Three weeks later, Neverwinter rises around Kynes in a roar of gulls, wagon wheels, and salt wind. The merchant vessel is gone behind him, and the harbor district swallows the group in wet stone, rope coils, and shouting dockhands.
Bren moves close at his flank, eyes sharp under the bright harbor glare. Mara scans the crowd ahead, while Sable lingers a half step back, ledger tucked tight and watchful.
A fishmonger barks prices from one stall, a porter curses at a toppled crate, and the smell of tar mixes with brine and hot bread. Every lane seems to bend toward somewhere louder.
Bren
We find lodging first. Then we learn who owns the decent rooms.
Kynes
Kynes says they need a room, and somewhere quiet.
A narrow inn sign swings over the lane, painted with a lantern and crescent moon. The doorway is crowded, but warm light spills through the windows, promising beds, ale, and a door that closes.
Mara
That one. If they have sense, they still have vacancies.
As Kynes steps toward the inn, a thin-cloaked stranger near the threshold lifts a sealed note from the fold of their sleeve, waiting without speaking.
✓ Quest Accepted
Learn who the stranger is
“I step toward the stranger and hold out my hand for the note.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled -1)
Kynes crosses the wet stones and stops at the threshold, palm open. The stranger does not flinch, only angles the sealed note into his hand as if the exchange was expected.
The parchment is warm from body heat, the wax smooth under his fingers. Around them, harbor noise rolls on, but the little space between them goes quiet.
The Stranger
You came. Good. I was told to wait until you asked for this yourself.
Kynes
No insignia. No scent of the reeve. Someone is paying for silence.
The Stranger
Open it where eyes are few, if you want your first answer in one piece.
Bren
That is either caution or theater. I dislike both equally.
Mara
He has the note now. Let him read it before we decide which kind of trouble this is.
Sable
The seal is local work. Someone in this district wants you addressed before you are named.
✓ Quest Accepted
Read the sealed note in private
+ New Item Acquired
Sealed note
− Scene Quest Removed
Learn who the stranger is
“" Hey, Bren and Mara. This was almost how we met Sella. Ah fun times" I say with a smirk”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled +1)
Kynes
Hey, Bren and Mara. This was almost how we meet Sella. Ah, fun times.
Kynes lets the smirk sit there, dry as old ink. The harbor crowd keeps moving past, but his jab lands in the little circle around him.
Bren
If you call that fun, I am not letting you choose the next disaster.
Mara
Sella would have hated the comparison. Which means it is probably accurate.
Sable
The pattern fits. You collect people the way others collect keys, by accident and consequence.
The Stranger dips his head, then glances past them toward the inn door. A damp page edge peeks from his sleeve, and the sealed note in Kynes's hand seems heavier than before.
The Stranger
Amusing. Now read it where the street cannot hear you.
Beyond the threshold, a harbor runner pushes through the crowd and stops short, staring at Kynes, then at the note. His breath catches like he has recognized the seal.
“I duck around a corner and read the note”
SUCCESS (Legendary Agility, rolled +0)
Kynes slips off the street into the shelter of a rope-wet alcove between crates and stone, the harbor noise dropping to a muffled churn behind him. He turns the sealed note under one thumb and breaks the wax with a practiced snap.
Kynes
Private enough. If this is a trap, at least it is not pretending otherwise.
The paper opens to a tight hand and a local seal. The message is brief, but the last line makes Kynes's grip tighten on the page.
Outside the alcove, footsteps skid on wet cobbles. The harbor runner has followed the smell of trouble to the corner and stops dead, staring past Kynes into the shadows as if he expects someone else to be there.
The Stranger
You read it now, or you waste the chance.
The note gives no comfort, only a location, a time, and the warning that the sender already knows Kynes is in Neverwinter. The runner swallows hard and raises one hand, not quite a greeting, not quite a warning.
The Stranger
That seal belongs to the harbor watch. If they are looking for you, keep moving. If they are not, you should be more concerned.
Quest Complete
Read the sealed note in private
New Gift: Secret-Keeper's Arcane Insight