The Viscount Guard opens the private council room and admits Arus without ceremony. The folded sailcloth, sealed fishhook note, and sensitive satchel remain secured beneath his cloak.
Inside, the Viscount stands beside a long table scattered with coastal charts. He is an elderly man of spare build, silver-haired and severe in a dark burgundy coat, his watchful eyes fixed on the satchel.
The Viscount
Close the door. I want Carter’s bargain, Bessy’s listening network, and every condition you accepted accounted for before we discuss the papers.
The guard shuts out the corridor and takes position beside the door. His embroidered crest draws an uneasy glance from the Viscount, as though even loyal authority now carries complications.
The Viscount
Set the satchel on the table, but do not open it yet. Tell me what it contains, who has handled it, and why this note must reach its intended hand unopened.
The satchel’s weight settles against the table while the fishhook seal remains unbroken. Beyond the shuttered windows, harbor bells mark the passing tide toward Flushing.
The Viscount
Begin with the first bargain, Arus. Then we will decide whether your next road leads to the weigh-house, or whether this network must be answered before it grows.
“"As you command, my lord. The contents of the satchel comprise the absolutely most valuable spoils from the trove of documentation recordings recovered from Sir Alfred Billing's late comptroller's years-long efforts to conceal the Baron's private business dealings. They're doubtless enough detailed records to send Lord Billings into a cold cell in the palace Tower for the rest of his days, although the public has been persuaded that he is simply on a mission to bring foreign spies to justice in the Kings own court, rather than absent his estate as your prisoner... This bargain was struck with Mr. Carter as his first act of penance for his recorded role in Baron Billings' locality while trying to avoid doing so as much as possible, if we are of course to grant Mr. Carter some leniency for offering his ongoing service of your office in local affairs. I would recommend it, but naturally I defer such decisions to you, my lord.”
SUCCESS (Superb Intrigue, rolled +1)
Arus Gandon
As you command, my lord. The satchel holds the most valuable records recovered from Sir Alfred Billings’s comptroller: years of concealed dealings, detailed enough to send Billings to the Tower. The public story hides his arrest behind a mission against foreign spies. Carter’s bargain is his first act of penance for serving that network. I recommend leniency in exchange for his continuing service to your office, but the decision is yours.
The Viscount listens without interruption. At the mention of the Tower, his fingers settle on the nearest chart, while the guard keeps the closed door and the satchel in view.
The Viscount
You have made the account plain, Arus. The records are sufficient to preserve the case against Billings, and Carter’s service may purchase him a measured leniency rather than a free pardon.
He draws the satchel toward the charts but leaves its fastening untouched. His expression hardens into formal resolve, and the room’s uncertainty gives way to a settled course.
The Viscount
Carter will be offered terms: continued intelligence, honest accounts, and no spectacle disguised as trade. If he keeps them, I will argue for his freedom. If he breaks them, these records will speak first.
The Viscount Guard
Shall I summon the clerks, my lord, and have the satchel entered into the private account?
The Viscount
Summon them. Then prepare a sealed offer for Carter. Arus has earned the right to carry its terms, and the coast will learn whether the smuggler prefers a bargain to a cell.
“"As you wish, my lord. As for the task brought to me by Miss Bessy Barstow, it is the first example of our new information sharing arrangement already bearing fruit... Our sources in Bessy's Cove have detected evidence of a new clandestine information gathering operation here in Cornwall, created and operated by persons unknown, my lord. This sealed note yet to be delivered maintains the secrecy of it's contents and it's value as what appears to be a legitimate delivery of great importance to this new network and it's efforts to grow new vines and tendrils into the reaches of Cornwall such as Flushing, just outside these walls, my lord... If I deliver it to and follow the recipient, we may learn who pulls these strings from the shadows."”
SUCCESS (Superb Intrigue, rolled +0)
Arus Gandon
As you wish, my lord. Bessy’s Cove has detected a clandestine information network spreading through Cornwall, with tendrils toward Flushing. This sealed note appears to be a legitimate delivery of great importance. If I deliver it and follow the recipient, we may learn who pulls the strings.
The Viscount’s gaze shifts from the satchel to the sealed note. He weighs the proposal in silence while the guard watches the door and the harbor bells mark the tide beyond the walls.
