Incense clings to Tragold as he reaches the west arch. Captain Hestia has the lane cordoned with two guards, and the Fox Merchant stands inside the rope line, tense and very alone.
Captain Hestia
There you are. The shrine sent word. This delivery has become my concern.
The Fox Merchant
Captain, please. The box is delivered. That should be the end of it.
Hestia’s hand stays on her sword hilt. The merchant’s gaze flicks to Tragold, then away, as if hoping the kobold will choose a side without being asked aloud.
Tragold
They are both watching the same box.
Captain Hestia
If you carry messages for this city, you carry them cleanly. Tell me who sent you, or I seal this route and question every hand that touched it.
The Fox Merchant
Tragold, if you want the city to accept you, you need this done quietly. Help me keep the delivery private.
The choice lands plain between them now, acceptance on one side, secrecy on the other, and both waiting on Tragold’s answer.
✓ Quest Accepted
Protect the Fox Merchant from capture
“Tragold shakes his head at the captain. "Monks inside shows Tragold what in box. Is just prayers," he explains. "And money for shrine. Shrine is mercy for ones who pray and not able to keep prayer by self alone." He gives the captain a pleading look. The fox's prayer box indeed was nothing sinister, and her actions proves Tragold's earlier suspicions that she is prejudiced because he's a fox. "Fox not bad," Tragold continues. "Just want prayer kept safe."”
SUCCESS (Great Persuasion, rolled +2)
Tragold
Monks inside show Tragold what is in box. It is just prayers. And money for shrine. Shrine keeps prayers safe when someone cannot keep them alone.
Tragold lifts a pleading look toward Hestia, keeping his hands open and empty between them.
Tragold
Fox is not bad. He only wants prayer kept safe.
Captain Hestia
Her jaw tightens, but her eyes shift from the merchant to Tragold, then to the rope line and back again.
Captain Hestia
You speak for him with conviction, kobold. If this is only a shrine matter, then say so plainly, and I will hear it.
The merchant’s shoulders drop a fraction. One guard loosens his stance at the arch, waiting for Hestia’s decision.
The Fox Merchant
I can answer cleanly now, Captain. The box came from a private penitent, and I meant no trick.
Captain Hestia
Then the route is open, and your name is on my ledger, not my charge sheet. Go. But you leave the city by the same gate, and I want your face when you do.
“"Tragold learns lots from shrine monks," he says to the captain, continuing his plea. "Fox only want prayer safe, as others want prayers safe in shrine, too. Why is that so bad to make fox leave city?"”
SUCCESS (Great Persuasion, rolled +0)
Hestia studies Tragold for a long breath, then lets the rope line sag in her hand. The guards stay put, but no one reaches for the merchant.
Tragold
Tragold says he learns much from the shrine monks. The fox only keeps prayers safe, like the shrine does for others. Why is it so bad to let him leave the city?
Captain Hestia
Because a city cannot run on trust alone. It needs names, routes, and reasons. But... if the shrine has claimed the box, then this is not theft. It is clerical work.
The Fox Merchant
I would prefer not to be remembered as a thief, Captain. I can give you my route, my mark, and the hour I leave.
Hestia’s mouth tightens, then eases. She signals one guard to unhook the last cordon peg.
Captain Hestia
Then leave cleanly, and leave at once. I am not taking you in, merchant, but I am also not forgetting your face.
The merchant bows low, relief spilling into his posture as the arch opens for him. A patrol pair watches him pass, no longer blocking his steps.
“Tragold thinks hard about what the monk told him. 'Most ask why,' he said, 'You, Tragold, ask what. That is kinder.' With these words in his mind, Tragold again speaks to the captain. "What did fox do to be made to leave city? Has fox done bad things?"”
SUCCESS (Superb Reasoning, rolled -1)
Tragold
What did the fox do to be made to leave the city? Has he done bad things?
Captain Hestia
Not bad, not proven. Only troublesome. He arrives with sealed errands, asks for quiet, and expects the city to trust the gaps in his story.
Captain Hestia
That can shelter a prayer. It can also shelter contraband. My duty is to tell the difference before harm walks out the gate.
The Fox Merchant
And my duty is to keep my promises without becoming your prisoner for it.
Captain Hestia
Then make fewer promises in shadows, merchant.
The Fox Merchant
I try. Yet some people only bring their burdens to the door after dark.
Captain Hestia
...Go, before I decide I like this answer too much.
The merchant slips through the arch as the patrol pair turns aside. Hestia keeps watching him go, but the line of her shoulders loosens at last.
