Mara and Seren reach the abandoned cooper’s yard beside the river road. Hadrik remains beneath the third alder, while the yard lies silent among warped hoops and empty barrels.
A young adult woman with a narrow, weathered face and dark braid watches from behind the stacks. Her brown travel coat is patched at the elbows, and one hand grips a folded scrap.
Lessa Orin
Stop there. No promises, no safe conduct, and no hand extended as though protection belongs to you.
Seren halts several paces away and lowers her hands. The woman’s gaze moves between Mara’s scarred forearms, Soulcatcher, and the road behind them.
Seren Vale
We are looking for the former carrier Veyra’s people intend to retrieve. We know what protection meant in her mouth.
Lessa Orin
Then you know why I keep this. The scrap marks where her loyalists expect the next passage, but I reveal it only on terms I choose.
She unfolds the scrap just enough to show a gray-glove mark and a river crossing, then closes it again. Her eyes remain fixed on Mara, waiting.
“I cast stun on her " any way as you where saying"”
SUCCESS (Legendary Arcana, rolled -1)
Mara’s hand turns toward the former carrier. A muted pulse of violet force crosses the yard, slipping past the folded scrap and striking the woman cleanly.
The former carrier’s eyes lose focus. Her knees buckle, and she sinks against the barrel stack, unconscious but breathing, the scrap falling safely beside her.
Seren Vale
Mara. You stunned her.
Seren catches the scrap before the river wind can carry it away, then crouches beside the former carrier without touching her more than necessary.
Seren Vale
She is unharmed. We have time to move her before the loyalist reaches this yard.
The spell leaves no claim or tether behind. The woman remains still beneath the warped hoops, while the gray-glove mark and river crossing show plainly on the recovered scrap.
“"well she did open up like a threat, cheak her for weapons and bind her hands," I say, cheaking the scap of paper. " She'll be able to talk in a moment." I say”
SUCCESS (Legendary Perception, rolled +2)
Mara
She opened like a threat. Check her for weapons and bind her hands. She’ll be able to talk in a moment.
Seren passes Mara the folded scrap, then shifts aside. Mara searches the unconscious carrier’s coat, boots, belt, and sleeves, finding a narrow knife and a weighted cord.
Mara removes both weapons and binds the woman’s hands securely before her, using a strip of spare cloth that leaves her wrists supported without cutting circulation.
Seren Vale
The knife is ordinary, but the cord has knots for restraint. She came prepared to resist someone, not merely to hide.
Mara unfolds the scrap carefully. Its gray-glove mark sits beside a river crossing and three short strokes, while faint overwritten ink reveals a second meeting point near the cooper’s yard.
Mara
The scrap records an expected passage, not a promise of protection.
Seren Vale
The loyalist expected her here, and the second mark gives us where they would move her afterward. When she wakes, we can ask without taking the choice from her.
+ New Item Acquired
Narrow knife
+ New Item Acquired
Weighted cord
“I put the carries gear in front of her, and let seren speak plainly”
Mara places the narrow knife and weighted cord before the former carrier, keeping both within sight but beyond her bound hands. The folded scrap rests beside them.
Seren crouches several paces away, leaving the former carrier room to wake without looming over her. The yard remains quiet beneath the warped hoops and empty barrels.
The former carrier stirs, blinks at the gray sky, and draws one careful breath. Her gaze settles on the weapons, then on Seren’s lowered hands.
Seren Vale
You are awake, and your gear is in front of you. We removed the knife and cord, but we did not search beyond what was necessary or take your scrap.
Seren Vale
Veyra’s loyalists expect you here and planned to move you afterward. We came first because we want the truth, not because we claim authority over you.
The former carrier studies Seren’s face, the weapons, and the supported binding around her wrists. Nothing in the yard presses closer, and the scrap remains visible between them.
Lessa Orin
Then ask plainly. I will answer what I choose, and I will not mistake your restraint for protection.
“" I stunned you because you sounded like you where threatening. I wanted to protect us and yourself." I say plainly then I offer terms she can freely accept”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled +0)
Mara
I stunned you because you sounded like you were threatening us. I wanted to protect us and yourself.
Mara keeps her voice plain and leaves the weapons where the former carrier can see them. The supported bindings remain secure, but no force presses against her.
Mara
You may accept these terms freely: answer only what you choose, keep your scrap, and leave when you decide. We will not claim you or call restraint protection.
The former carrier studies Mara’s scarred forearms, then the open yard beyond the barrels. Seren remains still, giving the woman room to refuse without pursuit.
Lessa Orin
Those terms are better than most offered in Veyra’s name. I accept the choice, though I do not yet trust either of you.
Lessa Orin
I will answer one question first. Ask whether you want the expected passage, the second meeting point, or what Veyra did to the carriers.
She nods toward the scrap without reaching for it. The choice is hers to make, and the yard remains quiet around the three of them.
“I loosen her bindings and step back, " the choice is yours dear, any information on Veyra is welcome." I say plainly”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled +3)
Mara
The choice is yours, dear. Any information on Veyra is welcome.
Mara loosens the supported bindings around the former carrier’s wrists, removes the cloth, and steps back beyond easy reach. The knife and cord remain visible on the ground, untouched.
Lessa Orin
Then I will tell you what I know. Veyra’s loyalists expect to move me at dusk, using the river crossing marked here, but the crossing is a decoy.
The former carrier retrieves her scrap and unfolds it fully. Beneath the gray-glove mark, faint lines reveal a second route leading to an abandoned ferry-house north of the road.
Lessa Orin
The real passage is through the ferry-house cellar. Two loyalists wait there, and a third watches the road. They carry no badges, only gray thread sewn inside their cuffs.
Lessa Orin
Veyra wants me alive because I remember the names she ordered changed. She does not know I copied the original accounts before they were altered.
She offers the copied accounts beneath the scrap, keeping her fingers on them rather than surrendering them. Her posture remains wary, but the information is freely placed within Mara’s reach.
“" so your like the girl the town records called ' carrier-ledger' ?" I ask”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled +4)
Mara
So you’re the woman the town records called “carrier-ledger”? I ask.
The former carrier goes still, fingers resting on the copied accounts. Her wary expression sharpens as recognition passes between the old title and the living woman before Mara.
Lessa Orin
Yes. That was never my name. It was a label clerks used after Veyra’s alterations made my testimony inconvenient.
She turns the upper account toward Mara. Several original names remain legible beneath the later ink, along with a dated seal from before the records changed.
Lessa Orin
My name is Lessa Orin. I copied the accounts before they were altered, and this seal proves the copies predate Veyra’s revisions.
The confirmation gives Mara more than an identity. Lessa’s original seal establishes a lawful witness point, while the ferry-house route remains marked as the loyalists’ intended trap.
Lessa Orin
If you mean to protect me, protect the names first. They are the people Veyra tried to turn into obedient records.
Secure Lessa Orin’s copied accounts
Protect the names in Lessa Orin’s original accounts