H5 - Study & Correspondence
H5 — Study & Correspondence
Where Professional Detachment Starts to Look Like Complicity
This room is smaller than the laboratory and more comfortable, though only barely.
A writing desk faces the window. Shelves hold toxicology monographs, commercial ledgers, correspondence, and several slim locked document cases. A single upholstered chair stands beside an unlit fireplace.
The desk contains no family portrait, no personal letters, and no decoration beyond a dried sprig sealed beneath glass.
Corven's study connects his respectable public work to the Golden Hand. He rarely writes about theology. His correspondence is practical: payments, shipments, specimen access, equipment requests, and arguments over research procedures.
What the Papers Establish
- Corven knowingly accepted Golden Hand funding and restricted specimens.
- He was attached to the Reiver's Right project as a specialist rather than a religious leader.
- He repeatedly warned Hendrick about direct exposure to active growths.
- He considered the Lower Works' biological changes dangerous enough to move some research back to Kerse.
- He believed the growths were being introduced or propagated, not simply appearing as a natural consequence of excavation.
The papers should strengthen the Golden Hand connection without naming every leader, explaining the ultimate excavation target, or providing a complete map of future operations.
Challenge: Reconstruct the Private Ledger
Specialty Reagents — 2 gp
A locked desk case contains 2 gp of high-quality indicators, treated papers, and assay salts usable as alchemical crafting materials.