The tower keeper remains behind at the ruined watchtower as Issac reaches Macedoriak alone. His torn cloak conceals the awakened sword, while the silver royal-seal key rests with the slate beneath it.
Macedoriak’s true entrance lies behind an unmarked arch in the eastern wall, hidden from the public road. A middle-aged gate clerk, a square-built woman with iron-gray braids and a green wool coat, steps from the shadowed passage.
The Gate Clerk
Status Plate, please. Hold it beneath the ward-lamp.
The clerk studies the glowing plate, then compares Issac’s name with a quiet register. Her eyes pause briefly on the cloak’s uneven weight, but she asks nothing about what lies beneath it.
The Gate Clerk
Issac Rivendohr. Your registration is sound. You may enter.
Beyond the concealed passage, a quaint plaza rests beneath pale afternoon light. Empty benches, shuttered stalls, and old Narstrian carvings surround a dry fountain as Issac walks toward the distant royal quarter.
Issac Rivendohr
The carvings place my father near the Royal Family, but they do not say why.
At the plaza’s far end, a sealed archive marker bears the same crowned sun found on the key. Beneath it, a fresh line of chalk points toward a narrow royal-side lane.
Director's note
There are no clear clues as to where the seal leads, so its best to focus on a promise I made to my mother after my father disappeared
“With my arrival, I decide now is a good time to register withe the Local Guild.”
FAILURE (Mediocre Persuasion, rolled -1)
Issac follows the chalk toward a modest hall marked by the familiar Lucky Catzz emblem. Inside, dusty adventure notices surround a long registration counter.
A young adult man with a narrow build, auburn hair, and a mustard vest looks up from the ledger. A brass guild key hangs at his throat.
The Guild Registrar
New registration? Place your status plate here, and state your sponsoring branch.
Issac presents the glowing plate and gives his name. The registrar compares it with the guild ledger, then slowly turns several brittle pages.
The Guild Registrar
I cannot register you under this plate. Your family account is sealed, and the old sponsorship mark belongs to an unresolved disappearance.
He closes the ledger before Issac can sign. Instead of a guild badge, he slides across a narrow notice bearing the same crowned sun as the royal key.
The Guild Registrar
Take this to the royal quarter. Until that seal is acknowledged, the guild must treat your registration as contested, not accepted.
Director's note
The tavern is located in a busier part of the city
“With my arrival, I cannot find the entrance the key leads to, so I visit a local tavern to eat and rest from my travel.”
SUCCESS (Good Health, rolled +1)
Unable to find any entrance matching the royal seal, Issac leaves the quiet royal quarter and follows crowded streets toward the busier heart of Macedoriak.
A broad tavern called the Copper Kettle welcomes him with warm lamplight, clattering dishes, and the rich scent of stew beneath its smoke-darkened beams.
The Tavern Keeper
Come in, traveler. Sit where you like. A hot bowl and a dry bench are worth more than wandering hungry.
The tavern keeper, her broad, lined face and warm brown skin visible beneath the red scarf,, an elderly woman with sturdy arms, silver hair braided beneath a red scarf, and a flour-dusted brown apron, sets stew and dark bread before him.
Issac eats slowly while the city’s bustle murmurs beyond the shutters. The covered sword remains close beneath his cloak, and the royal key rests safely beside his plate.
Issac Rivendohr
The key gives no answer here, but I can keep my promise to Mother before seeking another door.
After the meal, Issac secures a quiet corner bench and rests from the road. For now, the tavern offers shelter, warmth, and a brief pause beneath Macedoriak’s crowded roofs.
Director's note
the party consists of Mikka Rosethorn, Siegfried Taloss, Marcus and Lillia Reen
Director's note
They do not know about Issac or his reasoning for being here, believing him to be a traveler from some rural region
“As I eat my meal, a small adventurer party enters. They ask if my table is taken. I shake my head, and the party of 4 take a seat.”
SUCCESS (Good Agility, rolled +3)
The tavern door opens, admitting four young adventurers from the crowded street: Mikka Rosethorn, a young woman with chestnut hair and a russet cloak; Siegfried Taloss, a broad-shouldered young man in a blue training vest; Marcus Rhen, a lean young man with dark hair and a worn sword belt; and Lillia Rhen, a slight young woman with spectacles, pale braids, and a bundle of books.
Marcus Rhen
Excuse us. Is this table taken?
