Behind the lectern, the hairline crack widens into a narrow gallery. Translucent stone reveals buried roots pulsing beneath the floor, each beat answering the crown’s trembling iron.
Narbo stands beside Dax, while the Minotaur remains at the sealed stair behind them. Far above, King Arthur, Merlin, Heilyn, Robin Hood, the Exiled Prince, and bound Talimaryl are cut off in the ruined hall.
Red light threads from Narbo’s glowing tattoos into the walls. The marks answer every pulse, drawing faint strands from his skin toward the buried roots.
Narbo
These marks are not warning me of danger. They are the castle’s tether, and it has found my blood again.
the buried entity
The throne remembers the Gomat strength. Sever the tether, and Narbo may lose what sustains his body. Leave it, and the throne may awaken through him.
The gallery narrows around a low stone arch. Beyond it, the roots converge upon a buried socket shaped like a crown, while Narbo’s tattoos brighten painfully.
Narbo
I will not retreat from a chain because it knows my name. But choose your stroke with care, Dax.
✓ Quest Accepted
Sever the castle’s tether from Narbo
“I study Narbo's tattoos and trace the tether toward the crown-shaped socket. Narbo stands defensive as if to defend the tether”
SUCCESS (Legendary Perception, rolled +0)
Dax studies the glowing tattoos without touching them, following each red mark as it branches from Narbo’s skin into the gallery walls.
The tether’s pattern becomes clear: the castle is drawing Narbo’s strength through the roots, funneling it toward the crown-shaped socket beyond the arch.
Narbo
Stand back from it, Dax. I will defend the tether until we know whether breaking it saves me or empties me.
Narbo plants his feet and raises his hammer, guarding the luminous strands as though they were a companion under attack. His tattoos flare across his broad shoulders.
Dax traces the tether’s final course along the stone. It enters the crown-shaped socket through three channels, each marked with a Gomat knot and a faint red sigil.
the buried entity
You have found the division. One channel sustains Narbo’s body, one feeds the throne, and one carries the castle’s command into his blood.
The socket’s structure now lies exposed: severing the command channel can free Narbo without cutting the strength that keeps him standing.
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The three channels flare at once. Narbo’s tattoos blaze red, and the crown-shaped socket opens like a stone eye, revealing a fourth sigil beneath the others.
Narbo
That mark was not there before. Something has added its own claim.
A deep impact rolls through the gallery. Dust pours from the arch, and the buried roots recoil from the socket as though struck by an unseen hand.
the buried entity
The sentinel has awakened above the wound. It is reaching through Narbo because the crown refuses every other bearer.
Beyond the arch, the socket fills with black fire. Within it appears a fleeting image of Talimaryl’s bound face, his eyes wide as unfamiliar chains tighten around his throat.
Narbo
The dragon is not speaking. That thing is wearing his image. Tell me which channel carries the lie.
The fourth sigil rotates toward Dax’s sword, and the marked blade answers with a harsh metallic chime. The gallery walls begin closing around the exposed tether.
“Minotaur go an cut off the dragons head we will hold here and I will free Narbo”
SUCCESS (Superb Melee Weapons, rolled +1)
Dax
Minotaur, cut off the dragon’s head. We will hold here while I free Narbo.
The Minotaur
Aye. Let the false dragon lose the head it wears.
The Minotaur charges through the arch, axes rising. The black fire swells into Talimaryl’s borrowed head, and his first blow cleaves through its spectral neck.
Dax turns to Narbo’s tether. The fourth sigil clamps onto the command channel, while the three red strands burn between Narbo’s tattoos and the crown-shaped socket.
Narbo
Now, Dax. Cut the lie, not the strength.
Dax’s marked sword strikes the fourth sigil. Black fire bursts apart, and the command channel snaps cleanly away from Narbo’s blood while the sustaining strand remains bright.
Narbo’s tattoos dim to a steady red. He remains upright and powerful as the socket seals, while the Minotaur’s second axe severs the false dragon’s head and scatters the black fire into ash.
Warn the court of the awakened sentinel
Quest Complete
Sever the castle’s tether from Narbo
Skill Upgrade: Knowledge (Occult) Great→Superb