Harlen’s office is cramped and stale, all parchment, ozone, and old smoke. The ledger lies open between you and him, and the violet seam below the floor gives one slow pulse.
Valornor turns away from the desk, washing his hands of the tavern’s troubles. Harlen’s eyes narrow, and the pulse under the boards quickens at once.
Harlen
No. Not yet. You leave now, and the anchor stirs loose.
The Proprietor
I told you, ranger, this place is tied to it. If you walk out blind, we all pay for it.
Harlen taps the ledger with one finger. A line of violet crawls along the desk edge, then fades, as if something beneath the tavern is listening for his permission.
Harlen
Your wages are here. Your road north is here. If you want either, you stay until the seal is set properly.
Valornor Gladewarder
...
✓ Quest Accepted
Secure payment for the scouting assignment
✓ Quest Accepted
Escape Harlen’s tethering assignment
“I snatch my wages from the desk and head for the door.”
SUCCESS (Great Agility, rolled -2)
Valornor slips one hand across the desk, plucks the wages free, and is already turning before Harlen can snatch them back.
Harlen
You see? The road to your coin runs through this room. Walk out, and you walk out owing the Keep.
Valornor ignores him and moves for the door with the payment in hand. The Proprietor flinches aside, and a thin crack of violet light stabs through the boards behind the desk.
The Proprietor
Take it, then, just go before that seam widens again.
Harlen’s fingers press the ledger shut. The lantern trembles, and the seam gives a slow hungry pulse that throws broken light up Valornor’s boots.
Harlen
Three days, ranger. The Keep will expect you.
Valornor reaches the threshold with his wages secured, but the office feels like a snare left open behind him.
Quest Complete
Secure payment for the scouting assignment
+ New Item Acquired
Wages