Simon is the steward on the lower council who is responsible for all lesser holdings in north Cses. He had never encountered a problem from the Harrigniad Institute, so he read and re read their report, to make sure he was seeing the error correctly: They used 12 jars of pure spirits this quarter, all for various experiments. They started the quarter with 3 jars, and bought 10 jars. They now report that they have no jars left. Someone had stolen or smashed a jar, and this was serious. 
   Less than twenty minutes later, the Grand Steward, Elas Uonba, is holding this report in his wizened hands. His eyes darken when he learns that an entire jar went missing. "This could be serious. No doubt they've merely dropped the jar. Thank you, Simon, for bringing this to my attention.", Elas looks across the cluttered desk to Simon, who nods his head. Elas then continues, "We must know they'll never do this again. Find an Adjudicator and discuss an appropriate punishment.".

[hider](You must consider that the method of distilling pure spirits was first discovered in Cobsterra less than a year ago, and since then it has been highly regulated by the Stewards due to its apparently supernatural qualities. The rumors are that concoctions made with a pure spirits base are over twice as effective as those made with a pure water base. As a result, creating it has become quite a closely guarded secret, as they want to keep this knowledge as far from the Anma Coalition and Jjerainar as possible.)[/hider]
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About two weeks after a punishment was agreed upon, three riders show up at the gates of Stonefall. Two guards, and one member of The Department of Justice. They rest for a few hours, then are seen by the Lady of House Komos, Countess Sylla. The Adjudicator explains the situation with the Harrigniad Institute to her, finishing with "... and of course, we contacted you because we want no trouble with the Institute in question, and we doubt Head Scholar Carn could withhold important information from the likes of you. You will have no crown assistance, but you are under the protection of the Department of Justice. You are also granted permission to go anywhere on the grounds of the Institute regardless of regular restrictions. Oh, and Director Carn does not know you are coming. Present him with this when you get there.". The Adjudicator smiles as they hand over a sealed letter, which Sylla would recognise as a rite of investigation. This would require that Carn provides hospitality and welcome to Sylla while she performs her investigation. 

"Do you accept this task?"