The three measured knocks continue until the outer door opens a handspan. A lean middle-aged man stands beyond it, his travel cloak clasped with a subtle Ashdown sigil, ash-gray hair braided at one temple, and a narrow scar crossing his cheek.
Edran Vey
By authority of the eastern traffic office, I require immediate inspection of this guild’s records and all travelers returned from the mountain route.
His gaze slips past Artania toward the sealed records chamber. Behind that door, Maelin, Brunna, and Odelia continue copying the evidence, unaware of the exact danger outside.
Al
Hostile intent waits beyond him, small one. More than one presence, hidden near the western alley. He is buying them time.
Edran Vey
The Quiet Ledger cannot permit unauthorized copies to circulate. Surrender the volumes, and this matter may remain an internal correction.
The clerk presses one gloved finger against the narrow opening. The wood creaks, but the threshold holds under the guild’s warding. From outside, another shadow shifts across the corridor light.
Edran Vey
Step aside, boy. Refuse, and your allies become witnesses to obstruction. Decide quickly.
“Before I move my name is not “boy” it is Artania, I would properly give you an introduction to ettiequte and proper adventurer guild decorum. But I don’t have the time. May I have your name? Then we can see about letting you through. I present a snobbish, boring attitude to throw them off a little. Seeing if I can put a face to his name. And increasingly subtly, as careful as I can. I send a magic trace outside to where Al said the other people seem to be.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Magic, rolled +2)
Artania Nero Thornson
My name is Artania, not boy. I would explain proper guild decorum, but time is short. May I have your name before we discuss entry?
Artania presents the correction with polished, almost tedious formality, his posture stiffening into an officious guild manner. Beneath the exchange, a thread of blue-white magic slips toward the western alley.
Edran Vey
Edran Vey, Eastern Traffic Office. Now, Artania, you may address me as an authorized inspector.
The magical trace passes through the threshold without disturbing the ward. It finds two concealed figures in the western alley, one crouched beneath a dark hood and another watching from a roofline.
Edran Vey
Your manners are noted, though ceremony will not shield this guild from lawful inspection. Open the door fully.
The trace returns a sharper impression: the alley watchers carry drawn blades but remain still, awaiting Edran’s signal. Their attention is fixed on the records chamber.
Edran Vey
He is buying time. Search the room before the copies leave his hands.
“Quickly I send magic through my trace to cause an explosion of sound directly beside the men in the ally. Then I tell Al in my thoughts to grab Erdan Vey and drag him away from the door.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Magic, rolled +1)
Artania Nero Thornson
The sound must draw the watchers away from the door. Al, seize Edran Vey and drag him clear.
Artania’s trace reaches the western alley and blooms beside the hidden men. A thunderous crack tears through the corridor, rattling shutters and shaking dust from the guild’s beams.
The hooded watcher staggers into view, hands flying to his ears, while the roofline figure loses balance and drops behind the eaves. Neither blade finds a target.
Edran Vey
What was that? Hold the threshold! Do not let them reach the records!
Al surges through the handspan opening before Edran can recover. The great wolf catches the clerk’s cloak and hauls him backward from the door, away from the sealed chamber.
Al
He is away from the records, small one. The hidden men are shaken, and the guild door remains between them and your friends.
Edran lands hard on the outer stones, his authority broken by the sudden retreat. Behind Artania, the warded door stands closed, while Brunna’s bar drops into place.
✓ Quest Accepted
Secure Edran Vey for questioning
“I quickly bind Erdam with my magic forming shackles around him. Then I send Al to chase anyone else off. I need to buy time for Brunna and the others. I begin dragging Erdan with us.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Magic, rolled +1)
Blue-white magic coils from Artania’s hand around Edran Vey’s wrists and ankles, hardening into luminous shackles. The bindings lock with a quiet chime, holding him securely.
Edran Vey
You dare bind an authorized inspector? Release me at once, or the Crown will hear of this defiance.
Artania sends Al toward the western alley. The great wolf bounds after the shaken hooded watcher and roofline figure, driving them away from the guild with a thunderous snarl.
Al
Run from this place, hidden ones. The records are not yours to claim.
The watchers retreat into the alley and beyond the eaves, abandoning the entrance. Al remains after them only long enough to ensure their flight, then turns back.
Artania grips Edran’s cloak and begins dragging him down the outer passage. Behind them, the barred records chamber stays sealed while copying continues undisturbed.
Edran Vey
This changes nothing. The Quiet Ledger has reach beyond this guild, and you have only announced where to look.
Quest Complete
Secure Edran Vey for questioning