Dagg and Mara enter Magistrate the magistrate’s office carrying the family papers, copied land entry, and evidence concerning the sword’s ownership. King Gandien waits beside the records table, with the magistrate and the unfamiliar goblin paladin reviewing sealed documents.
King Gandien
Mara Vell, I have heard enough of Dagg’s inquiry to grant you a hearing. Place your papers here, and we will examine the claim in order.
Mara sets down the leather case and unfolds her mother’s message beside the parish copy. The magistrate compares each seal while the unfamiliar goblin paladin keeps one clawed hand atop the inquiry ledger.
Delly
The sword’s passage is supported by the parish register. The land entry is different. This sealed account raises a serious complication.
The magistrate breaks the seal and reads silently before turning the account toward Gandien. Its clerk’s notation says Vellstead’s customary use may have been unpaid service, or concealed debt rather than ownership.
Mara Vell
My mother kept the fields openly, paid the parish tithe, and raised us there. If someone calls that debt, I need to know whose debt they mean, and where it was recorded.
King Gandien
Then we will not confuse custom with proof, nor debt with title. Mara, present your family’s account. Dagg, place the copied land entry beside it.
“{Dagg does as the King says} {He looks to his old friend Beelz} Hey Beelz, if anyone tries to take this alnd from Mara, I give you permission to act on your oath and end them, {Dagg Laughs} {He looks towards the King and hands him a note} {The note states that Nabbit Farms will purchase the land if there is no other way around this, with the Kings favor} Just between you and me for now Gandien if you do not mind.”
SUCCESS (Superb Reasoning, rolled +2)
Dagg follows the King’s instruction, laying Mara’s family account beside the copied land entry. His field journal steadies the comparison, while his careful reading of official wording exposes every seal, date, and qualification. The work takes longer than his relaxed instincts prefer, but his habit of securing documents keeps the papers aligned and unaltered.
Dagg Nabbitt
Hey, Beelz. If anyone tries to take this land from Mara, I give you permission to act on your oath and end them.
Beelz
Then let them come openly. I will defend the claimant and break any hand that reaches for her fields without lawful right.
Dagg laughs, then folds a note from his field journal and passes it to Gandien. The note offers Nabbitt Farms as purchaser if no lawful title can be restored, requesting the King’s favor for Mara’s protection.
Dagg Nabbitt
Just between you and me for now, Gandien, if you do not mind.
King Gandien
I will keep the offer private until Mara’s title is judged. If purchase becomes necessary, your proposal gives her a lawful refuge rather than leaving her at another estate’s mercy.
Gandien folds the note beneath the sealed papers. The magistrate records the offer as confidential testimony, while Mara watches the King’s favor become a practical safeguard without weakening her family’s claim to Vellstead.
“I would like to request that King Gandien open a land review himself. With his word it will be hard to dispute that this is Mara's land. She has lived there for generations and the sword rights we found, also show her ancestors live there. By rights, I believe the kings word can make this just.”
SUCCESS (Superb Willpower, rolled -2)
Dagg Nabbitt
King Gandien, I ask you to open a formal review of Vellstead. Mara has lived there for generations, and the sword records support her family’s history there. Your word can make this just.
Dagg’s relaxed wish to avoid another drawn-out proceeding shows in the pause before his final words. He opens his field journal anyway, checks the land entry against Mara’s papers, and marks each relevant date and seal.
His questions follow the official wording rather than assumption: the parish record proves the sword’s passage, while the land account leaves Vellstead’s title unresolved. The distinction costs him composure, and Mara sees his hand tighten around the pencil.
King Gandien
I will open the review, Dagg. The crown will summon the parish witnesses, examine the estate account, and hear Mara’s family testimony before any claim against Vellstead can stand.
Gandien draws a fresh sheet from the office file and writes the order beneath his seal. The magistrate records the review as a royal proceeding, preserving the copied entry and family papers with it.
Mara Vell
Thank you, Your Majesty. I will bring every witness and account I can find. At least now the truth will be heard before anyone calls my home another estate’s property.
Beelz
Then the claimant has a lawful hearing. Anyone who tries to seize those fields before judgment will answer for it.
“Working with the King has made you a more lawful goblin instead of a murderous one there Beelz. Dont forget where you come from {Dagg laughs} Delly can you make these official?”
SUCCESS (Superb Willpower, rolled -1)
Dagg retrieves the copied land entry from the preserved office file, then sets it before Delly. The afternoon’s paperwork weighs on his patience, but his questions remain exact.
Dagg Nabbitt
Working with the King has made you a more lawful goblin, Beelz. Do not forget where you came from. Delly, can you make these official?
Dagg laughs, but the sound catches short. His will to finish the formal request holds firm, while the strain of the long review leaves a visible hesitation before he releases the papers.
Beelz
I remember. I also remember that justice without restraint is merely slaughter wearing a badge.
Delly
I can. I will enter the royal review into the office register, attach this land entry, and seal the proceeding under King Gandien’s order.
Delly writes the review’s authority, purpose, and attached records into the register. She presses her seal into warm wax, making Mara’s hearing an official royal proceeding rather than a private request.
“Is this all we need to make this official to give Mara back her land?”
SUCCESS (Superb Reasoning, rolled +0)
Dagg Nabbitt
Is this all we need to make this official and give Mara back her land?
Dagg rereads the fresh entry, the copied land record, and Mara’s family papers instead of surrendering to his wish to be done. He checks each seal and date against the office register.
Delly
This makes the royal review official, but it does not yet return the land. The crown must still establish the estate’s claim, hear the parish witnesses, and judge Mara’s family’s continuous possession.
Dagg’s finger finds the exact distinction in the clerk’s wording: the review is properly opened, while ownership remains undecided. He secures the copied entry beneath Delly’s seal and keeps Mara’s originals together.
King Gandien
You have what is needed to begin lawfully, Dagg. To give Mara the land, I must issue judgment after the evidence and witnesses are examined. No private claim can override that process.
Mara Vell
Then my home is protected from quiet seizure, even though the title is not restored yet. I will bring the witnesses and accounts the crown requires.
The answer is clear: the proceeding is now official and safeguards Mara from an unlawful seizure, but a royal judgment is still required before Vellstead is legally returned to her.
“Okay well with that complete we need to return to Thren Anvile to show him the evidence that the sword is yours as well. Beelz is welcome to come.”
SUCCESS (Superb Agility, rolled +3)