour, and Ceredan stands within the protection Elianor claimed.
✓ Quest Accepted
Have Ceredan's testimony heard by the Duchess's magistrate
“I surrender the writ and barricade token into official custody.”
FAILURE (Good Agility, rolled -2)
Elianor places the cracked writ into the court clerk’s waiting hands. The parchment leaves her possession, its broken seal and smeared endorsement exposed beneath the hall’s gray light.
the court usher
The writ is received into official custody and will be sealed with the Duchess’s evidence. Its chain of possession begins here.
When the clerk reaches for the barricade token, Elianor has nothing to give. It still hangs from Maurice’s belt, beyond the surrender she has just completed.
Maurice Headsman
The token is mine, not hers. I carried it from the Baron’s barricade, and I will not pretend it passed into custody when it did not.
the court usher
Then the token cannot be entered as surrendered property. It remains in Maurice Headsman’s custody, recorded separately from the writ.
The clerk marks the distinction in the ledger and carries the writ away beneath both hands. Official evidence is secured, but the token remains a private object on Maurice’s person.