The private council room has been cleared for Crown auditors and clerks. Sealed shipping papers, warehouse inventories, and lawful trade ledgers cover the long table beneath the household seal.
The Viscount places Arrus visibly beside Elizabeth, Mara, and Master Harrow, while Crown Auditors, adult human men and women in dark wool coats with pale collars and neat, practical hairstyles, arrange their warrants and Crown Clerks, young adult human men and women in muted brown waistcoats and shirts, with closely kept hair and ink-stained fingers, sort the papers into exact stacks.
The Viscount
This inspection concerns credibility, not a reopening of settled household matters. Every seized article, honest contract, and intelligence report must remain distinct and traceable.
Crown Auditors
Then we will begin with the warehouse receipts. Which goods entered Crown custody, which remained commercial property, and who authorized each transfer?
Master Harrow
The Quietus Exchange records each purchase separately. Seized goods carry custody marks; lawful stock bears merchant invoices, witnessed delivery, and no intelligence notation.
Mara Trevithick
My wagon accounts show provisions only. If a report traveled with a consignment, it was sealed apart and delivered through an authorized channel, never hidden among trade goods.
Elizabeth Billings
You may question every column and signature. The operation stands or falls on open distinctions, and no one here should ask the auditors to trust what the papers can prove.
✓ Quest Accepted
Pass the Crown audit with the Quietus Exchange’s lawful standing intact