Issac shakes his head. The four approach, and Mikka offers a brief, grateful nod before they take the empty seats around his table.
Siegfried Taloss
Much appreciated. Every other table looks ready to charge admission.
Their arrival brings the scent of rain and road dust. Marcus sets a folded city map beside the shared candle, keeping it clear of Issac’s meal and covered sword.
Mikka Rosethorn
You look new to Macedoriak. If you need the safer streets, the map shows which lanes stay busy after dusk.
Lillia Rhen
The eastern quarter is marked too. The old walls there are confusing, even for people who study them.
Director's note
He does not say he likes the company out loud
Director's note
Siegfried and Mikka simply laugh at Marcus and Lillia's sibling antics
“The party talks about their recent mission from the guild, which almost ended in failure due to Marcus rushing a King slime, getting a berating from his sister. Issac, while silent, kind of likes the company..”
Marcus Rhen
The guild said the eastern cellar needed clearing. I saw the King slime and knew we could end it quickly.
Lillia Rhen
You saw a King slime and charged it before I finished identifying its properties. That was not quick thinking. That was a spectacular lack of thought.
Marcus raises both hands in surrender, though his grin suggests the rebuke has not diminished his pride. Siegfried leans back, already laughing into his cup.
Marcus Rhen
We survived, secured the cellar, and recovered the guild's missing supplies. The result supports my judgment.
Lillia Rhen
The result supports Siegfried's restraint and Mikka's quick feet. You were trapped beneath half a ton of enchanted jelly.
Mikka Rosethorn
He did look heroic for the first three breaths. Then he started shouting instructions from inside the slime.
Siegfried's laughter grows loud enough to turn a few nearby heads, and Mikka joins him. Even Marcus eventually chuckles, while Issac remains quiet at the table, warmed by the easy company.
✓ Quest Accepted
Learn why the family account is sealed
Director's note
Siegfried takes offense to this, Lillia wonders if it was accidentally blocked or if someone in Issac's family made an enemy of some kind
Director's note
Marcus asks who Issac's closest relative in the guild is
Director's note
The party are shocked to learn he is Alaxander Rivendohr's son
“Mikka strikes up conversation with me, asking if I a traveler or here in the city looking for something. I explain I tried registering with the guild, but my family account was blocked, which puzzles the party.”
SUCCESS (Great Willpower, rolled +1)
Mikka Rosethorn
Are you traveling through Macedoriak, or did the city bring you here looking for something?
Issac Rivendohr
I came to the city with something to pursue. I tried registering with the guild, but they blocked my family account. I do not understand why.
Mikka’s easy curiosity fades into puzzlement. Marcus pauses over the map, while Siegfried lowers his cup and Lillia adjusts her spectacles toward Issac.
Siegfried Taloss
Blocked a family account? That sounds wrong. The guild does not turn people away without a reason, especially over old records.
Lillia Rhen
It may have been an accidental seal. Or someone connected to your family made an enemy, and the account was closed to keep the matter buried.
Marcus Rhen
Who is your closest relative in the guild? A name might tell us whether this is an error or something deliberate.
Issac Rivendohr
My father is Alaxander Rivendohr.
The table goes silent. Mikka’s brows lift, Siegfried nearly chokes on his drink, and Marcus stares across the candle as Lillia’s books slide forgotten against her knee.
Mikka Rosethorn
Alaxander Rivendohr? You are his son?
Director's note
Marcus awkwardly explains that he knew that Alaxander had a family, but Issac did not look like who he imagined
Director's note
Siegfried laughs again, saying to be in the presence of a legendary adventurer's son is an honor, but he was expecting him to be taller
Director's note
The comments are not meant to insult
Director's note
Mikka hides s sutle blush, unseen by the party
Director's note
Lillia questions the guild's action even further
“I ask if there is something wrong.”
SUCCESS (Fair Reasoning, rolled +3)
Issac Rivendohr
Is there something wrong?
Siegfried sets his cup down harder than intended. Marcus glances toward the tavern counter, while Lillia studies Issac and the sealed guild notice beside him.
Siegfried Taloss
There is something wrong with the guild's answer, not with you. Blocking a family account without explanation is insulting.
Lillia Rhen
It could be an accidental seal, but I doubt that now. Someone in your family may have made an enemy, and the guild is hiding the reason.
Marcus Rhen
Who is your closest relative in the guild? A name might tell us whether this is clerical error or deliberate action.
