The court usher leads the delegation into a carved antechamber beside the audience hall, granting them a brief pause before the formal hearing begins.
Brunna carries the sealed register and copied evidence beneath her arm. Tavian, Seren, Callan, and Edran gather around a narrow table, while Al waits near the guarded doorway.
Healer Odelia Marr
Your hand remains warm and mobile, Artania. Keep it supported, and let Brunna handle the evidence until the magistrate calls us in.
Edran Vey
I spent years surviving one order at a time, believing obedience was the only future left to me. The conspiracy changed that.
Edran rests both hands on the table’s edge. Beyond the carved doors, court attendants move through the marble hall, their muted voices carrying the weight of imminent judgment.
Edran Vey
If we live through this hearing, I want a life chosen rather than assigned. What do you hope to find beyond becoming an adventurer, Artania?
Al
The question is yours to answer, small one. We have crossed many roads, but even a trusted path may lead somewhere unexpected.
“Edran, I know you know me little, and I, you. But I have spent most of my young life learning. Then my village wanted more for me beyond a simple farm life. So with a stubborn determination, they prepared me and sent me out into this world to “live”. I decided to be an adventurer. But that has only scarcely begun. So for now. That is my dream. Maybe once I reach platinum, I will consider other options, I say with a wink.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled +2)
Artania Nero Thornson
Edran, I know you know me little, and I know you little. I have spent most of my young life learning, until my village prepared me to leave the farm and live in the wider world. I chose to become an adventurer, though that dream has only scarcely begun. For now, it is enough. Perhaps when I reach platinum rank, I will consider other options.
The words settle softly in the antechamber. Beyond the carved doors, the court murmurs, while Brunna keeps one hand firmly over the sealed register.
Edran Vey
A village sending its son into the world is not a small thing. Neither is choosing a dream before you know what it will cost.
Edran Vey
He speaks of ambition without abandoning where he came from. That kind of beginning may prove stronger than any title.
Brunna Coppervein
Platinum can wait, lad. First survive bronze, learn what the road teaches, and let the guild see the adventurer you are becoming.
Al
The road has already changed you, small one. It has not yet shown you all the places your paws, or feet, may carry you.
Edran gives Artania a measured nod, respect replacing some of his guardedness. Then the court doors open, and the usher calls the witnesses into judgment.
“Alright everyone, good luck. I will see if I can observe. Sadly I probably won’t be called as a direct witness, I was just the errand boy, gathering evidence, and testimony. Al and I wish you well, and hope you stop this conspiracy.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled +1)
Artania Nero Thornson
Everyone, good luck. Al and I wish you well. I will see if I can observe, even if I am not called as a direct witness. I hope you stop this conspiracy.
Brunna Coppervein
You gathered the evidence that brought us here, lad. Take a place in the observers’ gallery, and watch closely. Your part is not lesser.
Al
We will witness the hearing, small one. Let trusted voices speak, and let the truth remain guarded.
Brunna guides the witnesses through the inner doors while an attendant directs Artania and Al toward a carved gallery above the marble hall. From there, the entire court is visible.
The Court Usher
The investigator and his companion may observe from the gallery. The magistrate will hear the registered witnesses without interruption.
Artania and Al take their places beneath a bronze griffin standard. Below, Brunna sets the sealed register before the magistrate as Tavian, Seren, Callan, and Edran stand ready.
the Crown's magistrate
Bring forward the evidence and begin with the royal courier. Let every claim be tested beneath the Crown’s sight.
✓ Quest Accepted
Sit quietly with Al
“Whispering, I tell Al to watch and listen. I pay very close attention to everything. Everyone in the room, while listening to the testimony.”
SUCCESS (Great Perception, rolled -2)
Artania Nero Thornson
Watch and listen, Al. I am paying attention to everyone in the room.
Al lowers his broad head and settles beneath the gallery rail. Artania fixes his attention on every witness, adviser, guard, and magistrate, tracking pauses, exchanged glances, and changes in posture.
Tavian Rusk
The route order carried a forged destination, but the royal seal recovered from my captivity proves the alteration came through an authorized office.
