Dawn pales behind the marsh mist as Orien and Aldren reach House Veyr’s wayhouse. The raised track ends at a squat stone hall, its door barred from within.
Aldren Veyr
We have arrived. Keep close, Thanebroken. Until this copy is witnessed, every shadow may serve those who silenced it.
Aldren knocks in the measured pattern of House Veyr. After a guarded pause, a viewing slit opens, then the bar lifts and admits them into lamplit warmth.
Wayhouse Keeper
Aldren Veyr. I was told you were taken. Bring the parchment here, and shut the door before the fen learns your name.
The keeper spreads the ledger copy beneath a brass lamp. He studies House Veyr’s broken seal beside an older impression, his brow tightening as the marks begin to align.
Hoofbeats rise along the eastern road, heavy and numerous enough to shake dust from the rafters. Aldren presses the parchment against his chest while the keeper listens.
Wayhouse Keeper
They are near. I can hide you beneath the records vault, or open the shutters and summon witnesses before they reach this door. Choose quickly.
“I open the shutters and summon witnesses”
SUCCESS (Great Willpower, rolled +0)
Orien crosses to the shutters and throws them wide. Dawn floods the hall, revealing House Veyr’s sigil to every rider on the eastern road.
Orien Thanebroken
House Veyr calls witnesses. Come and hear a contested claim under lawful record.
His voice carries across the mist, and the hoofbeats falter. The cost is immediate: every pursuer now knows exactly where the wayhouse stands.
Aldren Veyr
Thanebroken, you have made secrecy impossible. May the law prove stronger than the men approaching.
The keeper seizes a bell-rope and rings the wayhouse’s iron bell. Its summons rolls over the fen as riders rein in beyond the open shutters.
Wayhouse Keeper
Witnesses, by House Veyr’s charter. Enter unarmed, or stand outside and hear the record spoken.
Doors open along the raised track. Two marsh reeves and a passing shrine-scribe approach the threshold, summoned by the bell, while the riders remain in view.
“I help secure the wayhouse against the riders”
SUCCESS (Mediocre Strength, rolled +3)
Orien moves along the open front, dragging the heavy shutter-bars into place while the keeper clears the threshold. Aldren carries the parchment toward the records alcove.
Wayhouse Keeper
Bar the lower shutters first. If they force the door, the bell rope must remain within reach.
Orien wedges an iron brace beneath the door and secures the nearest shutters. The wayhouse narrows into a defensible hall, its witnesses sheltered behind the records benches.
Aldren Veyr
Good. They can see strength without mistaking it for concealment. Keep the copy beneath the lamp.
Outside, the riders dismount and gather before the sealed entrance. Their leader calls through the timber, but the iron bell answers first, echoing across the fen.
Wayhouse Keeper
The wayhouse stands under charter. No armed company crosses this threshold while witnesses are present.
The marsh reeves take positions beside the inner door, and the shrine-scribe sets his writing board beneath the brass lamp. The hall is secured, and the record remains ready.
“I ask the witnesses to authenticate the copy”
SUCCESS (Great Reasoning, rolled +2)
Orien Thanebroken
Witnesses, authenticate this copy against House Veyr’s seal and the older impression. Let the record speak under charter.
The shrine-scribe draws the parchment beneath the brass lamp. The two marsh reeves lean close, comparing its broken wax with the older impression preserved in the wayhouse ledger.
Passing Shrine-Scribe
The script, seal, and contested notation agree. This is a faithful copy of the recorded passage, not a forged petition.
One reeve checks the margin marks against the bound register, while the other studies House Veyr’s sigil. Outside, the riders remain silent beyond the barred threshold.
Marsh Reeve
Authenticated before witnesses. The claim concerns a northern heir stripped of inheritance, and its hearing was suppressed, not dismissed.
Wayhouse Keeper
I enter the authentication into the wayhouse record. Aldren Veyr’s account now stands supported by chartered evidence.
The shrine-scribe writes the finding and presses a fresh witness mark beside the copy. Aldren exhales slowly, while the verified parchment rests beneath the lamp for all to see.
✓ Quest Accepted
Have the contested claim heard under charter
“I request the keeper read the authenticated record aloud to those outside.”
SUCCESS (Great Willpower, rolled +2)
Orien Thanebroken
Keeper, read the authenticated record aloud to those outside. Let them hear what the charter has witnessed.
The keeper carries the marked parchment to the open shutter and raises it beneath the morning light. The shrine-scribe stands beside him, witness mark plainly visible.
Wayhouse Keeper
Riders beyond the threshold, hear House Veyr’s authenticated record. The passage concerns a northern heir stripped of inheritance, and the claim was suppressed, not dismissed.
His voice travels across the mist-bound road. The marsh reeves remain stationed inside, while the shrine-scribe repeats each finding for those gathered beyond the door.
Passing Shrine-Scribe
The copy agrees with the older impression in script, seal, and contested notation. Before witnesses, it stands as a faithful record.
Silence follows from the riders. Their leader cannot erase the words without defying the charter, and every nearby traveler has now heard the claim entered into lawful record.
Aldren Veyr
Now they must answer the record itself, Thanebroken, not merely deny my word.
Quest Complete
Have the contested claim heard under charter