The officers' gallery rests beneath the gatehouse, open to the harbor through tall arches. Evening light lays copper across the anchored ships, and the fortress bells remain still.
The Commander
The Commander
For a little while, no clerk records us. Speak plainly, Captain.
Lucien sets his sealed report on the table but does not touch it. Beyond him, three distant vessels ride low in the quiet water.
Captain Lucien de Valcera
I withheld the names because Admiral Vale would have called those captains traitors before hearing their accounts. Their ships were damaged, their crews exhausted, and every one of them had obeyed the signal to withdraw.
Captain Lucien de Valcera
If Vale learned who survived, he would have made examples of them. Not with a trial. With orders stamped before dawn.
The Commander
And you believed silence would protect them.
Captain Lucien de Valcera
I believed it might buy them a day. Perhaps two. I did not expect the truth to reach this gallery.
The Commander looks toward the harbor, then places one hand beside the report. Their expression is grave, but no longer guarded.
The Commander
Then Isafael's testimony will matter. Not as a weapon against you, Captain, but as the clearest account we possess.
For a comfortable moment, only gulls and rigging speak below. The report waits between the three of you, its seal unbroken.
✓ Quest Accepted
Present truthful testimony about Lucien’s actions
✓ Quest Accepted
Protect the surviving captains from Admiral Vale’s reprisals
“*Isafael thought deeply on the comment,* "well- by army law, Id argue Your actions were protected, captain. You acted in disobedience to a direct, but unlawful order. If anything, I'd call Admiral Vales orders into question as risky..."”
SUCCESS (Great Diplomacy, rolled -1)
Isafael da Florenciano
The order was unlawful, and the distinction matters.
Isafael da Florenciano
By army law, Captain, your actions were protected. You disobeyed a direct but unlawful order. I would call Admiral Vale's orders reckless as well as risky.
The words carry farther than intended beneath the open arches. A harbor clerk below pauses over his ledger, and the quiet gallery loses its privacy.
The Commander
Then let the record show it plainly. Lucien acted in disobedience under fire, not betrayal.
Captain Lucien de Valcera
Your testimony gives me more protection than I expected. But there is an omission in my account.
Lucien turns the sealed report toward the Commander, his fingers finally leaving the table's edge. The seal remains unbroken, but his confession has made its contents heavier.
Captain Lucien de Valcera
I deliberately left out where the surviving captains made harbor. I did it to shield them from Vale's reprisals. Commander, will you break the seal now, knowing that place may be inside?
Quest Complete
Present truthful testimony about Lucien’s actions
“*Isafael reached across the table before anyone could intervene, snatching the letter and burning it. He looked to the commander and winkes,* "Did you hear what Captain Lucien said, commander? I did not."”
SUCCESS (Great Agility, rolled -1)
The report leaves the table in a blur of white hair and quick fingers. Isafael da Florenciano snatches it before either official can intervene.
The seal cracks against his grip. He thrusts the letter into the nearest tribunal candle, and flame races across the paper.
The paper curls to black between his fingers. Heat bites his fingertips, and the sharp crackle rings down through the open arches.
The Commander
You have destroyed the evidence.
Ash drifts onto the table. Below, the harbor clerk looks up from the gallery floor, while Lucien stares at the ruined report as though it were a drawn blade.
Isafael da Florenciano
Did you hear what Captain Lucien said, Commander? I did not.
Isafael da Florenciano gives the Commander a quick wink. The gesture cannot erase the heat reddening his fingertips, nor the clerk's widening suspicion.
Captain Lucien de Valcera
Then the names remain hidden. But Admiral Vale will know someone burned my report, and he will start asking why.
✓ Quest Accepted
Have Lucien acknowledge that Isafael protected the surviving captains
“"Then Admiral Vale will be chasing me, a retired major. Sure he can tie me up in civil litigation should he choose- but he will not. My brother may hate me, but I doubt vale seeks to burn the brother of the Major-General."”
FAILURE (Good Willpower, rolled -3)
Isafael da Florenciano
Then Admiral Vale will chase me, a retired major. He may threaten civil litigation, but he will not risk burning the brother of the Major-General.
From the Commander's viewpoint, Isafael's certainty falters against the tribunal's silence. The argument sounds less like shelter and more like a wager placed on a hostile family name.
The Commander
You mistake your brother's shadow for protection. Vale can pursue you precisely because Iago cannot openly defend you without exposing the breach between you.
Captain Lucien de Valcera
And Vale has already shown he values obedience above reputation. A retired major is not a shield. He is a witness with a name worth discrediting.
The burned report leaves no captains' names for Vale to seize, but it leaves Isafael's gesture, his testimony, and the tribunal's attention plainly visible. The danger has shifted onto the man who took the paper.
Captain Lucien de Valcera
You protected them by making yourself the obvious culprit. I will not pretend that was my doing, but I will say this plainly: their lives are safer because you intervened.
The Commander
Then answer me, Captain. Was concealing their harbor meant to protect them, or were you keeping leverage for yourself?
Quest Complete
Have Lucien acknowledge that Isafael protected the surviving captains
“*Isafael rolled his eyes,* "it would be political suicide for Iago to abandon me."”
SUCCESS (Good Willpower, rolled +0)
Isafael da Florenciano
Isafael rolls his eyes. “It would be political suicide for Iago to abandon me.”
The certainty lands more cleanly than the gesture. The Commander studies him, then lets the argument stand.
The Commander
Perhaps. And perhaps that is why Vale would prefer to make you look reckless rather than touch you openly.
Captain Lucien de Valcera
He is right about one thing. Iago cannot disown you without making your accusation his own.
Lucien lowers his gaze to the ash. His relief is tempered by a hesitation that has survived the burning of the report.
Captain Lucien de Valcera
There is one part of my account I withheld, Isafael. I did not merely conceal the captains' harbor. I gave each survivor a different route, so even under questioning no single story could lead Vale to them.
The Commander
You kept that from the tribunal because you feared we would demand the routes.
Captain Lucien de Valcera
I kept it from everyone. Including you. Not for leverage, and not from distrust. If the names were ever recovered, the routes would still protect the people who trusted me.
The omission does not break the fragile trust between them. It explains its limits, and the surviving captains remain beyond Vale's immediate reach.
Captain Lucien de Valcera
If you think that was cowardice, say so plainly. I would rather hear your judgment than another convenient silence.
Quest Complete
Protect the surviving captains from Admiral Vale’s reprisals
Attribute Upgrade: Willpower Good→Great