The group emerges into an abandoned tollhouse overlooking the river road, its cracked shutters rattling in the wind. Daggerford lies distant beyond the darkening fields.
The ledger-carrier, a young adult human woman with a sturdy build, dark braided hair, and a russet coat over dark trousers, sits against the old counter, shaken but conscious, while Bren stays near her. Danna spreads the copied slates across a dusty table and begins inventorying them.
Serik
The waterline is clear for now. No boats, no lanterns, and no movement along the reeds. We have a brief pause.
Danna
Three route slates, two payment records, and the receiving marks. Nothing is missing from the copies, though the originals remain in Kynes’s keeping.
Within Kynes’s pocket dimension, Veyra’s packet remains sealed and untouched. Behind them, Danna’s opening has collapsed, leaving Hadrik and the rising tide beyond reach.
Bren
What should protection mean now, love, when no claimant remains over those witnesses? We can guard their road without becoming another hand directing it.
Kynes
The packet is secure, and the witnesses remain free to refuse.
✓ Quest Accepted
Bring the evidence to Daggerford’s provisional council
“I walk over and kneel down in front of the ledger-carrier. " Lass, what did they want with you." I ask politely”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled -2)
Kynes crosses the tollhouse and kneels before the ledger-carrier, lowering himself to her level. Broken grit bites through his trouser at the knee, drawing a small, bright bead of blood.
Kynes
Lass, what did they want with you?
Ledger
They wanted the ledger I carried, and the names written inside it. They said those names belonged to the Benefactor, not to the people who had refused her.
Her hands tighten around the russet coat at her chest. Bren remains close, while Danna pauses over the slates and listens without interrupting.
Ledger
I was meant to bring it to the quay, then repeat that I had agreed freely. When I refused, Hadrik called it confusion and sent men to correct my memory.
Ledger
He asks like the answer will matter. I have heard that promise before, but his blade and those records make it harder to dismiss.
Ledger
They wanted my testimony changed into consent, lord. I kept the ledger hidden until they took me, and I will not call coercion freedom.
“" so you risked yourself to protect people who refused the Benefactor, correct?"”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled +1)
Kynes
So you risked yourself to protect people who refused the Benefactor, correct?
Ledger
Yes, lord. I knew what would happen if the names reached the quay. They would turn every refusal into a claim of consent.
The ledger-carrier lifts her chin despite the tremor in her hands. Danna’s copied slates lie between them, their route marks stark in the tollhouse’s fading light.
Ledger
I carried the ledger because someone had to keep the refusals together. If I surrendered it, the Benefactor could erase the people who made them.
Bren
That is protection, love. Not choosing for them, but preserving their chance to choose for themselves.
Ledger
I did not expect anyone to rescue me. I only meant to keep their names from becoming another chain. If you are taking the ledger to judgment, let it speak plainly.
Outside, reeds whisper along the dark riverbank. Within the tollhouse, the copied records remain visible and ordered, while the sealed packet stays beyond every claimant’s reach.
“"how about this, we use the evidence that implicates Ashehand and her grey gloves, and we leave people who refused her out. And of anyone asks I'll call it witness protection. " I look around to everyone. " Is that acceptable?" Then to the ledger-carrier " and lass, I am no Lord." I stand beside bren”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled +0)
Kynes
How about this? We use the evidence implicating Ashhand and her Gray Gloves, while leaving everyone who refused her out. If anyone asks, I will call it witness protection. Is that acceptable?
Kynes
And lass, I am no lord.
Kynes looks around the tollhouse, then stands beside Bren. The copied slates remain spread openly across the table, while the sealed packet stays secured beyond every claimant’s reach.
Bren
Acceptable, love. We expose the coercion, payments, and forged marks, but keep the refusing witnesses unnamed and free to choose their own protection.
Ledger
Then call it witness protection, Kynes. Not custody, not secrecy for a keeper’s convenience. Their refusals can remain theirs.
Danna
The slates prove Ashhand’s receiving marks and the Gray Glove routes. We can present those facts without naming anyone who rejected them.
Serik
I will inventory the incriminating evidence separately and mark the protected names absent. The record will show what was done, and what was deliberately withheld.
“I ask Danna to secure the lower door”
SUCCESS (Legendary Strength, rolled -2)
Kynes
Danna, secure the lower door. Keep anyone from reaching this room or the river passage without our knowing.
