Captain Hestia leads Tragold off the lit road and toward the magistrates' offices. The square ahead is quieter, all shuttered windows and watchful stone.
Tragold
This is not her patrol route.
Hestia stops beneath a lamp and turns, armor catching the light. One hand stays near her sword, but her eyes are on Tragold, not the street.
Captain Hestia
There are complaints in the law quarter. About your people. I need to know which ones are rumor, and which ones are poison.
She lifts a sealed writ, stamped with the city's mark. The paper is fresh, the wax unbroken, and the message is plain enough. Someone in authority is moving against kobolds, and Hestia is deciding whether to stop it or carry it through.
Tragold
If I speak now, I can find out who starts this.
✓ Quest Accepted
Find out who is targeting kobolds through the law
“Tragold is taken aback by the sudden accusation. None of his tribe has even attempted to enter the city, except for himself. He swallowed audibly, but nods slowly. "Tragold will tell truth," he agrees. "Tragold's tribe just wants new home. They wait outside city for Tragold to say is safe. Tribe not does anything but hunt for food. What does... what does letter say?" he asks finally, gesturing toward the paper. "What else Hestia wants to know?"”
SUCCESS (Great Persuasion, rolled +1)
Tragold
Tragold tells the truth. His tribe only wants a safe home, and they wait outside the city while he asks if it is safe. They hunt for food. Then he asks what the writ says, and who it names.
Captain Hestia
Her jaw loosens a fraction. Then she unfolds the seal without breaking it, and her voice goes low. It names no kobold. It orders the magistrates' clerks to gather reports, to mark every complaint, and to watch the west lanes for 'unnatural gatherings'.
Captain Hestia
She looks away from the paper, toward the shuttered offices. That wording is the trouble. Not a law, a habit. Someone is teaching the clerks to fear first and ask later.
Tragold
The word is broad enough to catch anyone they choose.
Captain Hestia
Hestia folds the writ again, slower this time. I can stop a patrol order, but this comes from inside the magistrates' desks. If you see who fed them the fear, tell me.
Captain Hestia
Her eyes return to Tragold, steady now. I asked you here because I do not trust this paper, and I trust your judgment more than theirs. Will you walk the law with me and see where it bends?
✓ Quest Accepted
Walk the law with Captain Hestia and see where it bends
Quest Complete
Keep watch for corruption in the city law
Attribute Upgrade: Willpower Great→Superb
“Tragold nods. "Tragold comes. Wants to keep tribe safe. And... thank you, for not just comes and arrests tribe."”
SUCCESS (Superb Willpower, rolled -2)
Tragold gives a small nod, pack settling against his back. Hestia watches him closely, then lets out a breath she seems to have been holding since the writ was opened.
Tragold
Tragold comes. Wants to keep tribe safe. And... thank you, for not just come and arrest tribe.
Captain Hestia
Her mouth twitches, almost a smile. That is not mercy, kobold. It is judgment. You have earned both.
She tucks the writ under one arm and turns a little toward the shuttered magistrates' offices. Her voice stays low, meant for him alone.
Captain Hestia
I have a clerk who began counting kobold sightings as if they were debts. He is not my lead, only my proof that the rot has fingers.
Captain Hestia
Walk with me, and I will show you the desks where fear is copied into law.
She starts forward at a measured pace, then glances back, one gauntleted hand opening in invitation. The cost lands in the scrape of old paper and ink on her sleeve, a small stain from the writ she folded too quickly.
Quest Complete
Walk the law with Captain Hestia and see where it bends