Behind the merchant’s wagon, Artania stands with blade drawn and blue-white shield raised. The sealed diplomatic packages rest secured beside him, while Al guards the gap at his flank.
Smoke thins across the pass. The bandit leader approaches alone, rust-red cloak darkened by ash, while her followers recover bows and blades among the burning wagons.
Veyra Holt
You think those seals make you a savior? They are a curtain drawn over betrayal, and every kingdom will burn when it is pulled aside.
Callan Vey
Lies. Those packages carry lawful gifts and treaty ledgers bound for the Capital. She wants them opened, then twisted into cause for war.
The leader stops beyond the shield’s shimmering edge. Behind her, frightened bandits drag weapons from beneath overturned crates, but none yet risk approaching Al.
Veyra Holt
The merchant knows what is hidden beneath those royal marks. Ask him who benefits when Arch turns against Alkali, Ashdown, Meridian, or Marianburg.
Callan Vey
Do not surrender them, traveler. Whatever her suspicions, taking the packages will give the conspirators exactly the chaos they seek.
✓ Quest Accepted
Determine whether the merchant is part of a conspiracy
“I gather my magic throwing up a wall of force. Both to protect the merchant while talking to the bandit leader, and keep him from running away in case he is lying.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Magic, rolled -2)
Artania gathers the blue-white magic at his feet. It surges outward in a curved wall, rising between the merchant, the packages, and the bandit leader.
The force seals the merchant’s wagon into a protected pocket, its translucent surface shuddering as arrows and drifting embers strike and slide away.
A second arc folds behind the merchant, closing the space around him. He finds no path through the humming barrier, while the diplomatic cargo remains safely within it.
Callan Vey
Traveler, what are you doing? I have no wish to flee with the ledgers!
Veyra Holt
Clever. You distrust both sides, yet still place yourself between the treaty and its enemies.
The spell holds, but its cost bites sharply through Artania’s arm. His fingers tremble, and the wall answers with a low, strained hum.
Veyra Holt
Then ask your questions, traveler. If the merchant speaks truth, your wall will prove it. If not, you have trapped your witness beside the evidence.
“I demand that the merchant explain the ledgers first, then. I ask the bandit leader what proof she has that the merchant is not what he appears to be.”
SUCCESS (Great Willpower, rolled +4)
Artania Nero Thornson
Merchant, explain the ledgers first. Then, bandit leader, tell me what proof you have that he is not what he appears to be.
Callan Vey
They record treaty gifts pledged by Arch to Alkali, Ashdown, Meridian, and Marianburg. Their entries bear weights, witnesses, and royal authorization. Nothing is concealed within them.
The merchant kneels beside the protected cargo and raises one ledger through the blue-white glow. Its clasp bears the royal seal, but the final page has been cut away cleanly.
Callan Vey
That missing page listed the courier appointed to carry these gifts. I removed it only after learning the name had been forged.
Veyra Holt
My proof is that same forgery. I captured the real courier two days ago, alive and bearing Arch's dispatch. The merchant's name was never written there.
She produces a folded dispatch from inside her rust-red cloak and slides it across the ash. Its seal matches the ledger, while its signature names another courier and warns of an ambush at this pass.
Veyra Holt
Your wall has forced the truth into daylight, traveler. Keep the packages sealed, and you may prevent the ambush's true target from reaching the Capital.
“Are you really a bandit leader? Or are you a mercenary? Spy? You have to much knowledge about what is contained within the ledgers. Give me more information. I cannot trust what you have shown me isn’t forged. I pick up the page and examine it.”
SUCCESS (Good Perception, rolled +1)
Artania Nero Thornson
Are you truly a bandit leader, or a mercenary or spy? You know too much about these ledgers. Give me more information. I cannot trust forged evidence.
Artania steps to the shield’s edge and lifts the folded dispatch from the ash. He examines its seal, parchment fibers, ink, and the signature beneath the warning.
The seal is pressed into old wax, not freshly softened. The ink has feathered naturally into the fibers, and the signature’s pressure matches the slanted strokes of the royal authorization.
Veyra Holt
I led border outriders before the pass was abandoned. Call me mercenary if you prefer, but I was paid to guard caravans, not rob them. I took this road to expose the ambush.
Callan Vey
The dispatch may be genuine, yet it does not clear her. A captured courier cannot prove she did not arrange the capture herself.
Veyra Holt
Then inspect the seal closely. It bears the royal signet, but the courier’s name was altered before the wax was pressed. My people found the real courier bound in a ravine, alive.
Under the shield’s blue-white light, Artania finds no break in the wax or scraping beneath the ink. The dispatch is genuine, though the merchant’s missing page remains suspicious.
✓ Quest Accepted
Drive the bandits from the pass
+ New Item Acquired
Folded Dispatch
“I order the bandits to drop their weapons and leave the pass. At the same time I take the dispatch and place it in my inner shirt pocket. Al watch for any sudden moves. What is your name I ask the bandit leader.”
SUCCESS (Great Willpower, rolled -1)
Artania Nero Thornson
Bandits, drop your weapons and leave this pass. Al will watch for any sudden move. And you, what is your name?
Artania slips the genuine dispatch into his inner shirt pocket, then keeps his shield raised. Al lowers his head, amber eyes tracking every hand among the scattered weapons.
The command settles over the pass. One by one, blades and bows clatter onto ash; the bandits retreat toward the mountain road, leaving the burning wagons behind.
Veyra Holt
My name is Veyra Holt. I led border outriders before abandoning the crown’s roads, and I have no wish to die for a forged courier’s scheme.
Veyra raises both empty hands. Her followers obey her withdrawal, though several cast wary looks toward the protected merchant and the sealed packages.
Callan Vey
Veyra Holt, then. A name is more than the proof you have offered, traveler. Keep that dispatch safe, or its warning may vanish with us.
The shield’s strain bites deeper through Artania’s arm, leaving his fingers numb around the spell’s edge. Still, the pass is cleared, and the diplomatic cargo remains secured.
Quest Complete
Drive the bandits from the pass