Sable steps in front of Butch and snaps the Broken Crown contract open to the light, keeping her body between him and the crowd. The market noise thins as nearby buyers turn to stare.
Sable
Back off. If you want to look at it, you look at me first.
The Guild Clerk pushes through with two guards at their shoulders, spearheads leveled. Their face goes pale when they spot the seal in Butch's hand.
A Guild Clerk
That mark is a forgery. Broken Crown wax is death, for anyone who touches it. Put it down, now.
Butch the Wereboar
The seal is wrong. The shadow on the stones is moving.
One guard shifts closer to block the crowd, while the other keeps the spear trained on Butch's chest. Sable's grip tightens on the contract, her stance hardening instead of yielding.
Sable
You came here with guards for a scrap of paper. Tell me why you're afraid of it.
The clerk swallows, eyes fixed on the black smear creeping over the market stones behind Butch and Sable, as if the street itself is listening.
✓ Quest Accepted
Expose the clerk as a conspirator
“I point my axe at the clerk and demand he explain why he fears the seal.”
SUCCESS (Superb Intimidation, rolled +0)
Butch lifts his axe and points the blade at the clerk, and the whole market seems to hold its breath.
Butch the Wereboar
Explain why you fear the seal.
A Guild Clerk
I fear what follows it. That contract is not meant for open hands, and you have no idea who is watching the wax.
The clerk's gaze flicks past Butch, then drops to the cobbles where the shadow-mist crawls in a thin black smear.
A Guild Clerk
If this goes wrong, they will know I stalled.
Sable
Watching who? Say it plainly.
The clerk's shoulders sag. Their spear-armed escort stiffens, but the clerk does not look at them.
A Guild Clerk
The same office that issued the writ. I only keep the board tidy, and I was told to hand dangerous claims to the proper hands.
Quest Complete
Expose the clerk as a conspirator