Rain needles the fish market lanes, turning the road to slick gray mud. Arimari and the Steward halt at the junction Genbei named, both searching the row of shuttered stalls for a black lintel among the timber fronts.
The Steward
There. Left side. That house keeps its eaves darker than the rest.
A low house crouches beside stacked fish baskets, its lintel blackened by smoke and weather. A paper lantern glows behind a cracked shutter, then goes still.
Arimari Tiarasan
The lamp is lit, but the room inside has gone quiet.
The Steward grips his sleeve and points toward a side door half hidden by a net rack. A faint brush of feet sounds inside, then stops.
The Steward
If Genbei spoke true, this is the handler's house. We catch him now, or he warns the rest.
Arimari steps toward the black lintel, and the first clue to the conspiracy lies directly ahead, where the seditious messages likely began.
✓ Quest Accepted
Investigate the house with the black lintel
✓ Quest Accepted
Identify the scarred man
“I move to the side door and have the steward guard the front door to make sure the man does not flee. I tell the steward if he hears combat to enter the house. Once we are in place I stealthily open the door and sneak in.”
SUCCESS (Good Stealth, rolled -1)
At the side of the house, Arimari waits until the steward turns his attention to the front. The fish-slick lane clings to the hems of their robes.
Arimari Tiarasan
Guard the front. If you hear fighting, come in.
The Steward
Understood. I will keep watch.
Arimari slides the side door open by a finger’s width. No voice answers from within.
He slips through the opening and lets the door settle behind him without a sound.
The room is dim, smelling of damp wood and old smoke. A narrow corridor stretches ahead, quiet as a held breath.
A scrape comes from deeper inside the house, soft but distinct, as if someone has shifted a foot on bare floorboards.
“Moving silently i move toward the sound, but first I perform a special forces tactic slls stop look listen smell”
SUCCESS (Good Stealth, rolled +1)
Arimari glides down the corridor without a creak, stopping where the floorboards change tone. He lowers his breathing and studies the darkness ahead.
A faint smell reaches him, fish oil mixed with ink, and beneath it the trace of old blood. The scrape is close now, behind the next bend.
Arimari Tiarasan
Ink.
He leans into the shadow, looking low before high, and catches the edge of a cramped workroom. A lamp burns behind a screen, throwing moving shadows across the wall.
Inside, a scarred man kneels by a writing tray, one hand frozen over a half-finished message. His head turns sharply toward the corridor, as if he has heard the silence itself.
Scarred Man
Who is there?
Arimari reaches the threshold unseen. The message brush lies wet beside the tray, and the paper shows a fresh black stroke, unfinished.
Quest Complete
Investigate the house with the black lintel
Skill Upgrade: Stealth Good→Great