Doku brings the masked clerk through a concealed garden gate into a quiet Nohara refuge. Family wards shimmer faintly across the stone lintel, sealing out palace ears.
Mistress Vale and Healer Tamsin remain at the dispensary, while the attendant stays behind with the black vessel and its records. Here, only Doku and the clerk occupy the lamplit study.
The copied testimony rests sealed in a lacquered coffer nearby. The clerk sits at its edge, layered brown robes drawn close, gloved fingers hovering above the wax without touching it.
The Masked Clerk
The cipher frightens me because it appears wherever authority becomes unquestionable. Orders bearing it redirected remedies, silenced objections, and made witnesses doubt their own records.
The Masked Clerk
I withheld the names of two couriers and one receiving magistrate. Not to protect them, Lady Nohara, but because each name was copied from a private annotation, not a sworn deposition.
A warded candle gutters though no breeze enters. The clerk glances toward the concealed door, then lowers their voice, waiting to learn whether Nohara protection means sanctuary or another chain.
The Masked Clerk
I can show you the missing pages and explain the omissions. But first I need to know what your protection permits me to refuse.
✓ Quest Accepted
Identify the couriers and receiving magistrate tied to the cipher
“"In essence, you become an honorary Nohara. You become part of my family. The Nohara Clan, the very same clan I personally built from the ground that owns 2/3 of the medical facilities across the world. From a clan of medical ninjas. You get free medical care from the best of the best medics, a home in the estate, and access to some of the best laboratories."”
SUCCESS (Superb Diplomacy, rolled +1)
Doku Nohara
In essence, you become an honorary Nohara, part of my family. The clan I built owns two-thirds of the world’s medical facilities.
Doku Nohara
You will have free care from the best medics, a home in the estate, and access to our finest laboratories.
The offer settles into the lamplit study without threat or ceremony. Beyond the walls, the refuge wards shimmer once, recognizing a new claim beneath the Nohara name.
The Masked Clerk
This is protection freely given, not merely another order wearing a gentler face.
The Masked Clerk
Then I accept honorary Nohara status, Lady Nohara. I accept the home, the care, and the laboratories, along with the duties of family.
The clerk removes one glove and places their bare hand beside the lacquered coffer, leaving the sealed testimony untouched. Their posture remains cautious, but the decision is complete.
The Masked Clerk
I will preserve the missing pages, identify the patron behind the cipher, and use your protection to keep the record alive.
“"See that you do. I don't give such honorary status freely, but I have always kept my promise."”
SUCCESS (Superb Diplomacy, rolled +0)
Doku Nohara
See that you do. I do not grant honorary status freely, but I have always kept my promises.
Doku’s promise settles over the study with the weight of law. The refuge wards brighten along the lintel, accepting the clerk beneath the Nohara name.
The Masked Clerk
Then I understand the distinction, Lady Nohara. Your protection is a vow, and my place here carries duties I must uphold.
The clerk replaces the glove and straightens beside the lacquered coffer. Their caution remains, but it no longer governs their posture.
The Masked Clerk
I will preserve every missing page, trace the patron behind the cipher, and identify the couriers and magistrate only when the record supports their names.
The Masked Clerk
This family’s promise is more binding than any palace seal, yet it leaves room for truth.
The clerk bows and accepts the duties of honorary Nohara. The sealed testimony remains untouched, secure within the refuge, while the investigation now belongs openly to the clan.