The cooper’s landing settles into a rare hush. Beyond the barred passage, Corven waits at the closed inner gate, reduced to a muffled presence. Mira keeps her voice low through the door.
Mira Voss
“The copied records do not stay at Lantern Yard. They go beneath it, through an old storage run, then south by hand. No sigils, no grand machinery. Just clerks, keys, and people who know when not to ask.”
Slaan
“And your precise route?”
Mira Voss
“The counting room has a rear stair. Three flights down, a coal passage, then a bricked arch with a loose left stone. The records pass there before they reach the lower stores.”
Bren
“You are offering us a way around the handoff without giving them the cloth.”
Mira Voss
“I am offering you a way to see what they value before you decide whether to trade anything. The cloth stays yours. So does the choice.”
Nhal
“You have kept this route alone for a long time.”
Mira Voss
“Long enough to learn that survival is not the same as living. I would rather help make one honest decision than keep recording other people’s bad ones.”
The landing grows comfortable around the silence that follows. Bren rests one shoulder against the wall, Slaan studies the worn steps, and Nhal keeps the grey cloth folded safely in her hands. Mira waits behind the door, ready to answer whatever they ask next.
“I cast befuddle on corven, as I verify Mira's route through the lower passage”
SUCCESS (Legendary Arcana, rolled +2)
Kynes lets the spell slip through the timber and across the landing, a quiet knot of confusion settling over Corven beyond the inner gate.
Corven Dask
“The gate is... no. I was meant to wait. Or was I meant to leave?”
With Corven’s attention turned inward, Kynes follows Mira’s directions down the rear stair. Three flights descend beneath the shop, ending at a narrow coal passage.
Mira Voss
“Keep south when the passage forks. The loose stone is in the left side of the bricked arch.”
The route verifies cleanly. Dust marks the hand-carried traffic, and the left stone shifts beneath Kynes’s touch, revealing the lower stores beyond.
Nhal
“The cloth remains with me. We have the way in, and Corven is no longer watching it.”
Above, Corven fumbles at the closed gate, harmlessly distracted. Mira’s directions have proven true, but the passage now opens onto the records’ hidden destination.
✓ Quest Accepted
Learn what the records’ handlers value
“I slip into the lower stores and observe what the handlers are protecting. I search the hidden records route for clues to the handlers’ priorities. I cheak for anything regarding undead in the area.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Perception, rolled +2)
Kynes slips through the loosened stone and into the lower stores, moving between coal bins and stacked crates without disturbing the dust.
Therefore, his keen senses find a narrow shelf concealed behind empty grain sacks. Its packets bear dates, street names, and small inked symbols.
The records favor movement, not wealth. They track which routes are watched, which witnesses can be pressured, and which names must reach the Gray Glove intact.
Among the packets, Kynes finds a recent list marked with grave-signs. It records sealed crypts, burial roads, and orders to redirect undead carriers away from public streets.
A folded tally confirms the handlers value controlled passage above all else. They are protecting a hidden chain that moves copied records and undead cargo without drawing notice.
Mira Voss
“You found what they guard, then. Tell me whether my directions bought us knowledge, or only gave Corven a trail to follow.”
Quest Complete
Learn what the records’ handlers value
+ New Item Acquired
Grave-marked packet
“I show Mira the grave-marked packet”
Kynes carries the grave-marked packet to the doorway and opens it toward Mira. The dated entries give her a verifiable account of the handlers’ hidden routes.
Mira Voss
“That is enough to prove you saw the chain itself. Corven cannot claim I sent you blind.”
“Keep the grey cloth in Nhal's protection,Ask Nhal to conceal the grey cloth. Then to Mira " does this tie in with the undead coming from the undead city,warlock crypt?"”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled -1)
Kynes
Kynes asks Nhal to conceal the grey cloth, keeping it safe from Corven's reach. Then he asks Mira whether these records connect to the undead coming from the undead city or Warlock's Crypt.
Nhal
“I will hide it beneath the ordinary things. Let Corven search for a token where no token would be kept.”
Nhal folds the grey cloth into a plain bundle and slips it beneath her cloak, leaving no visible sign of the courier's mark.
Mira Voss
“Yes. The route does not begin in either place, but it feeds both. Warlock's Crypt sends the burden north, while the undead city receives what the handlers call recovered cargo.”
Mira Voss
“That is why the records are split between passage tallies and grave marks. One ledger names the road. The other names what travels it.”
Her guarded relief sharpens into certainty. She taps two dated entries in the packet, then looks toward the stair where Corven's arrival still threatens the route.
Mira Voss
“Your proof strengthens my word, Kynes. But if Corven reaches this room, he will know the chain has been exposed. Do you want the next record, or do we leave before he closes the way?”
✓ Quest Accepted
Leave before Corven closes the way
“I ask Mira to guide us toward the safest exit and follow her quickly.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Agility, rolled +1)
Kynes
“Guide us to the safest exit. Quickly.”
Mira Voss
“Then follow close. The coal passage is watched, but the old wash stair is not.”
Mira snatches the packet shut and moves through the doorway, choosing the narrow gap behind the record shelves. Kynes follows at once, staff angled low as he clears the cramped passage.
The shelf slides back into place behind them. Footsteps reach the lower stores, but the sound is muffled by stone before Corven or his escorts can see the hidden route.
Mira Voss
“There. The wash stair rises behind that loose plank. It opens into the alley two doors east of the counting room.”
Mira lifts the plank and ushers Kynes through first. Cold alley air replaces the stale cellar breath, and the party emerges beyond the counting room before the way can be closed.
Mira Voss
“You have your escape and your proof. Now decide whether we vanish into the crowd, or carry this chain to someone who can break it.”
Quest Complete
Leave before Corven closes the way