Tavian identifies the double-hook mark and the broken inner ring. Artania notices the magistrate’s clerk stop writing, while two advisers exchange a guarded look at Corvin Ash’s name.
Seren Vale
I followed the redirected trail and found the ambush prepared before the caravan arrived. The residue on my fragment matches the register’s marked orders.
Callan Vey
I carried the diplomatic gifts under instructions that concealed the altered route. Those instructions bore the Quiet Ledger’s authority and endangered every treaty involved.
Artania absorbs every testimony and reaction, including Edran’s visible strain as he waits to name Corvin. The effort makes his bound hand tremble, and numbness creeps into two fingers.
the Crown's magistrate
The accounts align with the authenticated register. Edran Vey will speak next, and the Crown will hear the charge against Corvin Ash in full.
Quest Complete
Sit quietly with Al
“I shake my hands, to get feeling. Focusing again, very intently on everyone in the room. Eyes open, ears open. I wish badly to use magic and enhance everything. But I know will tire quickly from the past few days ordeals. Al let me know if you notice anything.”
SUCCESS (Great Perception, rolled +3)
Artania shakes both hands beneath the gallery rail until warmth returns to his fingers. He keeps his eyes open and listens past the magistrate’s voice to every movement below.
Artania Nero Thornson
The clerk stopped writing when Corvin Ash was named.
Without casting, his sharpened attention separates the room’s rhythms: Edran’s controlled breathing, the advisers’ unease, and a court attendant slipping a folded note beneath the magistrate’s papers.
Al
The attendant carried fresh ink and fear, small one. The note came from the adviser nearest the eastern pillar, and the magistrate has not opened it.
Artania’s observation catches more than the note. The clerk, a young adult man with a narrow build, pale skin, cropped black hair, and a blue-gray office robe’s abandoned page bears a partial copy of the broken inner ring, preserving a detail the authenticated register can confirm.
Al
The room is watching Edran, but the eastern adviser watches the doors. If danger moves, I will tell you before it reaches the witnesses.
Below, Edran steps before the magistrate. Brunna places one steady hand beside the sealed register, while Artania’s recovered focus keeps the note, the clerk’s mark, and every guarded reaction in view.
✓ Quest Accepted
Uncover who is manipulating the hearing
“I crouch slowly, I wish to move around and see what that clerk is doing, maybe see his intent. Keeping the doors he glanced towards in view.”
SUCCESS (Great Perception, rolled +0)
Artania crouches slowly beneath the gallery rail and shifts along its shadowed edge, keeping the eastern doors in view while sighting the clerk below.
Artania Nero Thornson
The clerk stopped writing when Corvin’s name was spoken.
From the lower angle, the abandoned page is clear: the court clerk copied the broken inner ring, then folded the sheet beneath his robe instead of filing it.
Al
His attention keeps returning to the eastern doors, small one. He is waiting for someone to leave, not watching the testimony.
The clerk glances toward those doors again. A narrow gap reveals two armed court guards beyond, positioned where they can intercept anyone exiting the advisers’ passage.
the Crown's magistrate
Edran Vey, state plainly who authorized the double-hook orders, and tell this court how the forged route served that design.
Edran draws breath below. The clerk’s hidden copy and the guarded eastern passage remain visible to Artania, while the hearing advances under the Crown’s scrutiny.
“Still crouched, and becoming more wary by the second I move around to the doors the now nervous looking clerk keeps staring at. Al, get ready for trouble. I don’t think it is safe here for anyone. I prepare to jump from the observation gallery, if danger appears.”
SUCCESS (Good Agility, rolled +3)
Still crouched, Artania moves along the gallery’s shadowed edge toward the eastern doors. He keeps the clerk in view while the marble hall murmurs below.
Artania Nero Thornson
Al, get ready for trouble. I do not think this place is safe for anyone.
Al
I am ready, small one. Stay low, and I will watch the guards beyond the doors.
Artania reaches the gallery’s eastern end without drawing notice and prepares to leap if danger appears. From there, he sees the service doors are unlatched, offering a clear escape route.
