Rain lashes the riverbank road. Ahead, a low boat waits in the reeds, and two cloaked men work by lantern light at a tied chest marked with Kurogane cord.
Reina
There. The keeper is here, and the seal is still unbroken.
Genkai
If they stop me now, I am ruined.
The man by the chest jerks upright, one hand going to a wrapped packet at his sash. Another figure, older and river-soaked, turns toward the road with a start.
Tukeyo
The debt is due. Let the river take the rest.
Kaito
That voice... he is carrying the final orders.
Reina bares her teeth and springs toward the chest. Genkai flinches backward, torn between flight and obedience. The keeper reaches for the boat rope, trying to finish the handoff before anyone closes in.
Lord Matsudaira
Arimari Tiarasan, end this here. Cut the bond, and do not let them leave this bank.
Lantern fire shivers across wet stone, rope, and steel. The packet, the chest, and the keeper all hang within reach, as the river rushes dark beside them. Arimari stands at the instant before the first strike.
“I lunge for the rope and boat”
SUCCESS (Great Agility, rolled +1)
Arimari surges low through the rain and catches the boat rope in one shuko-clad hand. The knot bites, then gives, and the boat jerks hard against the reeds.
The keeper stumbles, splashing mud, as the line wraps tight around Arimari’s wrist. The lantern swings wide, throwing black water and wet cord into a brief, bright glare.
The boat fails to pull free. Its bow grinds into the bank, trapped by Arimari’s grip and the snagged rope.
Genkai
No, wait. I am here, I am here.
Tukeyo
Then kneel with the rest of them.
Kaito
The rope is tied to the chest. He cannot leave without opening it.
Lord Matsudaira steps closer through the mud, seeing the stopped boat, the pinned rope, and the trapped chest in one glance. Reina lands by the corded lid, eyes fixed on the keeper.
Quest Complete
Identify the household hand who copied the orders
New Gift: Inquisitive Ink-Stained Eye