White spelllight washes the stone bank. Dax and his company find the buck-headed guardian chained in place, its chest runes pulsing like a sick heart.
Heilyn
That light is a command. Not a warning.
Robin Hood
Then we are already seen. Keep the key covered.
The dark water behind the guardian roils harder, a broad shape turning beneath the surface. The chain strains, but the creature does not move.
The Exiled Prince
Break it and take what is bound here. The path to Arthur's castle will open.
The Minotaur
Or it will wake the thing below. I know that sound.
Dax
The rune pulse matches the key's rhythm.
Dax steps to the bank, key light smothered under his pack. The guardian's antlers tilt toward him, as if waiting for a choice.
“I have been picking up on the exiled prince and his impatients for a while. Now it is time to confront him”
FAILURE (Legendary Willpower, rolled -4)
Dax lets the silence sit, then turns his helm toward the Exiled Prince. The pack stays tight against his back, the key still hidden, but the look is plain: enough.
The Exiled Prince
If you have something to say, say it. We are not here to admire each other.
Dax
You keep pushing. Every step. Every choice.
The words land, but the prince only straightens, offended pride flashing across his face. The guardian’s runes keep pulsing beside them, and the water below gives one heavy, rolling shiver.
The Exiled Prince
And yet you still move forward. Perhaps you mistake pressure for guidance.
Heilyn
He is not wrong, though he lacks the courtesy to be useful about it.
The prince’s mouth tightens. He glances at the chained guardian, then at the dark water, as if measuring which threat is easier to command.
The Exiled Prince
Very well. I press because hesitation kills. If that offends your honor, take comfort. I would rather have your anger than your corpse.
✓ Quest Accepted
Get past the chained guardian
“Ask everyone else what we should do about him”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +1)
Dax keeps his sword low and lets the prince’s words hang in the wet air. The green light from the memory shard stains the roots behind them while the guardian’s chest keeps its steady pulse.
Dax
What do we do about him?
The question settles the whole passage. The Exiled Prince looks from Dax to the chained buck-headed figure, then back again, as if weighing each of them like a coin.
The Exiled Prince
We decide quickly. Either he opens the way, or he is a wall we break no further than necessary.
Heilyn
That answer is honest, if not wise. The guardian is bound to the passage, not to us.
The Minotaur
And something below is waking harder. I would rather not test whether his chains hold.
No one moves to strike. The prince’s jaw works once, then he studies the runes with grudging attention while the water shudders under the stone bank.
Heilyn
If the sliver and the shard mean anything, this is a threshold, not a prison. Give me a moment, and I may tell which side he serves.
“I ask the guardian what he wants”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +1)
Dax lifts his chin to the chained guardian and lets the question land in the hush. The buck-headed figure does not move, but the runes at its chest answer with a slow, steady flare.
The Guardian
I want the threshold kept. I want the thing below denied a door.
Heilyn
Then you are not a jailer. You are a lock with a vow.
The Exiled Prince
A convenient vow, if true. What do we pay, guardian?
The Guardian
Not gold. Not blood. Choose carefully, or the passage takes its due from all of you.
The Minotaur
He is speaking like a sentry, not a beast. That is worse.
The water behind the stone bank swells against the dark, then settles again. The guardian holds its ground, but its chained shoulders angle toward Dax as if waiting for one answer to matter more than the rest.
“I ask what the passage costs”
SUCCESS (Great Reasoning, rolled -1)
Dax holds the guardian’s gaze a moment longer, and the question is answered in the hush around them. The runes glow in a measured line, as if naming a toll no coin can buy.
The Guardian
The passage costs a memory. One that matters. The threshold eats what you name and marks the rest.
Heilyn
A fitting price for a living lock. It is not asking for sacrifice, only proof of passage.
The Exiled Prince
Proof is a generous word. I hear a trap dressed as law.
The Minotaur
Then let it take mine first. I would rather lose a memory than a path.
The guardian’s chained hands lower a fraction, and the water behind the stone bank quiets to a tense ripple. Its chest-runes keep pulsing, waiting for Dax’s choice to be named or refused.
“I offer the guardian a forgotten memory”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +2)
Dax opens his free hand and lets a single memory go, not with words, but with a steady offering of will. The air in front of the guardian tightens around it like a held breath.
The Guardian
A true toll.
The runes along the guardian’s chest flare once, then dim. The chained figure bows its head and the water behind the stone bank settles back from a churn to a watchful ripple.
Heilyn
The lock accepts him.
Iron links draw slack across the guardian’s wrists. The stone at its feet shifts, and a narrow passage opens beside the bank, green light leaking from the roots beyond.
The Exiled Prince
Well. That is inconveniently effective.
The Minotaur tightens its grip on the green stone sliver and steps toward the opening, while the guardian lifts one chained hand in silent permission. The path is open, but the dark water gives one slow, heavy surge beneath the floor.
Quest Complete
Get past the chained guardian
New Gift: Guardian's Stoic Stance