Judge reaches the chambers he once occupied within The Final Edict, carrying the transfer ledger, altered slips, and scraped pages. Corren Vale and two guards follow, both adult human men with square faces and short brown hair, in dark uniforms and iron caps, one broad-shouldered and one lean,; the young adult scribe remains below with the public record, while the courier has ridden toward Vauld.
The old chamber door stands open. Voss waits inside, an elderly man in dark judicial robes, silver hair neatly combed, lined face rigid beneath deep-set eyes. Two empty custody seals rest on the table, and a ceremonial blade gleams in his hand.
Voss
Civilians carried your accusations through the streets before the ink dried. You have made a spectacle of disputed evidence and endangered the authority of the Vauld tribunal.
Corren Vale
He named the chain publicly because your offices buried it. If the evidence were lawful, you would not meet us with seals and steel.
Voss turns the blade’s point toward the oil-wrapped bundle, while the empty seals wait like prepared warrants. The guards halt behind Corren, hands near their weapons but holding position.
Voss
Those records were unlawfully seized from a protected archive. Surrender them now, Judge, before the tribunal is warned and this custody becomes an act of obstruction.
Voss
He was once useful to the court. Now every recovered page gives his defiance a witness.
“"From the moment I heard your name...I knew you would show your face soon, High Magistrate Voss." I slowly pivot the records away from his blade's point. My voice unsettling measured and calm. "You were the reason I lost my formal ability to perform my duties as a magistrate. And now you stand before me, tampering with yet another case at another's expense... I can not, will not, shall not, submit these records over to you for you to repeat your corrupted ways."”
SUCCESS (Great Intimidation, rolled +1)
Judge
From the moment I heard your name, I knew you would show your face soon, High Magistrate Voss. I will not surrender these records.
Judge slowly pivots the oil-wrapped ledger and altered pages away from Voss’s blade. His masked gaze remains fixed, and his voice stays unsettlingly measured within the old chamber.
Judge
You were the reason I lost my formal authority as a magistrate. Now you stand before me, tampering with another case at another’s expense.
Judge
I cannot, will not, shall not submit these records to you so you may repeat your corrupted ways.
The guards hold their positions, but the threat drains from their hands. Corren watches Voss in silence as the empty custody seals sit uselessly between them.
Voss
You have made your position clear, Judge. I will not pretend these records are willingly surrendered, nor will I place my seal upon a custody I cannot command.
Voss lowers the ceremonial blade. The ledger and altered pages remain in Judge’s custody, while the high magistrate’s rigid certainty gives way to wary restraint.
“"Do not think that for a moment, I have stopped searching for evidence against the case that ruined my former life. I will see that your corruption will be brought to justice. But until then, I will not let you ruin the life of another."”
SUCCESS (Great Intimidation, rolled +0)
Judge
Do not think I have stopped searching for evidence against the case that ruined my former life. Your corruption will be brought to justice. Until then, I will not let you ruin another life.
The chamber seems to contract around Judge’s words. White-gold light glimmers behind his mask, and even the guards shift their attention from Voss to the ledger in Judge’s hands.
Voss
You mistake defiance for authority, but I hear the accusation clearly. You intend to pursue me while placing yourself above every court that might judge you.
Voss sets the ceremonial blade upon the table. His restraint concedes the warning’s force, but his rigid gaze hardens as though Judge has confirmed the danger he always feared.
Corren Vale
He said he would protect another life, and he has. The records remain with the one person here who brought them into the open.
Voss
Then take your evidence to Vauld. I will report that Judge has declared a personal campaign against the lawful order. The tribunal will hear that before it hears your accusations.
The cost settles at once: Voss cannot seize the records, but he has gained a dangerous charge to carry before the tribunal. Judge’s custody stands, now shadowed by the claim that he threatens the law itself.
✓ Quest Accepted
Expose Voss’s corruption before the tribunal
✓ Quest Accepted
Leave Voss’s chambers with the evidence intact
“"Go ahead, Voss. Pile more of your wicked actions onto this ongoing feud. But know this, you may procrastinate justice. But you will never truly flee it's grasp." I keep the evidence on my person, and head towards the exit. "Guards, with me. We must escort the accused to the holding chambers."”
FAILURE (Mediocre Leadership, rolled -3)
Judge
Go ahead, Voss. Add more wicked actions to this feud, but justice may be delayed, never escaped. Guards, with me. We must escort the accused to the holding chambers.
Judge secures the transfer ledger and altered pages against his person, then turns toward the chamber exit. Corren moves with him, but the guards do not follow.
Voss
Guards, hold your positions. You serve the court, not Judge’s private authority. Corren remains in this chamber until lawful custody is assigned.
The broad-shouldered guard steps across the doorway, while the lean guard takes position beside Corren. Neither draws steel, but their formation closes the route.
Corren Vale
They will not escort me because you ordered it, Judge. Voss has made the question plain: who holds custody while the tribunal is still absent?
Voss
Your evidence remains in your hands, for now. But the accused remains under my court’s custody, and removing him would make your obstruction undeniable.
Judge keeps the records, but his attempted escort fails. Corren is separated from his intended protection, and the chamber becomes a contested custody under Voss’s declared authority.
“"Very well. Then this is where we part ways for now, Corren. The next time we will meet will be during the trial tomorrow." I look towards the guard standing in the doorway. "Stand aside."”
SUCCESS (Great Intimidation, rolled +2)
Judge
Very well. Then this is where we part ways for now, Corren. The next time we will meet will be during the trial tomorrow. Stand aside.
Judge’s command settles through the chamber with compelling force. The broad-shouldered guard’s resolve falters, and he steps away from the doorway, leaving the passage open.
Corren Vale
Tomorrow, then. I will face the tribunal with the record intact, and I will answer whatever questions they bring.
The lean guard keeps Corren within the chamber, but no longer blocks Judge’s departure. Corren meets Judge’s mask across the space, shackles quiet at his wrists.
Voss
You have secured your exit, Judge, not custody of the accused. Leave if you must, but the tribunal will hear that distinction.
Voss remains beside the table and its empty custody seals. The open doorway admits cold evening air, while the ledger and altered pages remain secured against Judge’s person.
Corren Vale
Go. I will not mistake separation for surrender. Tomorrow, we bring the truth before Lord Maeron Vey.
“I leave Voss’s chambers carrying the evidence without another word being spoken.”
SUCCESS (Good Agility, rolled +0)
Judge turns from Voss’s chamber without answering. The transfer ledger and altered pages remain secured beneath his robes as he crosses the open doorway.
The broad-shouldered guard keeps clear of the passage, and the lean guard remains beside Corren. Neither attempts to block Judge’s departure.
Judge
The evidence remains in my custody.
Cold evening air meets Judge beyond the chamber. His footsteps carry along the cracked corridor of The Final Edict, steady beneath the fading light.
Behind him, Corren stays under Voss’s declared custody, but the separation is orderly and witnessed. The empty seals remain unused upon the table.
Judge continues toward the outer halls with the contested records intact, leaving Voss, Corren, and the guards behind until the tribunal convenes tomorrow.
Quest Complete
Leave Voss’s chambers with the evidence intact
Skill Upgrade: Intimidation Great→Superb