“"Innocent until proven guilty," Tragold says suddenly. "You says yourself nothing bad proven. You makes fox leave on rumor only. Not proof. Let fox stay."”
FAILURE (Great Persuasion, rolled -2)
Tragold
Innocent until proven guilty. You says yourself nothing bad proven. You makes fox leave on rumor only, not proof. Let fox stay.
Captain Hestia
I know what I said. I also know what my patrol can carry. If I let every careful lie stroll free, I become the fool who waved it through.
The Fox Merchant
And if you snatch every quiet traveler at the gate, you make an enemy of every honest door in Border City.
Captain Hestia
Her gaze flicks to the merchant's pouch, then back to Tragold, as if measuring the cost of mercy against the cost of delay.
Hestia does not call the guards back. Instead, she folds her arms and lets the merchant keep moving, but only under her stare.
Captain Hestia
You hear me, merchant, this is not trust. It is a warning with room still left in it.
The Fox Merchant
Then I will spend that room wisely. And, kobold, you have given me a better road than I was owed.
“Tragold sighs. Clearly this is a fight that he, nor the fox can win against the captain's prejudice. It's a miracle then that Tragold's own passage into the city was allowed, he realizes, and thus he wonders if he wouldn't be better able to find a home for his people elsewhere than Border City. If prejudice alone is enough for the guards to force others to leave, it's only a matter of time before he is forced to leave as well. Finally, he gives the captain a sad look. "Law should be stronger than feelings... He not proven to break law. But you make him leave anyway. How long till you make Tragold leave? Or any other who not human?"”
SUCCESS (Great Willpower, rolled +2)
Tragold
Law should be stronger than feelings. He not proven to break law, but you make him leave anyway. How long till you make Tragold leave? Or any other who not human?
The words land cleanly in the archway's quiet. Hestia's jaw tightens, but she does not cut him off.
Captain Hestia
If I had proof, I would use it. If I had none, I would be blind. Sometimes the hardest part of law is admitting where fear has been louder than evidence.
The fox merchant slows at the threshold, pouch held close, listening as if the stones themselves might judge him.
The Fox Merchant
I have lived on quieter roads than this one, and I know what a door can mean. Today, it means I am seen, not seized.
Captain Hestia
Then hear this plainly. You pass because nothing lawful is in my hand to stop you, and because the kobold's word stood where yours was questioned.
Hestia steps aside at last, not warmly, but enough. The merchant gives Tragold a small, grateful bow and slips through the arch into the street beyond.
Captain Hestia
Kobold, your warning is heard. If Border City ever makes liars of its own law, I want to know it before the damage hardens. Will you tell me if you see it?
“Tragold looks to the captain with an unreadable expression. "Will captain listen to Tragold if he does?" he asks, trying to further push through the captain's prejudice.”
SUCCESS (Great Persuasion, rolled +1)
Tragold
Will captain listen to Tragold if he does?
Hestia studies him for a long moment, then gives a single, deliberate nod. The archway stays quiet around them.
Captain Hestia
Yes. If you speak, I will hear you before I judge what I want to hear.
Her shoulders ease a fraction, as if the answer costs her pride but not her honesty.
Captain Hestia
You have shown me that law without listening turns blind. If I miss that again, I want your warning.
Beyond them, the merchant is only a retreating shape in the street, no longer under pursuit. The rope barrier hangs open in the afternoon air.
✓ Quest Accepted
Keep watch for corruption in the city law
“Tragold finally smiles. "Then Tragold will help," he says with a nod. "But... Tragold also need help, and not knows where to find it."”
SUCCESS (Great Persuasion, rolled -1)
Tragold
Then Tragold will help,
Tragold
but... Tragold also need help, and not know where to find it.
His smile is small, but it reaches his eyes. The archway feels less like a barrier and more like a threshold for asking.
Captain Hestia
Then ask. If the city has a blind spot, I would rather hear of it than guard it blindly.
Hestia straightens, then gestures toward the quiet street beyond the arch, where the merchant has already vanished into the crowd.
Captain Hestia
If you need a place to begin, come to my patrol at dusk. I can point you toward honest work, and toward the people who know where the city hides its hurts.
For a breath, her expression softens into something almost companionable, as if she has chosen trust over suspicion on purpose.
Captain Hestia
And if you hear corruption in the law, tell me first. I would rather face it with you than after it spreads.
Quest Complete
Protect the Fox Merchant from capture
Attribute Upgrade: Reasoning Superb→Legendary