Marcus Rhen
I knew Alaxander had a family. I simply imagined his son differently. Forgive me. You do not resemble the picture I carried.
Siegfried Taloss
To sit with the son of a legendary adventurer is an honor! Though I admit, I expected you to be taller.
Director's note
The five of them pay the inkeeper and leave the tavern as they discuss
“I ask Marcus what he knows about guild records, and who could likely carry such a grudge.”
FAILURE (Mediocre Persuasion, rolled -3)
Issac Rivendohr
Marcus, what do you know about guild records? And who might carry a grudge against my father?
Marcus Rhen
Very little about sealed accounts. The guild keeps old disputes private, and I know no confirmed enemy of Alaxander. I would only be guessing.
Marcus taps the sealed notice, then withdraws his hand. His answer offers no name or useful record, but it makes the guild's silence seem deliberate rather than clerical.
Lillia Rhen
Then repeating the request there will achieve nothing. We need the royal acknowledgment mentioned on that notice, not another registrar's refusal.
Mikka Rosethorn
He carries Alaxander's name so quietly. I wonder what brought him here.
Siegfried Taloss
Still, standing beside a legendary adventurer's son is an honor. I expected you to be taller, though.
Siegfried laughs without malice. Marcus pays the innkeeper, and the others add their coins before the five leave the Copper Kettle, continuing the discussion into Macedoriak's busy street.
Director's note
Nigel scoffs at Issac's presence
Director's note
The party ask who this guy is
Director's note
Marcus immediatly knows who Nigel is
Director's note
Nigel is a B-Rank adventurer with the Lucky Catzz guild
Director's note
Marcus and the party come and defend Issac from the verbal abuse
“As they continue to discuss the strange circumstances, Issac accidentally runs into Nigel Veehn, his rival from the same town.”
SUCCESS (Good Agility, rolled +1)
The five move through Macedoriak’s crowded street, still discussing the guild’s sealed records. Mikka hides a subtle blush as she walks near Issac, her gaze quickly returning to the road.
At a turning between crowded stalls, Issac accidentally collides with a young man in a fitted black adventurer’s coat. The stranger’s blond hair is swept back, and a silver B-Rank badge catches the light.
Nigel Veehn
Watch where you are going. Of course, it would be you, Rivendohr. Still stumbling into stronger adventurers, I see.
Nigel Veehn steadies himself, a young adult man with a lean build, fair skin, sharp features, and a narrow scar at his jaw, and looks Issac over with a familiar, superior smirk. His hand rests near his decorated sword belt, though he makes no move to draw.
Siegfried Taloss
Who is this guy, and why is he talking to you like that?
Marcus Rhen
Nigel Veehn. B-Rank, Lucky Catzz Guild. I know his reputation, and none of it excuses this.
Lillia Rhen
Of course its you. Feeling generous as to present yourself to us D-rankers?
“I shutter at Nigel's prescence. Trying to put on a brave face I ask, "What are you doing here, Nigel? I thought your family forbade you entering Macedoriak." He simply laughs”
SUCCESS (Great Willpower, rolled +1)
Issac shudders at Nigel’s presence, then steadies his shoulders and holds a brave face beneath the crowded street’s watching eyes.
Issac Rivendohr
What are you doing here, Nigel? I thought your family forbade you from entering Macedoriak.
Nigel Veehn
Ha! They forbade nothing. I go where I please, unlike certain country wanderers who stumble into guild business.
Nigel laughs openly, his silver B-Rank badge flashing as nearby pedestrians glance over. His smirk sharpens, but Issac’s question has drawn a clear answer.
Siegfried Taloss
Enough. He asked why you are here, not for another performance. Try answering without insulting him.
Marcus Rhen
Nigel, your rank does not grant you the right to harass travelers. Leave Issac alone and continue on.
✓ Quest Accepted
Get Nigel Veehn to leave Issac alone
“I step between Nigel and my companions and demand he leave us alone and that I'm not looking for a fight, as Guild members are forbidden to start fights in the city walls”
FAILURE (Mediocre Persuasion, rolled -1)
Issac steps between Nigel and his companions, placing himself squarely in the crowded street. His hand stays away from the sword beneath his cloak.
Issac Rivendohr
Leave us alone. I am not looking for a fight, and Guild members are forbidden to start fights within the city walls.
Nigel Veehn
Is that a demand, Rivendohr? You block my path, then hide behind a rule you clearly do not understand.