The Viscount
A quiet delivery, followed by a quiet inquiry. You will not open the note, expose Bessy’s sources, or provoke the network before we know its shape.
He breaks the seal on a narrow authorization slip, writes a destination near Flushing, and folds it around the note without disturbing its original wax. The packet becomes an official errand with a private purpose.
The Viscount
Take this to the abandoned weigh-house by the trader’s road. Deliver it unopened, observe the recipient, and follow only far enough to identify the hand behind the exchange. Return before curiosity becomes spectacle.
The Viscount Guard
I will arrange a fresh horse and a plain traveling cloak, my lord. No household colors need announce his errand on the road.
The Viscount places the sealed note and authorization into Arus’s keeping. The mission is approved, its destination fixed, and the network’s first visible thread now lies within reach of his hand.
✓ Quest Accepted
Leave the council room on the sanctioned errand
+ New Item Acquired
Authorization slip
“Have the Viscount's clerks finished recording the inventory of the Leather Ledger, the Coded accounts, the Delivery records and the Estate correspondence so that I can leave them as delivered for the Viscount's case against Baron, Sir Alfred Billing's betrayal of the Crown?”
YES (Unlikely, rolled 10)
The Viscount’s clerks return with ink-stained fingers and a formal inventory beneath their seals. The Leather Ledger, coded accounts, delivery records, and estate correspondence now stand entered as evidence.
The Viscount
The inventory is complete. Nothing required for the case against Sir Alfred Billings remains unrecorded, and nothing may be removed without my written order.
The clerks tie each bundle with colored thread and mark its contents against the master list. The papers are no longer a private burden, but a formally secured case for the Crown.
The Viscount Guard
The seals match the entries, my lord. The evidence can remain here under guard while the warrant and depositions proceed.
The Viscount
So it shall. You have delivered the records properly, Arus. Their chain of custody is sound, and Billings will answer for betrayal of the Crown on evidence that cannot be dismissed as rumor.
The last clerk closes the inventory book and lays the pen across it. The Viscount’s case is secured, leaving the room quieter and Arus free to turn his attention toward the sealed errand near Flushing.
“Then I will turn to preparation to deliver the sealed note and use hand tools and make my scraps of folded leather into a secure holster for my flintlock pistol for easy drawing when it's ready, wich I will also make it, with careful cleaning and maintenance after it's malfunction in the Scilly Islands... When the holster is tested and finished, I will get replacement supplies from the armory to load and fire the pistol and add them to the attachments I am adding to my scabbard shoulder strap, such as the holster. Then I will prepare my secretive messenger's disguise with a face-covering scarf and precautions, such as medical supplies and many tricks to alter my apparent identity.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Reasoning, rolled -2)
Arus obtains hand tools from the castle armory, then works at a side table with the folded hide. He cuts, bends, and stitches a shoulder holster fitted to the flintlock’s grip and scabbard strap.
He strips the pistol, clears the salt from its pan and barrel, oils the lock, and tests the action repeatedly. The new holster releases the weapon cleanly without fouling the draw.
Arus Gandon
The lock is sound again, but the damp left a roughness I must check after every long ride.
At the armory, Arus receives fresh powder, shot, wadding, and priming supplies. He loads the pistol, fires into the castle’s approved sand barrel, and confirms a sharp, reliable report.
He secures the holster and ammunition pouches to the shoulder strap, balancing them beneath his cloak. The work succeeds, though the inspection and test consume most of the afternoon.
Before dusk, Arus assembles a secretive messenger’s disguise: a face-covering scarf, altered cloak, spare gloves, medical supplies, and small changes that reshape his silhouette and manner.
The sealed note and the Viscount’s authorization remain unopened and secure. Arus is ready for the weigh-house, carrying a dependable pistol and a disguise whose details still demand careful attention on the road.
+ New Item Acquired
Face-covering scarf
+ New Item Acquired
Spare gloves
+ New Item Acquired
Medical supplies
“When ready, I perfect my supplies, preparations, pistol and dueling sword, messenger's satchel and secret note within the authorization slip, and ride out towards the weigh-house near Flushing on the map Bessy provided.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Agility, rolled -1)