Cye reaches the first bend below the eastern cairn, where blue ice gives way to a narrow ledge above the ravine. The village elder remains behind; he has come alone.
A young adult man climbs from the mist, lean and mud-streaked beneath shattered climbing gear. Dark hair clings to his pale face, and a torn green cloak hangs from one shoulder.
Vael Thorn
Hold there. That path is not empty, no matter what the mountain pretends.
Vael Thorn with a narrow scar through one eyebrow braces himself against the ice, one hand gripping a strip of old vellum. Crimson ink crawls across it in the same branching pattern as Cye's map.
Vael Thorn
I am Vael Thorn. I followed this mark from the lower ravine, until the trail began walking without me.
Behind him, loose snow sighs down the slope. Fresh footprints appear across the white crust, then stop sharply at the cliff edge, leaving no return trail.
Vael Thorn
If the old warnings speak of a chosen bearer, the ink has found him at last.
✓ Quest Accepted
Get past Vael Thorn
“hello vael what are you doing here?”
FAILURE (Good Reasoning, rolled -2)
Cye
Hello, Vael. What are you doing here?
The greeting reaches him, but the wind twists the question against the cliff. Vael glances toward the ravine instead of answering, and the vellum jerks in his grip.
Vael Thorn
I was following the same mark you carry. It led me upward, then abandoned the ledge.
The vellum's crimson branches briefly align with Cye's parchment. One thin line peels away from the shared pattern and descends behind Vael toward a shelf of blue ice.
Vael Thorn
There. That lower shelf is the only road it has not erased. I could not reach it alone.
Vael shifts aside, revealing handholds cut into the ice below the ledge. His intended answer remains incomplete, but the newly exposed descent offers a usable way forward.
✓ Quest Accepted
Learn what danger Vael Thorn is warning about
“I ask vael what he has seen following the mark”
SUCCESS (Good Reasoning, rolled +2)
Cye
What have you seen while following the mark?
Vael studies Cye across the narrow ledge, then lowers his vellum. Mist coils below, carrying a faint, rhythmic tremor through the blue ice.
Vael Thorn
The mark led me through three buried arches beneath the ravine. Their stones bear the same eye-shaped seal as your parchment.
He points toward the lower shelf. Frost has gathered around a dark opening there, though no snow crosses its threshold. Crimson light pulses faintly within.
Vael Thorn
Beyond the arches, I saw a stair descending into warmth. Something enormous moved below it, slow enough to shake dust from the ceiling.
Vael Thorn
And the old words called it a guardian, not a dragon. If that distinction still matters, we are already in its shadow.
Vael Thorn
The trail ended at a sealed bronze door. When I touched it, the mark left my vellum and crossed toward you. It will open for the bearer.
Quest Complete
Learn what danger Vael Thorn is warning about
“I tell vael to stay here and sneak down to the bronze door”
SUCCESS (Legendary Stealth, rolled -2)
Cye
Stay here, Vael. I am going down to the bronze door.
Vael Thorn
Quiet feet, then. If the guardian stirs, I will warn you before it reaches the stair.
Cye slips onto the carved handholds and descends through the mist, keeping his body close to the blue ice. His legendary stealth carries him past the lower shelf without drawing the mountain's buried shapes.
At the final foothold, a crust of ice breaks beneath his boot with a sharp crack. The sound rolls through the arches, and a cold sting cuts across his palm as he catches himself.
He reaches the sealed bronze door. Its eye-shaped seal glows beneath his parchment's reflected crimson, while warmth breathes through the seams from the stair beyond.
Vael Thorn
I heard that. The door is still quiet, Cye. Whatever lies beyond has not answered.
Quest Complete
Get past Vael Thorn
Attribute Upgrade: Reasoning Good→Great