Nigel’s voice carries through the street. Nearby pedestrians slow, and his silver badge draws their attention before his mocking smile turns toward Issac’s companions.
Nigel Veehn
Tell them what happened. He stepped into my way and now pretends I am the aggressor. Very brave, hiding behind a crowd.
Marcus Rhen
Enough. We witnessed the exchange, Nigel. Do not twist his attempt to keep this peaceful into an excuse for trouble.
Lillia Rhen
And if the guild forbids starting fights, provoking someone in public while displaying your rank is a remarkably poor defense.
Director's note
Nigel leaves the party and Issac
“I ask Lillia about the royal quarter, and show her and the others the Royal Seal i have in my possession”
FAILURE (Mediocre Persuasion, rolled +0)
Issac Rivendohr
Lillia, what can you tell me about the royal quarter? I found a way in, and this seal may be connected to it.
Issac draws the silver Royal Seal Key from beneath his cloak and holds it where the four can see. The crowned sun catches the afternoon light.
Lillia Rhen
Lower it. If that seal is genuine, displaying it in the street will attract the wrong attention, not royal assistance.
Mikka Rosethorn
The royal quarter has guarded lanes and official doors. We should not assume a key opens every one of them.
Siegfried Taloss
Still, it proves you have something real. Lillia, can we get him to someone who recognizes royal marks?
Lillia Rhen
Not directly. The quarter admits petitioners through the Hall of Heralds, but a seal like this should be shown there, under witness, not waved before guards.
Her warning leaves Issac’s immediate approach compromised, but the Hall of Heralds offers a usable alternative. Lillia points toward a narrower lane leading east, away from the main gate.
Issac Rivendohr leaves Macedoriak's busy street behind and arrives at Hall of Heralds.
“I follow Lillia to the Hall of Heralds”
SUCCESS (Good Agility, rolled +3)
The Hall of Heralds rises beyond the narrow lane, its white stone facade carved with crowned suns and ancient family crests. Issac arrives with Lillia and the others beneath tall bronze doors.
Inside, blue fire burns in wall braziers without smoke. Heraldic banners hang over a polished floor, and a circular dais waits beneath a crystal lens that turns toward Issac’s hidden key.
Lillia Rhen
There. The lens recognized the royal mark before we even reached the petition desk. That is not ordinary access.
A middle-aged man steps from behind the dais, lean and upright in a crimson robe trimmed with gold. His dark hair is threaded with silver, and a blue ink-stain marks his right cheek.
The Herald
Place the seal upon the stone, young traveler. By witness of this hall, I will tell you which royal door it belongs to.
The key’s crowned sun shines through Issac’s cloak, casting three rising lines across the floor. A hidden panel opens in the dais, revealing a registry page bearing Alaxander Rivendohr’s name.
The Herald
Your father’s name is recorded here under royal protection. The eastern archive door is not sealed against you, Rivendohr. It is waiting for you.
“I ask the herald why our family account was sealed, and if there is a connection to my Father's dissapearance”
FAILURE (Mediocre Persuasion, rolled +0)
Issac Rivendohr
Why was my family account sealed? And is that connected to my father's disappearance?
The herald’s fingers pause above the registry. The crystal lens dims, and the blue fire in the braziers bends toward Alaxander’s name.
The Herald
I cannot give you a certain connection. The seal was placed after your father vanished, but this registry records protection, not the reasons behind his disappearance.
Lillia Rhen
That is evasive. Who ordered the protection, and why would the guild inherit a royal restriction without the explanation?
The herald turns the registry page. Beneath Alaxander’s entry, a second notation remains covered by black wax, stamped with a narrow crown split by three rising lines.
The Herald
The guild account was sealed because its records could expose a protected royal matter. I cannot break that seal here, but the eastern archive can.
The Herald
Present the key at the archive door. Its keeper may read the sealed notation and tell you whether your father’s disappearance belongs to the same matter.
Quest Complete
Learn why the family account is sealed
Attribute Upgrade: Agility Good→Great
“I present the key at the eastern archive door, with the party of Mikka, Lillia, Siegfried, and Marcus following behind. I ask why they continue to follow, to which Marcus replies that if his father was Alaxander Rivendohr and the guild account was blocked, then something is truely amiss. Plus, they have nothing else to do”
SUCCESS (Fair Reasoning, rolled +0)
Issac reaches the eastern archive door with Mikka, Lillia, Siegfried, and Marcus behind him. The crowned sun is carved into the shadowless stone, matching the key in his hand.