Danna
Understood. I will bar it from this side and mark the threshold for intrusion.
Danna gathers the nearest iron bar and descends the short stair. The lower door groans shut beneath her hands as she wedges it firmly into place.
The bar holds, but its final impact cracks through the tollhouse and rolls across the dark river road. Reeds fall silent beyond the shutters.
Danna
Secured. The bar is sound, though the noise may have carried farther than I wanted.
Bren
Then we have warning as well as protection, love. Anyone approaching now will find the door closed and our attention ready.
Serik
The lower route is sealed, and I see no movement outside. The witnesses and evidence remain protected for this pause.
“" do we have the evidence needed to implacate ashehand and the grey gloves?" I ask”
SUCCESS (Legendary Reasoning, rolled +0)
Kynes
Do we have the evidence needed to implicate Ashhand and the Gray Gloves?
Danna
Yes. The receiving marks, payment records, route slates, forged orders, and Ashhand’s own terms establish coercion, unlawful transfers, and deliberate concealment.
Danna returns from the barred stair and points across the dusty table. Each slate bears copied marks, dates, and handoffs that connect Ashhand’s office to the Gray Glove network.
Serik
The evidence is sufficient without exposing the refusing witnesses. It shows who acted, how payments moved, and where consent was falsified.
Bren
Veyra’s testimony strengthens it, love, but we do not need to trust her blindly. Her admissions are supported by the records and the ledger-carrier’s account.
Ledger
My ledger confirms the refusals were altered after collection. Keep the names hidden, but let the record show that Ashhand’s people called coercion agreement.
The case is complete enough for judgment: the route, payments, forged marks, admissions, and surviving testimony form a clear chain against Ashhand and the Gray Gloves, while protected names remain absent.
✓ Quest Accepted
Have the witnesses accept voluntary protection
“I ask the ledger-carrier what voluntary protection she wants, if any.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled +2)
Kynes
What voluntary protection do you want, if any? You choose the escort, the shelter, and whether your name enters the record.
The tollhouse grows quiet. Kynes leaves the copied slates untouched, giving the ledger-carrier space to answer without a claimant, keeper, or seal pressing on her choice.
Ledger
I want protection on the road to Daggerford, but not confinement. Two people I can identify, a room I may leave, and no magical mark or custody claim.
Ledger
Keep my name out of the public record. Let me give testimony privately to Councilor Merrow, and let me decide afterward whether I remain in Daggerford.
Bren nods, while Serik carefully records only the requested safeguards. Danna leaves the lower door barred, and the evidence remains openly inventoried without touching the protected names.
Bren
That is clear and voluntary, love. We can provide the road escort and private hearing without turning protection into another cage.
Ledger
Then I accept that protection, Kynes. I will travel with you to Daggerford, speak to Merrow privately, and choose the rest when I arrive.
Quest Complete
Have the witnesses accept voluntary protection
Kynes leaves abandoned tollhouse overlooking the river road behind and arrives at Daggerford.
“We head to daggerford, and move to talk to Merrow directly.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Agility, rolled +3)
Daggerford’s evening bells roll over the river town as Kynes and his companions enter through the western gate. Council banners hang beside freshly posted notices exposing the former magistrate’s corruption.
Bren keeps the ledger-carrier close without touching her, while Serik carries the copied slates. A council aide, a young adult human woman with a slim build, dark braided hair, and a blue-gray council tunic, recognizes the evidence and hurries them toward the provisional council chamber.
Councilor Merrow
Kynes. I was told you were bringing records, not another crisis. Come in, and let us hear the truth before the town hears a distorted version.
Councilor Merrow, a middle-aged woman with iron-gray hair, a broad build, and a dark green civic coat, waits beneath the council seal. She clears the chamber for a private hearing.
Ledger
I requested private testimony and protection without confinement. I will speak, but my name and the other refusals must remain outside the public record.
Councilor Merrow
Granted. Your safeguards will be written without your name, and you may leave this room whenever you choose. No office here will claim custody of you.
Merrow receives the slates, compares Ashhand’s marks against Daggerford’s published records, and finds a matching payment seal. The evidence now has a lawful hearing and a second independent confirmation.
Quest Complete
Bring the evidence to Daggerford’s provisional council
New Gift: Public-Speaker's Arcane Mastery