The rear door of the mountain restaurant opens, and Vaelith enters from the direction of Shattered Crown Pass. He is visibly strained, empty-handed, his silver hair wind-tossed and his steps carefully measured.
Vaelith
Eclipse, come with me. The hidden threshold’s outer boundary lies beyond this passage, and I must reach it before hesitation becomes another failure.
Behind him, no companion follows from the pass. The restaurant’s warmth and its unseen occupants remain behind as Vaelith turns toward a narrow rear passage cut through older masonry.
Vaelith
The sevenfold seal took something from my memory. I know the loss is there, but not what shape it had. I will not face that truth alone.
Old-road stones emerge beneath the plaster, their worn edges pointing back toward the mountain. Faint ward-light trembles between them, answering the distant, sealed depths.
Vaelith
The boundary is not far, but the road may remember the keepers better than I do. If it speaks, listen for what the seal erased.
Vaelith steps into the rear passage and leaves the doorway open behind him. The old stones descend toward the mountain, while he pauses at the first turning and waits for Eclipse to follow.
✓ Quest Accepted
Reach the hidden threshold with Vaelith