The commission room begins to stir as chairs scrape back. Ava remains with the county clerk and volunteer foreman near the evidence table, while reporters crowd the corridor.
Miriam Cole, her weathered light skin and square jaw lending her a stern profile, enters from the records corridor, a middle-aged woman of sturdy build in a charcoal dress and fitted brown jacket. Her iron-gray hair is coiled neatly, and she carries a cracked ledger beneath one arm.
Miriam Cole
Before this adjourns, I found a routine comparison that requires the commission's attention. Several supposedly independent signature certifications bear identical handwriting.
She sets the ledger on the scarred table but keeps one hand upon its cover. The county clerk leans closer, while the foreman quietly gathers the petition papers.
Harold Pike
Miss Cole, explain precisely what you compared, and whether the original pages remain untouched.
Rival Committee Agent
There is nothing left to explain. Identical handwriting proves fraud. Strike their provisional placement before this ledger disappears into another inspection.
Miriam Cole
It proves an irregularity requiring examination, not its cause. The certifications are here, and the ledger can be inspected under commission order.
✓ Quest Accepted
Establish a defensible explanation for the identical handwriting
✓ Quest Accepted
Protect the APP's documentation from official suspicion
“I ask Miriam to compare the original certifications with the ledger in open view. You can also agree to show evidence that denounce your party of signature fraud.”
SUCCESS (Superb Oratory, rolled +2)
Ava Patriot
Miriam, compare the original certifications with the ledger in open view. We will show the evidence addressing the accusation of signature fraud.
Ava places the petition, certification pages, and ledger beneath the commission lamp. Reporters press nearer, while the county clerk clears a space on the scarred table.
Miriam Cole
Agreed. I will compare each certification before the commission, without removing or altering a page.
Miriam opens the ledger beside the originals and traces matching letterforms with a blunt pencil. She then sets out the party's witness affidavits, dated receipts, and signature sheets.
Miriam Cole
The handwriting is identical in these entries, but the attached affidavits and receipt dates show who collected and submitted the sheets. That establishes an irregular review, not fraud by the party.
Harold Pike
The evidence will be entered openly. The provisional placement remains while the specific certifications are examined under the stated audit.
Rival Committee Agent
Then let the audit test every name, not merely the pages that favor Miss Patriot.
Quest Complete
Establish a defensible explanation for the identical handwriting
Quest Complete
Protect the APP's documentation from official suspicion
✓ Quest Accepted
Obtain the original poll books
“Is the rival agent hiding a specific challenged name?”
NO, BUT (Even, rolled 58)
The rival committee agent receives the challenge register from the county clerk and spreads it beside the ledger. His finger moves down every marked name in plain view.
Rival Committee Agent
There is no single name concealed here. Every challenge is listed, with its precinct and stated objection.
Miriam compares the register against the certification pages. The accusations are not fabricated, but the objections cluster heavily in two precincts and repeat the same wording.
Miriam Cole
The pattern is narrower than the agent suggested. Most disputed names came through two election districts, and several objections cite one identical source.
Harold Pike
Then the audit shall identify that source. The commission will require the precinct officers' original poll books and their written basis for each challenge.
The County Clerk
Those poll books remain sealed in the county vault. With an order before adjournment, they can be brought here and compared to the submitted certificates.
Rival Committee Agent
You are turning a party defense into an inquiry against the precinct officers.
“I request Harold Pike's written order for the sealed poll books.”
SUCCESS (Superb Oratory, rolled -2)
Ava Patriot
I request your written order for the sealed poll books, so the vault staff can release them under the commission’s authority.
Harold Pike takes the county form from the clerk, dips his pen, and writes the order across the official stationery. The room watches in silence.
Harold Pike
The county vault shall deliver the original poll books to this commission before the audit proceeds. The clerk will witness their seal and receipt.
The County Clerk
I will carry this order to the vault custodian myself. The commission’s last clean form is spent, so the duplicate must be copied on ledger paper.
Harold signs beneath the order and presses the county seal into fresh wax. The clerk folds it carefully, while Miriam keeps the challenged register open.
Rival Committee Agent
A written order does not make those poll books impartial. I request that my committee’s observer attend the opening.
Harold Pike
Your observer may attend under the same conditions as the party’s representative. The order stands, and the sealed books will be examined here.
“I ask the rival observer to witness the seal.”
SUCCESS (Superb Oratory, rolled +1)
Ava Patriot
I ask the rival observer to witness the seal when the poll books are opened, and to record its condition beside the commission clerk.
The rival committee agent pauses over the challenge register. At Harold Pike’s gesture, he steps to the order and examines the fresh wax beside the county seal.
Rival Committee Agent
I will witness it. My committee’s observer will inspect the seal, the wrapper, and the vault receipt without handling the books.
The County Clerk
Those conditions match the commission’s order. I will enter his name and the seal’s condition before leaving for the vault.
The clerk writes the arrangement into the margin, then turns the folded order so the rival agent can read it. He signs beneath the witness line.
Harold Pike
The witness shall attend the opening under equal rules. No party representative may touch the poll books until I direct the examination.
Miriam closes the ledger over the challenge register while reporters copy the terms. The clerk takes the waxed order and heads toward the records corridor, leaving the room poised for the vault’s return.
“Wait for the clerks return while keeping an eye out to make sure no one messes with the evidence ledger”
SUCCESS (Good Perception, rolled -1)
Ava stays beside the scarred table, keeping the evidence ledger within sight as reporters drift toward the corridor. The challenge register remains open beneath Miriam’s steady hand.
Rival Committee Agent
You watch that ledger as though my committee intends to steal it. I am recording its condition, nothing more.
A chair scrapes loudly as the rival committee agent shifts closer. Ava’s vigilance draws his suspicion, but the ledger, affidavits, and certifications remain untouched in the lamplight.
Miriam Cole
Let the record show that no page has moved. I will keep my hand on the ledger until the clerk returns.
Minutes pass. The room cools as the fire settles, and the county clerk’s hurried departure costs the commission another clean sheet, forcing Miriam to mark observations in the ledger margin.
The County Clerk
The vault custodian is coming with me. The order has been accepted, and the sealed poll books will be opened here under witness.
Footsteps return from the records corridor. The county clerk reappears beside an elderly vault custodian carrying two wrapped poll books, while the waxed order and receipt remain secure in her grasp.