The two guards—two young adult men with lean builds, weathered faces, and close-cropped dark hair— beyond the passage hold short blades beneath their cloaks, but neither has noticed the gallery’s new vantage. The nervous clerk’s hidden page remains visible beneath his robe.
the Crown's magistrate
Edran Vey, answer the court. Who authorized the double-hook orders, and how did the forged route serve that design?
Edran Vey
Corvin Ash authorized them through the Quiet Ledger. The forged route drew the diplomatic caravan into an ambush, creating the crisis he intended to exploit.
Quest Complete
Uncover who is manipulating the hearing
Attribute Upgrade: Perception Great→Superb
“Alright, truth is in the air, finally an official heard it. I watch the clerk and the guards. Ready to intervene if an attack come or an escape attempt happens.”
SUCCESS (Superb Perception, rolled -1)
Artania keeps the clerk and the eastern passage in view. The clerk’s fingers tighten around his hidden page, while the two guards shift their cloaked blades into ready grips.
The Court Clerk
Edran has named Corvin. I must get this warning beyond the court before the doors close.
The clerk edges toward the eastern aisle during Edran’s testimony, keeping his shoulder turned from the magistrate. Beyond him, one guard eases the service door wider.
the Crown's magistrate
Remain where you are, clerk. No document leaves this chamber until the Crown’s examination is complete.
The clerk freezes, but the guard nearest the door takes one silent step toward the witnesses’ passage. Al’s ears rise beneath the gallery rail, tracking the movement.
Al
The escape begins, small one. One guard advances, and the clerk carries the copied mark.
Below, Brunna turns sharply toward the eastern passage as Edran continues speaking. The court’s attention divides between the testimony, the clerk, and the armed guards.
“I crack my knuckles, and leap with Al to the floor, grabbing the robe of the clerk, and jerking the note from his grasp. Uh uh uh. Finders, keepers, losers, weepers. Thanks for more evidence into my investigation.”
FAILURE (Good Agility, rolled -2)
Artania Nero Thornson
Uh uh uh. Finders, keepers, losers, weepers. Thanks for more evidence into my investigation.
Artania cracks his knuckles and leaps from the gallery with Al. He catches the clerk’s robe and jerks for the hidden note, but the clerk twists away.
The parchment tears between them. Artania lands hard beside the eastern aisle with only a jagged corner in his fingers, while the clerk stumbles against the witness rail.
The Court Clerk
You cannot seize court documents! That fragment proves nothing without the full warning.
Al
The clerk still has the larger piece, small one. The guards are moving, but neither has drawn steel.
The nearest guard blocks the service door, trapping the clerk between Al, the rail, and the magistrate’s bench. Brunna steps between him and the witnesses.
the Crown's magistrate
No one leaves. Guard the clerk, preserve both fragments, and bring the investigator before this court to explain his interruption.
✓ Quest Accepted
Earn the magistrate’s trust after the interruption
+ New Item Acquired
Warning Fragment
“I move slowly, eying the guards, inching towards the clerk. This is going to make me pass out later, but they didn’t let me in with weapons. I form armor onto my arms, and legs with my magic. I sprint forwards to grab the clerk, and wrap him up, so he doesn’t escape.”
FAILURE (Good Strength, rolled +0)
Artania inches forward, weighing the guards’ stances. Blue-white magic plates his forearms and shins in luminous armor, but the effort makes his breath catch.
He sprints. The magical armor flashes as he reaches for the clerk, but the clerk twists behind the witness rail, and Artania’s grasp closes on torn cloth.
The sudden strain buckles Artania’s knees. He catches the rail instead of the clerk, while the armor fractures into fading sparks and leaves his limbs trembling.
The Court Clerk
He nearly had me! Magistrate, this is assault, and the fragment he carries is stolen court property.
the Crown's magistrate
No assault will be answered with panic. Guards, hold position. Clerk, place your larger fragment on the bench for examination.
The clerk hesitates, exposing the parchment in his fist. Its torn edge bears the same broken inner ring, while a narrow line of eastern-route notation remains legible.
Al
You missed his body, small one, but caught the truth in his hand. Do not spend more magic. The route mark offers another way to corner his story.