Issac Rivendohr
Why do you continue to follow me?
Marcus Rhen
If your father was Alaxander Rivendohr and the guild account was blocked, then something is truly amiss. Besides, we have nothing else to do.
Lillia Rhen
That is not the only reason. The royal restriction is deliberate, and I want to know what kind of archive requires this much concealment.
Issac presses the Royal Seal Key into the sun-shaped recess. The stone accepts it with a deep chime, and the eastern archive door opens inward, revealing shelves descending beneath blue-white wardlight.
A registry tablet beside the threshold bears Alaxander’s name, but its lower lines are written in an older script. Issac spends several tense minutes comparing the marks, learning only that the sealed notation concerns a living witness.
Mikka Rosethorn
Then we stay together. Whatever your father left behind, we can help you read it.
“"That's impossible," I state. "What is," Mikka asked. "The 'living witness should be dead, but now there are two?" I study the archive records, being very careful as not to ruin anything.”
SUCCESS (Fair Reasoning, rolled +1)
Issac Rivendohr
That’s impossible. The living witness should be dead, but now there are two?
Mikka Rosethorn
What is? The record? Or the part about there being two witnesses?
Issac bends over the archive tablet without touching its surface. Blue-white wardlight reveals layered script beneath the newer registry lines, each mark preserved behind a thin veil of magic.
Issac Rivendohr
The older entry and the newer one use the same witness seal, but they name different people.
Lillia Rhen
Read the dates carefully. The first witness was declared dead twelve years ago. The second was entered three years later, under the same protected seal.
Issac studies the overlapping notation and finds the conclusion without disturbing the record: the archive recognizes two living claims, but only one can be the original witness. The later name is marked as an appointed successor.
Lillia Rhen
That explains the contradiction. The witness died, but the royal protection continued through a successor. Someone wanted both identities hidden, and the archive preserved the mistake on purpose.
Director's notewhole tale
The party and I make haste and leave the Hall of Heralds
“I piece together that the successor is likely still alive, and whoever was hunting them had stopped after killing the original.”
SUCCESS (Fair Reasoning, rolled -1)
Issac compares the two entries, tracing their dates and matching seals while the party gathers their belongings. The layered script confirms the successor’s appointment was recorded after the original witness’s death.
Issac Rivendohr
The successor is probably still alive. The hunting ended with the original witness, not the succession.
The conclusion costs them precious time. By the time Issac finishes, the wardlight has shifted across the archive floor, and the successor’s name remains partly obscured beneath royal redaction.
Lillia Rhen
The hunter stopped after killing the first witness, or believed the successor was unreachable. Either way, the protection was renewed afterward.
Marcus Rhen
Then we leave now. If the archive recorded a living successor, someone else may eventually notice the same contradiction.
The five hurry out of the eastern archive and leave the Hall of Heralds behind, keeping to the crowded lanes as afternoon shadows lengthen across Macedoriak.
Mikka Rosethorn
We should find a quiet place to compare the tablet’s dates. The successor may be alive, but we still need to learn where the protection sent them.
✓ Quest Accepted
Learn where the living successor was sent
Director's notewhole tale
The only clue recorded in Lillia's journal from the Hall of Heralds talks about an 'garden where nothing grows'
Director's note
The quiet place is a small inn close to the city's outer walls
“I find a quiet place with the group to study the redacted entry,”
SUCCESS (Fair Reasoning, rolled +3)
The party leaves the Hall of Heralds and keeps to crowded lanes until a small inn near Macedoriak’s outer walls offers a quiet upper room. Its shutters muffle the city.
Lillia Rhen
I copied the Hall’s clue into my journal before we left. The redacted entry itself remains in the archive, but this may be enough to interpret it.
Lillia opens her journal beneath the lamplight. Her careful notes reproduce the royal seal, the successor’s appointment date, and one phrase written apart from the surrounding record.
Lillia Rhen
Here. Garden where nothing grows. It is listed as a destination, not a metaphor, and the notation bears the same split-crown seal.
Marcus Rhen
Then the successor was sent somewhere hidden inside or beyond the royal quarter. We should ask who knows Macedoriak’s old gardens.
Mikka Rosethorn
A place where nothing grows could be abandoned, cursed, or warded. We should learn which before walking into it.
Lillia Rhen
The date and seal agree. The successor is not a clerical error. This garden is the first concrete trail the archive has given us.