Sera transfers the sealed inventory records into household custody, checking each mark against her ledger. Sam signals the Eclipse Palace guards, who quietly search for and detain remaining responsible participants.
Hideo
A cargo crate diverted through the Eastern Annex has been recovered in the loading court. Its outer seal is legitimate, but the inner binding fails Sera’s verification.
Hideo brings the report and leads the guards to the loading court. The crate sits beneath a canvas, its palace mark intact while a broken inner binding leaks dark resin.
Sera Qiao
The outer seal grants passage, not legitimacy. I will open it under witness and record every layer before anything is moved.
Sera breaks the failed binding and lifts the lid. Compact black-metal tablets rest inside, etched with martial channel diagrams and coded delivery marks. The restrained spies react sharply.
Hideo
Those tablets were not listed on the cargo manifest. Their marks match the Eastern Annex route, but the diagrams suggest they were meant for trained channels.
Khan watches the tablets in stern silence. Kaungshen looks toward him with an amused, exasperated sigh as the guards tighten custody around the restrained spies.
✓ Quest Accepted
Secure the black-metal tablets under documented custody
✓ Quest Accepted
Identify the network behind the Eastern Annex cargo diversion
“Insecure the tablets unders Sera witnessed custody before questioning the restrained spies about the Eastern Annex network. I mentioned that they should spoken truth as master Khan has no patience for fools who interrupt our meal time.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +0)
Kaungshen gestures for the guards to tighten custody around the restrained spies, then lifts the black-metal tablets from the crate and places them before Sera.
Kaungshen
Sera, secure these tablets under witnessed custody. Record every mark, witness, and seal before they leave your hands.
Sera Qiao
Understood. I will seal them separately, preserve the resin and bindings, and enter the custody transfer in both ledgers.
Sera wraps each tablet in marked cloth and locks them into her medicine case. Hideo records the Eastern Annex route while Khan watches the restrained spies.
Kaungshen
Speak truth about the Eastern Annex network. Master Khan has no patience for fools who interrupt our meal.
Hideo
The network uses legitimate outer seals to move unlisted cargo. These spies handled the inner bindings and reported to a receiver in the loading court.
One restrained spy lowers their gaze as the guards search the court and detain remaining responsible participants. Khan exhales heavily, his patience visibly thinning.
Quest Complete
Secure the black-metal tablets under documented custody
“I interrogate the restrained spies about their receiver, listing out all the possible culprits until they slipped up and tell me.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Reasoning, rolled -2)
Kaungshen faces the restrained spies beside the covered crate. Sam signals the guards to continue their quiet search while Khan watches with thinning patience.
Kaungshen
Name your receiver. Was it Hideo, a loading clerk, a quartermaster aide, Sera, Hua Shen, Mei Lian, or someone using the Eastern Annex authority?
Kaungshen lists each plausible link without pause, shifting the names against the tablets, resin, bindings, and route marks. The spies remain silent until his final accusation.
Kaungshen
Was the receiver a palace guard, a former Archivist aide, a steward’s runner, or the master who supplied the inner seal?
The First Restrained Spy
Not the master. Not Hua Shen. It was the loading clerk, Ren Dao. He received the tablets beneath the west crane and passed the signal to the Eastern Annex.
The confession lands, but the spy’s sudden shout echoes through the loading court, alerting unseen accomplices and costing Kaungshen the element of quiet surprise.
Hideo
Ren Dao is on the current loading roster. I will have the guards seal the west crane and bring him in before he can alter the records.
✓ Quest Accepted
Secure Ren Dao for questioning
“I order the guards to seal the west crane and seize Ren Dao. I then look at the spies increase their gravity to about 45 pounds before asking the to identify the network and all their clients peacefully.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Darkness(Gravity) Ki, rolled +0)
Kaungshen’s command cuts through the loading court. Hideo signals the guards, who seal the west crane and move swiftly to seize Ren Dao before records or cargo can be altered.
Ren Dao, a middle-aged man with a narrow build, weathered brown skin, and a gray loading coat, with short iron-gray hair, a square tired face, and a hooked nose, emerges beneath the crane with a manifest pouch clutched to his chest.
Hideo
Ren Dao, by Eclipse Palace authority, you are detained. Keep your hands visible and surrender the pouch.
Darkness ki settles over the restrained spies, increasing their weight by roughly forty-five pounds. The pressure holds them firmly without crushing breath or limb, while Sam watches their circulation.
Khan
Measured pressure, Kaungshen. Let them speak while they can still choose honesty.
Kaungshen
Identify the network and all its clients peacefully. Tell the truth, and no further pressure is necessary.
The First Restrained Spy
Ren Dao served the Eastern Annex route. The clients included two former Archivist aides, a quartermaster clerk named Bo Jian, and buyers receiving tablets through the west crane. I will identify their ledgers and meeting places.
Quest Complete
Identify the network behind the Eastern Annex cargo diversion
Skill Upgrade: Tactics Fair→Good
Quest Complete
Secure Ren Dao for questioning