Mist beads on the gate timbers as a clerk swings one satchel onto a horse. The sealed scrolls inside knock softly, too many for a simple errand.
Household Captain
Hold there. Show me those seals.
The clerk freezes. Reina watches from the gatehouse edge, eyes narrowing at the satchel cord and the mud on his hem.
The Clerk
I, I was told to ride straight to the western road. Lady Shizue said the pass cannot wait.
Arimari Tiarasan
The cord has been retied.
Arimari reaches first, turns the satchel mouth open, and finds a fresh stand-down order beneath the outer copy. The top seal is genuine, the line beneath it is not.
Reina
He is carrying two messages. One speaks for Matsudaira, one speaks for Shizue.
Household Captain
Then we have her hand at the gate. Seize the clerk, now.
✓ Quest Accepted
Expose Lady Shizue's stand-down orders
“Does the clerk have any other hidden messages tucked into his robes?”
YES (Likely, rolled 27)
Arimari Tiarasan
The clerk's robes are too heavy at the hem, and the stitching along the inner lining is uneven.
Arimari pulls back the clerk's sleeve, revealing a second, smaller scroll tucked into a hidden pocket sewn directly into the fabric. It bears no official seal, only a smear of black ink that matches the forged orders.
The Clerk
That... that is not mine. I was only told to carry the satchel.
“I search the hidden pocket for more papers”
SUCCESS (Legendary Investigation, rolled +2)
Arimari slips two fingers deeper into the hidden pocket. Paper edges brush his knuckles, dry and tight with fresh fold lines.
He draws out a narrow packet, then another scrap, both folded small enough to hide in a seam. The black ink smear repeats in the same hand.
Arimari Tiarasan
The pocket was used more than once.
The Clerk
No, wait. I was told to move only the satchel, not the lining.
Reina
That is a relay note. Someone expected the first order to be checked.
The Household Captain steps in close, and Arimari spreads the papers against the gate lantern. One note carries route marks for the western road, the other names a second runner due before dawn.
The clerk’s face drains as he sees the marks. Beyond the gate, hoofbeats sound on the road, still distant, but coming.
“I compare the new notes for matching routes”
SUCCESS (Legendary Investigation, rolled +0)
Arimari separates the two new slips and turns them edge to edge under the lantern. The route marks line up at once, the same hand steering both runners along the western road.
Arimari Tiarasan
Same route, same sender.
He shifts the first note over the second, catching the fresh folds against the light. One is a decoy, but the other carries a narrower turn, the mark of a gate side path used to bypass watch points.
Reina
That second road is meant for someone who knows the estate.
The Household Captain leans in, reading the alignment with a hardening stare. Outside, the hoofbeats grow louder, no longer distant enough to ignore.
Household Captain
Then we have the route. Hold him.
The clerk goes rigid as Arimari lifts the matched papers toward his face. The forged order and the relay note point to the same path, and the same lie.
The Clerk
I only carried what I was given. I swear it.
Arimari now has both routes pinned together in his hands, while the road outside answers with pounding hooves at the gate.
Quest Complete
Expose Lady Shizue's stand-down orders
New Gift: Political Insight