Morning light follows Kynes and Bren along the road beyond Talon Tower. Their three-day provisions ride in balanced packs, while the open road bends north toward Daggerford.
At a crossroads shrine, Jessa Vale, a weathered middle-aged woman with sun-browned skin, a russet headscarf, and a handcart of ribbons, spices, and tin cups, raises one hand.
Jessa Vale
Travelers, are you bound for Daggerford? I ask because I have wares there, and the road has been quieter than usual.
Bren slows beside Kynes, one hand resting near the folded letter while her gaze measures the peddler, the shrine, and the empty road behind them.
Jessa Vale
The record-keeper who sent that letter has a respectable room near the west market. Owes two months’ rent, though, and has missed several appointments.
Jessa Vale
Three people went looking for them recently. None stayed long. I heard no talk of sorcery, only unpaid debts, closed shutters, and neighbors asking questions.
Bren
That is more useful than a dramatic warning. We are traveling openly, but we prefer to know what sort of welcome waits in town.
✓ Quest Accepted
Identify the people who have been looking for the record-keeper
“" anything about these three we should know about?" I ask”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled +3)
Kynes
Is there anything about those three people we should know?
Jessa Vale
Aye. One was a tall man with a red scarf and a soldier’s bearing. He asked too many questions about the room, the letter, and who else had visited.
Jessa shifts the ribbons on her handcart, lowering her voice as a wagon passes. Bren listens without interrupting, her attention fixed on the peddler.
Jessa Vale
The second was a narrow-faced woman in a blue traveling coat. She paid for nothing, but watched the west market from the baker’s doorway. The third stayed behind them, a young man carrying a green pack.
Jessa Vale
They were not friends. The woman gave orders, the red-scarfed man argued, and the young one kept checking the road. They left separately before sunset, heading toward the old ferry path.
Jessa Vale
One more thing, free of charge. The baker saw the woman leave a note beneath the record-keeper’s door. I can take you to that doorway without crossing the crowded market.
Jessa points north along a narrower lane between orchards. Bren glances toward Kynes, the new route offering privacy and a clear way to inspect the record-keeper’s lodging.
Determine who altered the record-keeper’s meeting arrangements
Quest Complete
Identify the people who have been looking for the record-keeper