The Missing Charter
The Missing Charter
Read aloud
Envoy Sabine Rook lays a map on the table and points to the Briar Marches. "A charter has gone missing, and the free towns are close to using it to void the Crown's claims. Find the original before their assembly, and bring it back to me before this dispute becomes a rebellion."
Run the session
Cheat sheet
Objectives
- 1Locate the missing charter before the free towns' assembly.
- 2Secure the charter and establish who has handled it since it vanished.
- 3Determine whether the charter's claim is genuine, altered, or coercively obtained.Optional
- 4Decide how the charter and its implications will be presented.
The clock
The free towns' assembly closes in two days. Each substantial delay gives the Crown more time to secure the archive, lets the towns harden their position, and makes a quiet resolution less likely.
Scenes
- 0:00The Envoy's Offer
- 0:25The Wrong Date
- 1:10A Witness's Price
- 1:50The Dry Place
- 2:45Terms in Public
Cast
- Envoy Sabine RookQuestgiver
- Mara VennAlly
- Tovin AshWitness
- Nessa QuillWildcard
The hook
Set the scene
The party meets Envoy Sabine Rook in a private room above a roadside inn near the Briar Marches. She shows them a rough map, explains that a royal archive transfer lost the charter, and warns that the free towns will convene in two days. She offers a sealed writ for travel and a reward for the original, but asks the party to avoid drawing attention to the Crown's involvement. A clerk has already been sent to search the archive annex, and Sabine suggests the party begin there.
How Envoy Sabine Rook asks
Envoy Sabine Rook requests a discreet meeting through a local innkeeper.
She offers a travel writ, a modest advance, and a larger reward on delivery of the original charter. She emphasizes urgency and discretion, presenting the recovery as an effort to prevent unrest.
Rumours
Scenes
about 3.5 hours0:00
25 min
socialThe table is here
1. The Envoy's Offer
A private room above a roadside inn on the edge of the Briar Marches.
Sabine lays out the deadline and gives the party a travel writ. The party can ask what she knows, set terms, or request permission to examine the transfer records. A careful conversation reveals that she wants quiet recovery more than immediate public debate.
NextThe party follows the charter's transfer trail to the archive annex, where the records clerk has been ordered not to speak with townsfolk.
0:25
45 min
exploration
2. The Wrong Date
A cramped archive annex with stacked records, a clerk's desk, and a side exit opening onto a covered market lane.
The party examines the transfer ledger, interviews the clerk, and searches the annex for signs of tampering. They discover that a royal bailiff has produced an arrest order naming Mara Venn as the thief, though the order's date and seal do not match the office records. If they make too much noise, the bailiff attempts to seize the party and the evidence.
The Archive Annex SeizureNextThe records point to Mara Venn, who has gone to ground near the free towns' meeting hall.
1:10
40 min
social
3. A Witness's Price
A disused cooper's shop beside the free towns' meeting hall.
Mara compares the party's findings with her knowledge of the archive and offers a statement about the charter's signatures. Tovin arrives to challenge the party's motives. The party can win their trust, agree to an independent examination, or disclose Sabine's commission. Mara's testimony points toward Nessa and the ruined tollhouse.
NextMara gives the party a route to the tollhouse, while Tovin asks them to return with evidence rather than promises.
1:50
55 min
exploration
4. The Dry Place
A derelict tollhouse set among thorn hedges, muddy tracks, and a broken stone culvert.
The party reaches the tollhouse and identifies signs of a recent camp. They may approach openly, scout the hedge paths, or follow Nessa's courier trail into the culvert. The Briar Runners hold the cache but are willing to bargain if offered protection or a credible plan for the evidence.
The Briar CacheNextWith the charter secured, the party must decide whether to return to Sabine, bring the evidence to the towns, or arrange a shared examination before the assembly.
2:45
45 min
social
5. Terms in Public
The free towns' assembly hall, where Crown representatives wait outside and townsfolk fill the benches.
The party presents what they recovered before the assembly closes. Sabine presses for private custody; Tovin demands a public reading; Mara advises that the charter be compared against the witness ledger. The party's choice determines who claims the next move and whether the dispute remains negotiable.
NextResolve the immediate dispute, then use the open-ended hooks to determine who approaches the party next.
Behind it
What people believe
A royal charter documenting the Crown's claim over the free towns has disappeared during a transfer between archives.
Envoy Sabine Rook hires the party to recover it before the towns' assembly, where the document may be used to challenge the Crown's authority. Rumors point toward a compromised archive, a former copyist, and a courier who knows the old roads.
Background
In Bramble, royal authority is stitched together from old grants, border oaths, and charters whose wording is often older than the towns they govern.
The Crown claims the free towns of the Briar Marches through a disputed charter said to have been signed after a famine, when several town leaders were absent or dead. The original document vanished from the royal archive during a transfer to the provincial seat. If authenticated, its clauses may let the free towns reject the Crown's claims and negotiate as independent communities.
