Zentno remains alone among the reeds, the stolen letter tucked beneath his coat. Behind him, the crossing dissolves into shouting, splintering wood, and the scraping advance of the risen dead.
Zentno
The eastern bridge foundations lie beyond the old river stones and the drowned shrine.
The letter’s final lines describe a concealed route beneath the eastern bridge. No ally waits there, but fresh lantern-light flickers below the stones, steady against the river mist.
Captain Veyra
Search the reeds! He cannot have crossed the river without leaving a trail!
Captain Veyra stays behind with her mercenaries and the advancing dead, her orders breaking against panic. None follows Zentno into the reed bed.
Below the bridge, one lantern passes behind a gap in the masonry, then pauses. A second glow answers from deeper within the foundations.
The river presses cold water through the reeds. Somewhere beneath the eastern stones, the waiting claimant keeps the meeting alive, unaware of what now approaches.
“I follow the lanterns beneath the bridge”
SUCCESS (Legendary Agility, rolled -1)
Zentno moves through the reeds toward the eastern bridge, keeping low as river water darkens his boots. The lanterns guide him beneath the broken masonry.
A narrow passage opens under the foundations. Pale stones, drowned roots, and old shrine carvings line the way while the two lanterns burn steadily ahead.
He follows their light into a vaulted chamber beneath the bridge. A dry platform rises above the river, marked with the same blood-red seal as the letter.
the hidden claimant
You carry the letter. I can see the seal beneath your coat, and I can hear Veyra's soldiers searching above.
A hooded figure steps between the lanterns, face concealed by shadow. A second figure remains near the water, guarding a small stone table covered in maps.
the hidden claimant
Set the parchment on the table, lich. In return, you will learn why Veyra condemned her own courier and what this seal can purchase.
The concealed route ends behind Zentno, and the claimant stands before him beneath the eastern bridge. The letter and its intended recipient are now together.
“I demand the claimant explain before I surrender anything and I demand power for the letter”
SUCCESS (Mediocre Willpower, rolled +3)
Zentno
Explain why Veyra condemned her own courier, and tell me what power this letter and seal can purchase before I surrender them.
The hooded claimant studies Zentno across the lanternlit platform. The guard by the water lowers one hand from his blade, while the maps remain spread across the stone table.
the hidden claimant
The courier carried proof that Veyra's company sold the eastern watchtower to raiders. The seal identifies every conspirator who profited from that betrayal.
the hidden claimant
She condemned him because his testimony would expose her before the company could erase its debts. The letter was meant to reach me, not her tribunal.
The claimant removes a black iron token from beneath the hood and places it beside the maps. Red lines flare across its surface, matching the seal beneath Zentno's coat.
the hidden claimant
Give me the parchment, and this token answers to your will. It commands the drowned shrine beneath these foundations, granting you passage, secrets, and the dead bound to its stones.
The claimant accepts the letter when Zentno presents it. In exchange, the iron token slides across the table, warm with restrained magic, and the hidden shrine awakens below the platform.
✓ Quest Accepted
Expose the eastern watchtower betrayal
+ New Item Acquired
Black Iron Token