The river custodian closes the ledger without touching the sealed deposit. Damp air moves through the open-hand arch, carrying brine and the hush of passing water.
Kynes
From a distance, I can witness that House of Quiet Tides received the offered direction, and that its custodians honored the stated limits. I cannot witness a bearer who has not arrived.
The custodian returns the ledger to its shelf and leaves the wax and silver thread undisturbed. The sealed testimony remains beneath the arch, separate from every name spoken around it.
Kynes
I will not turn an invitation into a search. Absence is only absence, refusal is a chosen boundary, and testimony that has not arrived remains unwitnessed.
the river custodian
House of Quiet Tides may receive the bearer, if the bearer comes. Until then, the record says only that a place was offered and no answer followed.
Kynes steps beneath the arch and gives Mara clear space beside him, his attention resting on the river road rather than the sealed deposit.
Kynes
The matter is yours to consider, Mara. I will accompany you if you choose to go, but I will leave the invitation in your care rather than pursuing the one who made it.