The noble leads Orien off the causeway and through a curtain of reeds into a shallow cave. He carries no weapon, and keeps rubbing the raw marks around his wrists.
Aldren Veyr
My name is Aldren Veyr, of House Veyr, wardens of the eastern fen roads. I owe you more than thanks, Thanebroken.
Moonlight fades behind the reeds. Aldren lowers himself onto a flat stone, his fine cloak damp at the hem, and studies Orien with guarded recognition.
Aldren Veyr
They took me because my house keeps the old petitions and blood ledgers. Your family name appears in them, beside a sealed claim no clan elder will discuss.
Aldren Veyr
The ransomers wanted that name surrendered publicly. They believed forcing you to answer would draw out those still watching its fate.
Outside, wet reeds whisper and bend under a passing current. Nothing enters the cave, but the sound circles once through the darkness before settling.
Aldren Veyr
I can tell you what the ledgers say, but not why your clan feared the claim. Do you know what was sealed away with your name?
✓ Quest Accepted
Learn what the sealed claim says about Orien's family name
“I know nothing. Even before my exile, I was often kept away from family affairs.”
SUCCESS (Good Willpower, rolled -1)
Orien Thanebroken
I know nothing. Even before my exile, I was kept away from family affairs.
The words leave Orien quietly in the damp cave. Aldren watches him for a long breath, then accepts the answer without pressing for invented certainty.
Aldren Veyr
Then the silence was deliberate. Someone made certain you could not learn what that sealed claim concerned.
Aldren reaches beneath his cloak and draws out a narrow waxed packet. The effort pulls at his bruised wrists, and a spot of blood reopens beneath one raw mark.
Aldren Veyr
I have a copy of the ledger passage, not the sealed petition itself. It names a northern heir, stripped of inheritance before the claim could be heard.
Aldren Veyr
Your ignorance does not weaken the record, Thanebroken. It may be the reason your enemies kept you ignorant.
He places the packet on the stone between them, its wax bearing House Veyr's sigil. Outside, reeds scrape softly against the cave mouth as the moon climbs.
“Does the ledger reveal that Orien's old family was founded by the legendary exiled heir of a distant kingdom?”
NO (Unlikely, rolled 83)
The waxed packet remains between them, unopened. Aldren’s claim carries no hidden royal origin for Orien’s family, no distant kingdom’s exiled heir beneath the record.
Aldren Veyr
No. The ledger does not name a foreign prince, nor claim that your house began with one.
Aldren turns the packet beneath his fingers, careful not to break House Veyr’s seal. The cave offers only damp stone, reed-whispers, and the weight of what the record excludes.
Aldren Veyr
It establishes something narrower. Your family’s claim was treated as legitimate enough to record, then suppressed before any clan elder could hear it.
Aldren Veyr
Whatever your ancestors were, they were not founded by that legendary exile. The sealed matter belongs to your northern bloodline itself.
His bruised hands settle beside the packet. No revelation crowns Orien’s name with foreign grandeur; instead, the old silence points inward, toward the clan that stripped him.
“I ask why, then, would these ransomers be so desperate? What do they have to gain?”
SUCCESS (Great Reasoning, rolled -1)
Orien Thanebroken
Why, then, would these ransomers be so desperate? What do they have to gain?
Aldren’s fingers tighten around the packet. The wax seal cracks with a dry snap, and a thin strip of it falls onto the stone.
Aldren Veyr
Leverage. If you publicly surrender the name, they can claim the sealed petition is worthless and force every interested clan to retreat.
He unfolds the copy at last. The parchment bears cramped script, several lines crossed out, and a notation marking the claim as contested by northern elders.
Aldren Veyr
But if you refuse, or if I survive with this record, the matter can be heard. That could strip powerful people of land, rank, or authority.
Aldren Veyr
They are desperate because the old silence is failing. They need your name surrendered before witnesses, and they need these words destroyed with me.
From outside, a reed snaps sharply. Aldren folds the copy against his chest, his guarded expression hardening as the cave mouth darkens.
Quest Complete
Learn what the sealed claim says about Orien's family name
Attribute Upgrade: Willpower Good→Great
✓ Quest Accepted
Obtain the ledger copy
“Has a foe stumbled upon this shelter?”
NO (Likely, rolled 76)
The reed’s sharp crack fades into the marsh. No shadow crosses the cave mouth, and no second footstep follows. The shelter remains undiscovered.
Aldren Veyr
Only the current shifting the reeds. We have not been found.
Aldren lowers the parchment slightly, listening until the wetland settles. His shoulders ease, though his fingers keep the copy pressed firmly against his chest.
Aldren Veyr
That gives us a little time, but not safety. The ransomers may still be searching the causeway and the roads beyond it.
The cave’s narrow entrance remains empty. Moonlight reaches only the outer reeds, leaving the stone chamber concealed beneath their wavering silver.
Aldren Veyr
You wanted to know whether my account is genuine. The ledger copy can be examined, and House Veyr’s seal can be compared, if we find a trusted witness.
Aldren Veyr
For now, no foe knows where we are. Ask what you need, Thanebroken, while the marsh keeps our secret.
“I ask where a witness can be found.”
SUCCESS (Great Reasoning, rolled +1)
Orien Thanebroken
Where can we find a trusted witness who will examine the ledger copy and hear the sealed claim?
Aldren Veyr
At House Veyr’s wayhouse on the eastern fen roads. The keeper there is sworn to preserve petitions, and owes loyalty to the record before any clan.
Aldren turns the parchment so the cramped notation faces Orien. His bruised thumb rests beside House Veyr’s seal, steadying the fragile copy.
Aldren Veyr
The wayhouse stands beyond the old stone markers, two hours east if we take the raised track. Its keeper can compare this seal and summon lawful witnesses.
Orien Thanebroken
The witness is at a House Veyr wayhouse on the eastern fen roads.
Outside, the marsh wind shifts toward the east, carrying the scent of wet grass through the cave mouth. The hidden track waits beyond the reeds.
Aldren Veyr
We should leave before dawn. I can guide you there, and once the keeper sees the copy, your question will have a witness beyond my word.
“I tell Aldren to lead the way.”
SUCCESS (Good Agility, rolled +2)