Rain needles the harbor as Isafael da Florenciano reaches the naval fortress gate. Above him, cannon mouths stare down at the divided town.
A rapier bars the throat of a flamboyant stranger in a crimson coat. Behind the gate, soldiers cluster around opposing banners, hands near their weapons.
The Gate Guard
One more step, Captain, and this challenge becomes an obituary.
Captain Lucien de Valcera
Then write it neatly, sergeant. Captain Lucien de Valcera has no intention of dying illiterate.
The Commander grips a sealed letter beside the portcullis. Its black wax bears the crest of Lucien's rival, yet the seal remains unbroken.
The Commander
Stand down, Valcera. Until I answer this challenge, the fortress remains closed. No exile crosses my threshold.
A royalist sergeant shoves forward from the ranks. Half the soldiers follow him. The other half level muskets across the passage, and the harbor guns begin to swivel.
The Royalist Sergeant
Open the gate, Commander, or we force it. The swordsman has arrived, and every moment costs us.
✓ Quest Accepted
Prevent bloodshed at the fortress gate
✓ Quest Accepted
Learn who sent the challenge
“*Isafael, Vaugely interested in the situation approaching the gate with his hands raised,* "Gentlemen- gentlemen! What is the matter? Isn't it a crime for a Higalian to spill another Higalian's blood?"”
SUCCESS (Fair Diplomacy, rolled +1)
Isafael da Florenciano
Gentlemen, what is the matter? Is it not a crime for one Higalian to spill another Higalian's blood?
The appeal cuts through rain, cannon creak, and shouted orders. For one suspended breath, every weapon points nowhere.
The Commander
Lower your arms. The fortress will not become a graveyard for Higalians.
The Royalist Sergeant hesitates, then drops his musket's muzzle. Across the passage, the opposing soldiers ease their aim. The harbor cannons stop swiveling.
Captain Lucien de Valcera
At last, a voice with more sense than steel. I will hear the challenge before I surrender my liberty.
The Gate Guard
My blade comes down, Captain, but you remain outside until the Commander rules.
The rapier lowers from Lucien's throat. The gate remains shut, yet no blood stains its stones. The Commander turns the sealed letter toward Isafael da Florenciano.
The Commander
You have stayed their hands. Now stand witness. Do I break this seal, or let the captain answer its sender unopened?
Quest Complete
Prevent bloodshed at the fortress gate
“*Isafael slowly made his way next to Lucien, elbowing him and offering his hand,* "I am Isafael da Florenciano. These men will recognize my name and hear my voice. But whom are you exactly?"”
SUCCESS (Fair Diplomacy, rolled -1)
Isafael da Florenciano steps beside Lucien, his shoulder brushing the captain's, and extends his hand through the rain.
Isafael da Florenciano
I am Isafael da Florenciano. These men know my name and will hear my voice. Whom are you exactly?
Lucien takes the offered hand. The wet iron gate catches Isafael's glove, tearing the leather and nicking his palm.
Captain Lucien de Valcera
Captain Lucien de Valcera, once master of the brigantine Vesper Bell. I carry no title grander than that, though my rival's letter would make me a traitor.
Captain Lucien de Valcera
The challenge comes from Admiral Severin Vale. He claims I betrayed Higalia's fleet, and he wants me judged before this fortress.
The Commander
Then the name is spoken plainly. Isafael da Florenciano, you have my thanks. Captain Valcera, you have my attention.
Captain Lucien de Valcera
And now you have my word, Isafael. Whatever judgment follows, I would rather face it before a swordsman than behind a soldier's back.
Quest Complete
Learn who sent the challenge
Skill Upgrade: Diplomacy Fair→Good
“*Isafael quirked his head,* "A challenge? Well- have you betrayed Hiagle, captain?"”
FAILURE (Good Diplomacy, rolled -3)
Isafael da Florenciano
A challenge? Have you betrayed Higalia, Captain?
Lucien's hand slips from Isafael's. The question lands harder than the rain, and the captain takes one guarded step back.
