Karn’s shop settles beneath its hanging sign as dusk thickens, shelves crowded with bottled dreams, cursed trinkets, and ledgers bound in black leather. Outside, angry voices gather.
Two collectors block the doorway. One is a broad, middle-aged woman in an iron mask and red-plumed coat; beside her stands a gaunt young man in ash-gray robes, his fingers ringed with brass seals.
the iron-masked collector
The toll is due. Those who cannot pay will surrender something worth carrying away.
the ash-cloaked collector
No more promises, no more clever bargains. Empty your purses, or we choose the payment ourselves.
A debtor near the threshold shoves the ash-cloaked collector. The collector snaps back with a burst of pale force, hurling the man into a rain barrel.
the iron-masked collector
Stand down! This is collection, not slaughter.
The warning comes too late. Bystanders surge away, a chair splinters against the stones, and steel flashes outside Karn’s open door as the fight spills toward his shop.
✓ Quest Accepted
Escape the collectors
“Karn stands up from behind his desk and narows his eyes. He has always found the humans in these parts to be easily greedy, but going so far as to tax water made his own skin crawl, and he himself was a rather shifty man. Seeing the fight starting to bleed into his shop, he had no choise but to intervene. "Hey now, easy with the merchandise, my wayward friends. No need to disturb my belongings with this quarrel. How much does the man owe, Collector?"”
SUCCESS (Great Bargain, rolled +1)
Karn rises behind his desk, red skin catching the lamplight as his glowing eyes narrow. The clash at his threshold threatens shelves of bottled dreams and delicate curses.
Karn Vos
Hey now, easy with the merchandise, my wayward friends. No need to disturb my belongings with this quarrel. How much does the man owe, Collector?
His voice cuts through the commotion with practiced charm. The debtor freezes, a lean adult man with weathered brown skin, close-cropped black hair, and a rumpled tan coat, with a small notch in one eyebrow, beside the rain barrel, while the fighters lower their blades under the shopkeeper’s pointed warning.
the iron-masked collector
Thirty silver crowns, and three days overdue. The water levy is lawful, whatever these gutter crowds may think.
the ash-cloaked collector
He owes the Crown and the wardens. Keep your merchandise safe, tiefling, and let lawful hands finish their work.
The iron-masked woman signals her companion back from the shelves. Outside, the remaining brawlers retreat into the street, leaving scattered coins and tense silence behind.
the iron-masked collector
Your shop remains untouched. But if you are offering counsel, master merchant, perhaps you are offering payment as well.
“Karn offers a demon's charmoing smile before turning to his own koffers. "My, that is quite the debt. Lets see if i can aide this poor man, if not I'll mind my own. Fair?"”
SUCCESS (Great Bargain, rolled +0)
Karn Vos
My, that is quite the debt. Let us see if I can aid this poor man, if not, I shall mind my own. Fair?
Karn offers a demon’s charming smile, then turns to his koffers. Brass clasps click open, revealing ledgers, velvet pouches, and carefully wrapped curios.
the iron-masked collector
Fair enough, master merchant. Produce the thirty crowns, and the levy is settled before witnesses.
The debtor watches in rigid silence as Karn searches. Beneath folded contracts, his fingers find a heavy purse of silver crowns, its seal marked with a black crescent.
Tomas Vey
You would pay it? Stranger, I have nothing left worth taking.
the iron-masked collector
The coins are genuine. Count them openly, and I will mark the debt discharged.
The collector counts thirty silver crowns into her gloved palm. She presses a stamped token into the debtor’s hand, and the immediate claim is ended.
“Karn watched the collectors leave before turning to the man with a more friendly smile. "I ask nothing of you. I personally think the levie is a noose. Now, care to give me your name, my fair man?"”
SUCCESS (Great Bargain, rolled -1)
The collectors depart beneath the hanging sign, the iron-masked woman leading her ash-cloaked companion into the deepening dusk. Their footsteps fade, leaving the shop’s tense quiet behind.
Karn turns from the doorway toward the debtor, his red features easing into a friendlier smile. The man still grips the stamped token as though it might vanish.
Karn Vos
I ask nothing of you. I personally think the levy is a noose. Now, care to give me your name, my fair man?
Tomas Vey
A fair question, after such a strange kindness. I am Tomas Vey, cooper by trade, though the wardens have made a poor business of me.
Tomas lowers the token and offers a callused hand across the threshold. Up close, rain beads along his rumpled tan coat, and the notch in his eyebrow catches the lamplight.
Tomas Vey
You have my name, master merchant. I have no silver left, but I can perhaps repay you with truth, if truth is worth anything in this town.
✓ Quest Accepted
Learn Tomas Vey's truth
− Scene Quest Removed
Escape the collectors
“Karn laeaned against the desk with a raised brow, clearly intrigued. "I offer a warning. I am the sort that trades in secrets. Though, if you wish to pay me with something so fair, who am i to refuse?"”
SUCCESS (Great Bargain, rolled -3)
Karn Vos
I offer a warning. I am the sort that trades in secrets. If you wish to pay me with something fair, who am I to refuse?
Karn leans against the desk, one brow raised. Lamplight glints across the empty space where thirty silver crowns rested, while Tomas studies him with renewed caution.
Tomas Vey
Then take this truth: the water levy is a mask. The wardens are searching every debtor for a ledger stolen from their own hall.
Tomas steps inside and lowers his voice. Rain ticks against the shutters, and his fingers tighten around the stamped token as suspicion settles between them.
Tomas Vey
It names bribes, forbidden bargains, and one payment made to a power beneath the old city. They believe I saw where it was hidden.
Tomas Vey
He pays too easily for a stranger. No honest merchant does that without wanting something.
The truth belongs to Karn now, but the cost is plain: Tomas no longer mistakes his kindness for charity, and watches every movement behind the shopkeeper’s smile.
Quest Complete
Learn Tomas Vey's truth