Sella slips beneath the green awning and gestures toward a narrow ladder bolted beside the cooper’s workroom. The enforcers remain below, guarding the rain-slick alley.
She climbs first, a petite young woman with rain-dark hair and a grey scarf, then waits in the dusty loft until Verner follows.
Sella
The cooper hears nothing up here. Not the rain, not the men below, and certainly not an old letter.
Dust veils the rafters above stacked hoops and abandoned staves. Sella kneels beside a shuttered loft window, keeping one eye on the ladder opening.
Sella
After Valkir left the river, he came here. He broke the black wax with his thumb, read the letter twice, and fed it to the brazier.
Sella
He did not look afraid. Angry, yes. He said the patron’s name would open every locked door in Waterdeep, or burn the hands that held it.
Sella
Then he kept the seal, wrapped it in cloth, and went toward the thieves’ halls. I could not tell whether he meant to expose that patron or bargain with him.
✓ Quest Accepted
Get Sella to reveal her full account of Valkir
✓ Quest Accepted
Learn the identity of Valkir’s powerful patron
“*Verner touches Stella"s cheek* You are very brave to risk your life to help me. *Verner finds himself very attracted to her*”
SUCCESS (Good Diplomacy, rolled +0)
Verner
You are very brave to risk your life to help me.
Verner reaches across the dusty loft and touches Sella’s cheek. She holds still beneath his gloved fingers, rain-cool skin warming against them.
Sella
Bravery is what people call it when they cannot see the danger clearly.
The ladder gives a sharp creak below. One of the enforcers shifts beneath the loft, and dust trickles from the rafter beside Sella’s shoulder.
Sella
He sees the risk, and that makes this harder. I cannot afford to let kindness become a chain.
Sella
Take your hand away, Verner. Not because I object, but because the men below are listening for anything unusual.
She gently lowers his hand, then points toward the shuttered window. Beneath the brazier’s ash, a faint black-wax stain marks where Valkir’s letter burned.
“Then, can you tell me how Thorn could have defended such a skilled duelist like Valkir? Is he truly that good?”
SUCCESS (Good Diplomacy, rolled +2)
Verner
Then tell me how Thorn defended against such a skilled duelist as Valkir. Is he truly that good?
Sella
He was not merely good. He was patient. Valkir’s blade sang, and Thorn listened until he knew which note came next.
Sella brushes ash from her fingertips and glances toward the ladder. Below, a boot scrapes softly across the cooper’s floorboards.
Sella
Thorn gave ground without yielding it. Every retreat narrowed Valkir’s choices, turning that beautiful dance against him.
Sella
When Valkir changed rhythm, Thorn changed with him. He did not overpower your father. He made him believe the opening was real.
Sella
And no ordinary swordsman could have read a Bladesinger so completely.
Sella
Yes, Verner. He is truly that skilled. But skill was not all he carried. Thorn knew Valkir’s style before they ever crossed blades.
“Is that everything? Are there no details you haven't told me?”
SUCCESS (Good Diplomacy, rolled +1)
Verner
Is that everything? Are there no details you have not told me?
Sella
There is one detail I held back. Valkir did not burn the letter before reading the last line. He spoke it aloud.
Sella reaches beneath a loose floorboard and withdraws a narrow strip of singed parchment, its edges blackened and its ink faded by heat.
Sella
I kept this from the brazier. The words I caught were: “When the seventh bell tolls, bring the singer’s heir to the Hall of Keys.”
Sella
Valkir believed the message was meant for him, but the seal carried no crest I knew. Only a thorn encircling an open eye.
Below, a floorboard creaks again. Sella folds the parchment into Verner’s hand and points toward a tiny ink mark beneath the final line: a map of three crossed streets.
Sella
That mark leads to the Hall of Keys, wherever it truly is. I never told the enforcers. Now you know everything I do.
Quest Complete
Get Sella to reveal her full account of Valkir
Skill Upgrade: Diplomacy Good→Great
+ New Item Acquired
Singed parchment
“I'll go to the thieves guild to find that man. Stella, when I return, would you consider traveling with me. I can't help but desire your company. *Verner asks, hopeful*”
SUCCESS (Legendary Agility, rolled +2)