+ New Item Acquired
Court Note Fragment
“I place my fragment next to his document. And ask him what he was trying to run away to his master with? You think being his lap dog is more important than stopping war and death!? I let too much passion through on that last bit.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled +0)
Artania Nero Thornson
I place my fragment beside his document. What were you trying to run away to your master with? You think being his lapdog matters more than stopping war and death?
Artania sets the jagged fragment beside the court clerk’s larger piece. The torn edges align, and the matching broken rings expose the eastern-route notation as one continuous warning.
The Court Clerk
I was carrying the warning to Corvin Ash. He ordered me to bring it to the eastern passage before the magistrate could seal the court.
His admission ripples through the chamber. The nearest guard lowers his hand from beneath his cloak, while Brunna steps closer to the bench and keeps the witnesses behind her.
the Crown's magistrate
You intended to deliver a court warning to the accused conspirator during his exposure. Clerk, explain what the eastern notation identifies.
The Court Clerk
A service route beneath the eastern offices. Corvin’s agents were meant to remove the register copies and silence the witnesses before the Crown could act.
the Crown's magistrate
Then the fragment is not stolen property alone. It is evidence of an active attempt to suppress this hearing. Guards, secure every eastern passage.
“Crown magistrate. My name is Artania Thornson, bronze rank adventurer, and investigator of this conspiracy. Please use me and tell me how I can help?”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled +0)
Artania Nero Thornson
My name is Artania Thornson, bronze-rank adventurer and investigator of this conspiracy. Please use me, and tell me how I can help.
Artania faces the Crown's magistrate with the torn warning still beside the aligned fragments. The guards secure the eastern doors, while Brunna keeps the witnesses behind her.
the Crown's magistrate
Your evidence brought this suppression attempt into the open, Artania Thornson. Stand beside the bench and identify every mark you recognize.
An attendant clears a place beside the magistrate. The clerk surrenders the larger fragment, and Maelin's authenticated copies are brought forward under guild seal.
the Crown's magistrate
Compare the broken ring and eastern notation before this court. Then tell us how you found the register and whether Corvin Ash knew you possessed it.
The Court Clerk
He knows now. Corvin ordered the warning removed before the hearing, and he expected the eastern passage to remain unguarded.
Brunna Coppervein
Artania can establish the chain, Your Honor. The guild authenticated the register, and every witness here can confirm what followed from those orders.
✓ Quest Accepted
Establish the evidence chain before the magistrate
Quest Complete
Earn the magistrate’s trust after the interruption
Skill Upgrade: Athletics Good→Great
“Okay I start with everything and everyone during the mountain ambush. Recounting everything from stumbling upon the bandit ambush, to rescuing a captive, and making it to the capital while entrusting them with their presented evidence.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Reasoning, rolled -2)
Artania Nero Thornson
I begin at the Burning Pass: I found bandits attacking a treaty caravan, placed myself between them and the ledgers, and summoned Al when they surrounded me.
The magistrate listens as Artania recounts the ash-filled confusion, the protective barrier around the diplomatic packages, and Veyra Holt’s surrender after the authentic dispatch exposed the forged route.
Artania Nero Thornson
I then followed the pursuers into the watch tunnel, freed Tavian Rusk from the collapsed arch, recovered the royal seal, and brought him back to Callan, Seren, Al, and the secured cargo.
the Crown's magistrate
The chain is clear. The captive courier survived, the forged route was preserved, and the diplomatic evidence reached the Capital under your protection.
Artania Nero Thornson
At the Capital, I registered with the guild, investigated the eastern lights, found the marked well and shrine, and followed the Brass Farm Token to the sealed mountain archive.
Artania explains how the archive revealed Quiet Ledger orders behind the ambush, then how he entrusted the original volumes, sign-register, copied pages, and witness accounts to the guild for authentication and Crown review.
Brunna Coppervein
That account matches our seals and records, Your Honor. He brought every witness and entrusted the evidence before Corvin’s network could bury it.
Secure the Crown’s ruling on Corvin Ash
Quest Complete
Establish the evidence chain before the magistrate