The Dark Lord's Signature

Hmmm... you took your time. Show me the page.
Stamped by Stan, passed through Manji... and now it lands on my desk. I've spent a lifetime staying out of official records, yet here I am.

Whoever kept this listed a dagger and a mark. Every thief on this island stands in this room to take up that blade, so yes—this was one of mine.

I know my people. I remember every shadow that passes through Kerning City. But this entry won't settle on a single identity. It reads like someone who took the oath... and then kept walking as if they'd never stepped foot in Kerning's underbelly.

No thief operates like this. They commit to the shadows, or they disappear, and either way their record ends here. But this page doesn't end. It branches toward the subway, toward the docks, then Ellinia, as if one thief were in three places at once...

I don't like lingering anomalies in my city. There's a boy up on the rooftops who watches everyone who goes by. If anyone else has kept tabs on this mystery adventurer, it's him.

Go speak to Alex. If this traveler passed through Kerning City and left a piece of their story behind, Alex will know. Take the page before someone sees it in my hands.

Hey. What's this, a form? Let me see... Wait. I know that stamp on the cover. My old man... whatever. You want me to read this or not? ...Bench by the subway. Yeah, I know who you mean.

They'd sit down there between runs. Gear all over the bench, sorting through it. Regular thing. You can see the whole street from up here.

Some brand new adventurer came through, didn't know where they were, didn't know what anything was worth.

This person you're tracking handed over a load of gear they'd outgrown. Ore, spare weapon, all of it. Didn't make a thing of it.
Whoa, hold on. This page doesn't say any of that. It just... stops. Give me the pen.

There. That's what happened, so someone should have it written down properly.
Weird thing though. This page makes it look like this person sat on that bench, gave their gear away, and then... just started over. Makes no sense to me.

Anyway. There's one more entry right at the top, older than the rest. That's the old man at the Magic Library. I'll do you a favor and send those pages over for you.