Odran points behind the cellar shelves. A concealed door opens onto a cramped room, where a fit woman with braided dark blonde hair crouches beside a barricade of ledgers.
Odran Pell
There, Your Majesty. Magistrate Delly hid inside while we held the door against a gnome in a black cloak marked with blue symbols.
The magistrate, a young adult human woman in a russet wool dress with a square jaw and a small scar at her chin, emerges carefully, shaken but alive. Gandien studies her face, asks about the office seals, and receives answers that match the records scattered beyond the cellar.
Delly
I am Delly. Odran and I barricaded the room after that gnome searched my office. The blue marks were painted on the cloak, not stitched.
Once Gandien verifies her identity, Dagg places Pike’s writ, ledger, broken tally, sealed testimonies, and warning letter before her. Delly examines each seal without disturbing the chain of custody.
Delly
The gnome carried one stolen file toward the east postern, then turned toward the river quarter. The cloak was plain black except for those blue symbols.
King Gandien
Then the evidence is under your authority, Magistrate. Dagg, shall we follow that route, or question them further before we leave?
✓ Quest Accepted
Recover the stolen file
“Dos Gandien have stats that you have created”
NO (VeryUnlikely, rolled 55)
Delly finishes checking the seals, then consults the surviving office papers. They describe Gandien’s office, armor, deeds, and transformation, but contain no formal measures of his abilities.
Delly
There is no numbered assessment here, Your Majesty. The records establish who you are and what you have done, not a set of personal ratings.
King Gandien
That is correct. My authority rests on witnessed deeds and lawful duty, not on figures written beside my name.
Odran searches the scattered files and finds no hidden profile, training ledger, or official scale. Nothing in the damaged office establishes statistics for the king.
Odran Pell
I kept the magistrate’s assessments, Majesty. There was never a document assigning you such figures. Only judgments, reports, and signed accounts.
King Gandien
Then what is known about me remains what witnesses can honestly record.
The answer settles the matter without changing the search: Gandien has no created stats in the surviving record. His established identity and capabilities remain, while the stolen file may still explain the gnome’s purpose.
“Can you all tell me quickly what these pike letters mean, is this pike guy doing illegal things under your name? I want justice to e served to him and to this gnome. As soon as I have answers about Pikem the King and I will go dispatch of this gnome.”
SUCCESS (Superb Reasoning, rolled +3)
Dagg Nabbitt
Can you all quickly tell me what Pike’s letters mean? Is Pike doing illegal things under your name? I want justice for him and the gnome. Once I have answers, the king and I will dispatch the gnome.
Dagg reads the surviving letters line by line, ignoring their dry legal phrasing despite wanting the matter finished quickly. The seals, dates, and wording align with the writ and ledger already secured.
Delly
Yes. Pike used the king’s lawful road authority as cover, then altered its meaning. He ordered private levies from farms, kept the proceeds, and threatened anyone who resisted. That was fraud under the crown’s name, not royal business.
Odran Pell
The letters show coordination, not confusion. Pike instructed his collectors to conceal the extra charge, falsify entries, and destroy complaints. The testimony and ledger establish the pattern beyond a single unlawful demand.
King Gandien
Then Pike will answer for theft, forgery, intimidation, and misuse of royal authority. Justice will reach him, but first we must learn what the gnome took and why.
Dagg’s careful reading yields more than the question sought: a repeated blue mark in the margins matches the gnome’s cloak symbols, worn by a slight adult gnome man with a narrow gray face and pointed ears beneath a black hooded cloak. Delly identifies it as a private courier sign used to mark files meant for Pike’s hidden backers.
Delly
That mark points to the river quarter’s old counting house. The stolen file concerns Pike’s backers and their payments. You have a lawful target now, and enough evidence to begin the case against them all.
✓ Quest Accepted
Expose Pike’s hidden backers
Quest Complete
Determine who searched the magistrate’s office
Attribute Upgrade: Perception Great→Superb
New gift: Reads Hidden Signs
“Ok King! Then lets go show this gnome what a Lion and a Rancher can do. I assume we can head straight there?”
SUCCESS (Superb Agility, rolled +0)