Two weeks of cold pass under the High Pass hearth. Kynes sits in the firelight while traders file in through the yard, their wagons marked with archive-like sigils. The room shifts, wary and quiet.
A broad-shouldered man at the front, Silas, stops at the hearth. His smile is thin, his eyes fixed on Kynes like a hook finding cloth.
Silas
You are the one I was sent to find. The one who broke the ledger.
Silas
I need names, routes, and whatever you stole from the Archive. Quietly, if you want this place to stay peaceful.
Bren shifts closer, one hand near her blade. The caravan behind Silas stays back, but their attention is sharp and trained, not casual.
Kynes
[Kynes says nothing, holding the hearth and the board in view.]
Silas
Still stubborn. Good. That means you understand what is at stake.
Silas reaches into his cloak and lets a folded ledger slip into his palm, as if offering proof. The archive sigils on the wagons seem to darken in the firelight, and the tavern falls very still.
✓ Quest Accepted
Deflect Silas's inquiry
“Can I see what proof he thinks he has?”
YES (Likely, rolled 34)
Kynes
The ledger in his hand is not paper, but a thin, folded sheet of archive-lattice, pulsing with the same violet static that once clung to my own skin.
Silas
You look at it with recognition, Kynes. This is the record of your own bloodline, the one you thought you burned away in the vault.
The ledger unfolds further, revealing a shimmering, translucent map of the High Pass, with Kynes's own signature glowing in a jagged, violet script at the center.
“I play dumb, " sorry sir I don't know of this Kynes you speak of." Changing my speech pattern, body language and how I move”
YES, BUT (Likely, rolled 60)
Kynes
I am afraid you have the wrong man, sir. I am just a traveler looking for a warm hearth and a bit of honest work.
Silas
A convenient lapse in memory, though the lattice itself seems to disagree with your humble assessment.
Silas traces the glowing violet script with a gloved finger, his eyes never leaving Kynes as the ledger pulses in rhythm with the room's dying fire.
“I look on in aw . " Never seen magic paper before milord"”
Kynes
I have not seen paper like that before, milord.
Silas
No? Then you have seen too little. This one remembers more than most men care to admit.
He taps the violet lattice, and the map shivers softly in the emberlight. Bren stays close at Kynes's side, watching Silas more than the ledger.
“"oooh" keeping up the act”
Kynes lets out a soft, exaggerated little sound and keeps his face politely blank, as if the ledger were only interesting in the way a cracked mug is interesting.
Silas
Ha. You do know how to play the harmless traveler. Fine. Keep talking, and we will see whether that voice stays simple.
“" I dunno bout no talking paper, but I thought I saw a dancing tree till I saw it was the farmer daughter with the plow hand" I say in my same simple broken accent”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled -1)
Kynes
I dunno bout no talking paper, but I thought I saw a dancing tree till I saw it was the farmer daughter with the plow hand.
The words land light, half joke and half shrug, like Kynes is talking about weather instead of bloodlines. The violet ledger trembles once, then stills.
Silas
Heh. That is a better lie than most. Keep it coming, traveler.
Silas
Farmer’s daughter, eh? You are telling me you see fields where I see records.
Bren
He is steering it away without looking like he is steering at all.
Silas’s mouth twitches as he lowers the ledger a finger’s breadth, amused despite himself. The hearth throws one weak glow across the floorboards, and the ledger’s violet lines settle into a quieter, watchful pulse.
Silas
All right then. I will ask plain. Who are you, really, and why does the book know your shape?
“"how's a book see with know eyes" I give a simpletons laugh " maybe you the not smart one"”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled +3)
Kynes
How a book see with no eyes? Maybe you the not smart one.
The jab lands with a dry little laugh, tossed like ash. Silas blinks, then grins wider as the violet lines in the ledger quiver and relax.
Silas
Ha. Fair. A book does not need eyes if it has a better memory than men do.
Silas
And if it is speaking now, traveler, it is because something in you is loud enough to page through.
Bren’s shoulders ease by a fraction, though her gaze stays sharp. The hearth embers dim, and the ledger’s glow narrows to a thin, thinking pulse.
Silas
You have my attention now. Kynes, was it? That name rings differently than the rest.
At the name, the violet script flickers once as if it has already chosen him, and Silas tilts the ledger toward the firelight like a man offering a seal for inspection.
“" thank you sir people think I am very kind" messing up my own name on purpose I use my alias " that's my name, right boss" I call to the guard”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled -1)
Kynes lets the false name sit where his true one might have gone, casual as spilled drink. The ledger’s pulse thins, then steadies on the alias instead of the bloodline glow.
Kynes
That’s my name, right boss.
Silas snorts a laugh and tips the ledger back toward himself. The violet script shivers, then accepts the name without protest.
Silas
Right enough for me, if it keeps the peace in this room.
Silas
You help with the work, you answer to the board, and nobody needs a harder story tonight.
Bren’s hand drops from her blade-handling stance to a looser guard. The hearth settles lower, and the ledger’s glow slides from accusation into a plain, watchful record.
Bren
He’s keeping it simple. That should suit everyone.
Silas closes the ledger halfway and gives Kynes a measured look, amused but satisfied. The outpost’s scrutiny turns away from Kynes and back to the board, as if the false name has already begun to erase the rest.
Quest Complete
Deflect Silas's inquiry
New Gift: Inquisitor-Deflecting Arcane Insight