Two weeks of ash and silence cling to Phandelver. In the Hall of Welcome, Kynes sits under a thin winter light, the town feeling smaller than his wound.
A courier in municipal gray enters with careful steps and stops at Kynes's table. Wax crackles as they set down a formal summons, sealed with the crest from the guard's belt.
The Courier
By order of the regional magistrate, you are required to present yourself and answer for the destruction of the counting house, and the missing records.
The seal catches the light, red-gold and hard as a warning. Bren shifts near the doorway, watching the courier, then the paper, then Kynes.
Bren
They are not asking. They are building a chain. If you go, you walk into their hands.
Kynes
The crest matches the guard's token.
Outside, the wind drags ash along the road toward the magistrate's district, where the next ledger, witness, or trap waits.
✓ Quest Accepted
Confront the regional magistrate directly
✓ Quest Accepted
Avoid being declared an outlaw
Kynes leaves Hall of Welcome behind and arrives at magistrate's district.
“" see love I have a new system. If it acts like a lattice, I stab, if they talk to much I'll snap their necks and if both fail, I light it on fire. Savvy." I say heading off to town”
SUCCESS (Legendary Agility, rolled +2)
The magistrate’s district sits hard and clean above the soot of town, all narrow stone fronts and shuttered windows. Kynes comes in under a slate sky, ash still on the wind, the summons creasing in his grip.
Kynes
See, love, new system. If it acts like a lattice, I stab it. If they talk too much, I snap their necks. If both fail, I light it on fire. Savvy.
Bren’s mouth tightens, but she keeps pace at his shoulder as they cross the district road. A clerk ahead stiffens at the sight of the seal and hurries toward the magistrate’s steps.
At the far end of the avenue, the magistrate’s house rises behind iron bars. One front lamp burns with a weak red pulse, and the open door spills a thin, fading voice from within.
Kynes
The seal on the summons is the same crest as the guard’s token.
A crest-stamped scrap skitters from beneath the gate and catches on Kynes’s boot. It bears a route mark, then stops, as if waiting for him to choose whether to enter or tear it apart.
Bren
There’s your invitation. In or loud?
“" I'll let you choose". I say with a grin”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled +2)
Kynes
I’ll let you choose.
Kynes tilts the summons toward Bren, the grin cutting sharp across his face. The red lamp beyond the gate flickers once, then steadies, while the clerk slips inside and leaves the road to them.
Bren
Good. Then we do this my way.
Bren
We walk in calm, with witnesses, and we make them say their accusations where people can hear.
She takes the summons from his hand and folds it once, neat and deliberate, as if putting a blade away. Her shoulders ease a fraction, but her eyes stay on the door.
Bren
If they try to cage you, I want the room listening before you answer.
Kynes
The seal is still their weakest thing.
Bren hooks her thumb toward the open house, then glances back at Kynes, a thin, private smile breaking through the tension.
Bren
Stay close. If this turns ugly, I want your first move to be at the threshold.
“" yes dear, " I say and slap her ass.”
Kynes
Yes, dear.
Kynes closes the gap and gives Bren a quick, familiar smack before they reach the gate. She exhales through her nose, half exasperation, half relief, and lets it pass with a small, private look.
Bren
Focus, then. Walk with me, and let them hear every step.