The stakes
If the Crown secures the charter without scrutiny, its claim over the free towns may become harder to challenge.
If the towns use it without verifying its history, they may found their independence on a document whose meaning can be contested. Either way, mishandling the dispute could trigger arrests, a breakdown in negotiations, or open resistance.
Encounters
2The Archive Annex Seizure
Combat or social
A cramped records annex with high shelves, rolling ladders, a narrow stair, and a central desk covered in inkpots and loose ledgers. Falling shelves or spilled ink can create obstacles without causing severe harm.
Foes
Royal Bailiff Corren
2 Crown Wardens
1 hired Lantern Street tough
ComplicationThe guards are not instructed to kill anyone. If the party presents convincing credentials or exposes the forged arrest order, some may stand aside; otherwise, they attempt to seize the evidence and hold the party for questioning.
ScalingFor a smaller or less combat-focused party, use Corren and one Warden, and allow negotiation to end the confrontation. For a larger or more capable party, add two toughs who try to flank the party. Give the wardens a clear retreat condition once Corren is disarmed or the forged order is exposed.
The Briar Cache
Combat, exploration, or social
A derelict tollhouse surrounded by thorny hedges, soft mud, and a broken stone culvert. Narrow sightlines and concealed paths favor anyone who scouts before entering.
Foes
3 Briar Runners
Hesta Vale, their cautious leader
ComplicationThe scavengers want to sell the recovered charter, not destroy it. They flee or bargain if offered safe passage, a credible buyer, or proof that the party can protect them from retaliation.
ScalingFor a party that is already worn down, use Hesta and two runners and emphasize warning signs and negotiation. For a more capable party, add a fourth runner who tries to escape with the satchel. In all cases, the party can avoid a fight by spotting the ambush early or reaching terms.
Cast
4Envoy Sabine Rook
QuestgiverQuestgiver, royal envoy
WantsRecover the charter quietly and preserve the Crown's legal position. She would prefer a lawful resolution, but fears that public debate will fracture the province.
“Bring me the original, not a copy. Copies can be argued over. Ink and seal can be examined.”
Mara Venn
Ally, archivist and former royal copyist
WantsProve the charter's provenance and prevent either side from manipulating the towns. She possesses testimony linking the document to its original signing.
“I want the towns free, but I will not let a forged scrap become the foundation of that freedom.”
Tovin Ash
Witness, speaker for the free towns
WantsKeep the free towns from being ruled by a claim made during their ancestors' darkest hour. He wants the charter presented publicly, though he will accept a verified account of its origins.
“A signature is a promise. Ask who was still alive to make it.”
Nessa Quill
Wildcard, courier and keeper of a secret cache
WantsSell the charter's location to whichever side can guarantee her family a safe future. She has hidden the document in a place neither faction can easily reach.
“Everyone wants the paper. Nobody asks who has been paying to keep it dry.”
How it ends
Rewards
Items
A sealed royal travel writ valid at Crown checkpoints
A weatherproof document case lined with felt
Optional: Nessa's coded route map, useful for travel through the Briar Marches
On a win
The party recovers the charter and makes a deliberate choice about its custody and evidence.
A resolution is strongest if the charter is examined alongside corroborating testimony: the Crown may agree to renegotiate, the towns may accept a temporary settlement, or both sides may enter a public dispute. Success does not require choosing a political side, but the party's handling of the evidence will shape who trusts them afterward.
What it leaves open
If it fails
- The party fails to recover the original charter before the public assembly.
- The Crown retains its immediate claim, but the free towns become more organized and less willing to negotiate with royal agents. The party may continue by finding a copyist, witness, or other proof of the charter's history.
- The party turns over the charter without investigating or disclosing credible evidence of forgery or coercion.
- Sabine publicly disavows the party and seeks another way to secure the document. The towns may treat the party as accomplices in a royal seizure, making future travel and negotiations harder.
- The charter is damaged or separated from its provenance evidence before it can be examined.
- The charter's authenticity remains contested. Both Crown and towns claim victory, and the party must decide whether to seek further proof or accept the uncertain settlement.
Complications (d6)
- 1A town bell rings the signal for a public assembly. Tovin insists the party bring any evidence they have before the gathering disperses.
- 2A royal clerk arrives with a sealed order demanding custody of all recovered documents, including notes and copies.
- 3A rain-swollen stream cuts off the shortest route to the cache. The party must find a safe crossing, lose time, or leave a visible trail.
- 4Someone has replaced a witness's written statement with a near-perfect forgery. Comparing ink, phrasing, or testimony can expose the substitution.
- 5A nervous courier mistakes one party member for a royal agent and offers them a coded message meant for Nessa.
- 6The charter's wax seal cracks while being handled. The text remains legible, but proving its authenticity now requires corroborating evidence.
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