Captain Lucien de Valcera
That is precisely the question Admiral Vale wants this gate to answer. You ask it as though the verdict is already written.
Behind the bars, the Gate Guard watches Lucien's face instead of his blade. The Royalist Sergeant lowers his chin, listening, while the fortress remains silent.
Captain Lucien de Valcera
No. I did not betray Higalia. I disobeyed an order that would have sent three damaged ships into a royalist ambush.
The Commander
And you kept that account hidden until now.
Captain Lucien de Valcera
Because the men who gave that order still wear uniforms. Isafael, if you want the truth, ask whether Vale means justice, or merely a convenient execution.
✓ Quest Accepted
Determine whether Lucien betrayed Higalia
“*Isafael snarled, turning to the Commander,* "Well? What is the reason for the charge? And open this damn gate, I am a Major damnit- Once in the Royal army, always in the Royal Army."”
SUCCESS (Good Willpower, rolled +0)
Isafael da Florenciano
Well? What is the charge? And open this gate. I am a major. Once in the Royal Army, always in the Royal Army.
The Commander meets Isafael's demand beneath the rain. Their hand rises, and the great bars begin to withdraw. The gate opens.
The Commander
The charge is betrayal of Higalia's fleet: abandoning royal orders, concealing the reason, and placing three ships beyond lawful command.
The Commander
But the gate stands open, Major. Captain Lucien de Valcera enters under witness, and this fortress keeps its peace.
The cost of Isafael's authority shows at once. The Royalist Sergeant records his name beside Lucien's, while the Gate Guard watches him with fresh suspicion. No blade rises.
Captain Lucien de Valcera
You have won me passage, Isafael. Now I will answer the charge before every witness inside.
The Commander
Then enter. But leave that challenge unopened until Lucien has named the officers who ordered the doomed sortie.
“*Isafael grunted and entered the fort,* "You navy lads have an odd way. Desertion is a hefty charge to be throwing around."”
SUCCESS (Good Diplomacy, rolled +0)
Isafael grunts and crosses the threshold. Behind him, rain shines on the abandoned line between fortress and harbor.
Isafael da Florenciano
You navy lads have an odd way. Desertion is a hefty charge to be throwing around.
The Commander
It is hefty, Major. That is why I will not let Admiral Vale's seal make the judgment for us.
Captain Lucien de Valcera
Nor should it. I broke formation to save those crews, and I kept silent because every report passed through officers already eager to call it cowardice.
The Commander steps aside, granting Lucien the inner path. The fortress soldiers watch, but their weapons remain lowered.
Captain Lucien de Valcera
You called the charge what it is, Isafael, without calling me guilty. That distinction is rarer than it ought to be.
The Commander
Inside, Captain. Tell us which officers ordered the sortie, and we will weigh your silence against the lives you preserved.
Captain Lucien de Valcera
I will. Major, will you hear the account with them?
“*Isafael nodded,* "I will- though it's been some time since Ive witnessed a court-martial."”
SUCCESS (Good Diplomacy, rolled +1)
Isafael da Florenciano
I will, though it has been some time since I witnessed a court-martial.
Therefore, the Commander leads them beneath the gatehouse, where a chart table becomes a makeshift tribunal. A clerk shuts the ledger and takes up a fresh quill.
Captain Lucien de Valcera
The order came from Admiral Vale. Three ships were damaged, their crews exhausted, and the royalist line waited beyond the shoals. I was told to send them forward anyway.
Captain Lucien de Valcera
I refused. I signaled the captains to turn east, then held the rear until every sailor reached safer water. That is the whole of my crime.
Lucien places his weather-stained log on the chart. The entries match the tide marks and the surviving signal codes. His refusal breaks orders, but the account shows no secret passage, payment, or aid to Higalia's enemies.
The Commander
Then the charge is disobedience under fire, not betrayal. Major, you have heard the account and the evidence. Will you record that distinction?
Captain Lucien de Valcera
For the first time since the sortie, someone is weighing the lives saved instead of only the order broken.
Quest Complete
Determine whether Lucien betrayed Higalia
Skill Upgrade: Diplomacy Good→Great