The Thug claws through the whitening storm, dagger up, trying to find Dizevious by sound and grit.
Then the noble’s curse catches the flour in the air. White dust blooms into a spinning glare, all violet sparks and choking light.
The Thug is slammed backward into a stack of sacks, hard enough to drive the breath from him.
Lord Caldris
Hold fast... the words are nearly mine now...
The Thug
Can’t see. Damn it. Need my eyes back, need the bastard in front of me.
Dizevious stands blind in the center of the whirling pantry, the open crate blazing at his side while the walls shudder with the noble’s chant.
✓ Quest Accepted
Reveal the noble’s true form
“Step back from the crate to avoid the blast of the noble's transformation.”
SUCCESS (Fair Agility, rolled +3)
Dizevious snaps backward on instinct, boots scraping flour as he clears the crate’s glare. The blast washes past where his chest had been, and the vortex tears upward instead of into him.
The Noble’s light gutters, then thins, no longer a cloud but a skin of magic stripping away in sheets.
For one stark heartbeat, the thing inside the glow is visible, a shape with too many points where a human frame should not have them.
Dizevious Breeddrake
That is not a noble.
Lord Caldris
Do not let it settle. If it seals, we all choke on what is left.
The Thug, still blinking blind, freezes at the change, his dagger lowering a fraction as the pantry wall creaks loud enough to drown his breath.
A crack runs through the ceiling dust, and a warm draft pours from the open crate, carrying the curse toward the pantry door like it has chosen a way out.
Quest Complete
Reveal the noble’s true form
“Back up to the door saying," Well, you look like you have this well within your noble grasp, I'll just leave you to it. You can reward me later!"”
SUCCESS (Fair Agility, rolled +0)
Dizevious gives the crate and glow a wide berth, backpedaling to the pantry door with hands raised and a lopsided, dry flourish.
Dizevious Breeddrake
Well, you look like you have this well within your noble grasp. I will just leave you to it. You can reward me later.
Lord Caldris
If it were that simple, I would already have done so. Stay by the door, please.
The warm draft presses harder at the cracks, and the cursed light crawls across the flour in pale ribbons instead of a single blast.
The Thug
You are all mad. What in the blazes is it?
Lord Caldris
A family mistake, and a dangerous one. I did not mean to drag it into your pantry.
At the threshold, Dizevious reaches the door at last, the doorframe bright behind him while dust sifts down from the trembling ceiling.
Lord Caldris
If the light breaks, I can name what is wearing me. If it does not, we all learn the shape of a collapse.
✓ Quest Accepted
Help the Noble contain the curse
“"what do you need me to do, Little Lord?"”
SUCCESS (Mediocre Persuasion, rolled +0)
Dizevious Breeddrake
What do you need me to do, Little Lord?
Lord Caldris
Stand where you are, and if the glow lurches, throw the salt from the shelf into the light. Do not let the draft take it cleanly.
The Thug
Salt? In a pantry? What sort of curse bends to seasoning?
The Noble draws a careful breath, and the ribbons of light tighten around their hands instead of spilling outward.
Lord Caldris
My courtesy is worse than my bloodline. I owe you the truth, and perhaps a cleaner apology later.
From the shelf by the wall, a crock of salt trembles loose and tips, scattering a bright fan across the floorboards at Dizevious's feet.
Lord Caldris
Good. Keep listening. When I say my own name, the shape wearing me will hate being recognized.
“Scoop up a double handful of salt and await his name or the light bending. Upon either of those happening, I am ready to throw the salt.”
SUCCESS (Fair Agility, rolled +1)
Dizevious scoops a double handful of salt from the spill, the grains biting cold against his palms. He stays low by the threshold, eyes fixed on the Noble and the wavering glow.
The Thug
He is actually waiting for the curse to behave like a pet. Gods, this room has gone mad.
Lord Caldris
My name, then. Listen for it. I am Lord Caldris, and the shape in me hates that truth.
The ribbons of light lurch and bend toward the sound, curling tight around Lord Caldris's hands instead of spilling toward the door. Dizevious snaps the salt into the shining haze.
White sparks burst through the glow. The draft falters, and the curse visibly tightens, pinned off its clean escape.
The Thug
Ha. So seasoning was the answer. What else do you have in that bag of tricks?
Quest Complete
Help the Noble contain the curse
Skill Upgrade: Persuasion Mediocre→Fair
+ New Item Acquired
salt