The guild common hall settles into a tired hush. Nova Male Man's new companions inspect packs, rations, and climbing gear while the last patrons drift toward their beds.
Bram
If your boots blister before the hills, tell me now. I can mend feet more easily than tempers after a day's march.
Bram treats a traveler's cracked heel near the hearth, then checks the expedition's bandages and water skins. Lethiel remains bent over the firelit roster, tracing the western road.
Dagna Stonehand
These chisels are older than the guildmaster's ledger. The oldest three are for seals, not stone. Do not mistake one purpose for another.
Lethiel
The road is marked twice, but the second trail appears only under moonlight. Someone wanted the ledger-house found, and someone else wanted it forgotten.
The guildmaster waits beside the expedition board, ready to answer questions about debts, provisions, and the ruined ledger-house. The orc mercenary and marked stranger have stayed behind at the floating market.
guildmaster
Ask what you need before dawn. Once you leave with Lethiel, Bram, and Dagna Stonehand, the guild will expect every discovery brought back and every debt accounted for.
✓ Quest Accepted
Discover who wanted the western trail forgotten
“I inspect the roster and expedition notice for clues about the forgotten trail.”
SUCCESS (Fair Perception, rolled +0)
Nova Male Man studies the roster and expedition notice beneath the hearthlight, comparing Lethiel's copied road marks with the covenant seal pressed into the parchment.
Nova Male Man
The forgotten trail is concealed by timing, not distance.
He angles the notice toward the fire. Faint silver ink appears between the western road's ordinary landmarks, forming a sequence of moon phases beside a dry ravine.
Lethiel
There. Those phases are not decorative. Read from new moon to full, they mark the turns beneath the hills.
Nova Male Man traces the sequence across the roster and finds a cramped notation beneath the party list: enter the ravine after moonrise, leave no written trail.
guildmaster
That annotation was absent when the notice was posted. You found it by heat and angle, and now I must record that alteration.
The guildmaster takes the notice, and its silver writing dulls permanently from the warmth. Nova Male Man has the route's moonlit turns, but the guild loses the hidden clue's original inscription.
✓ Quest Accepted
Secure the party's agreement to the expedition route
“I ask the party to agree on entering the ravine after moonrise, seeing this is te current way forward”
SUCCESS (Fair Diplomacy, rolled -1)
Nova Male Man
The moonlit trail is the only way forward. I ask that we agree now to enter the ravine after moonrise.
Lethiel
Agreed. I will carry the phase sequence in memory and guide us by the hidden turns, not by any written map.
Bram
Agreed, though waiting costs us one night of provisions. I will add an extra ration and water skin to our packs.
Dagna Stonehand
Agreed. Moonlight may reveal the trail, but it will also reveal anyone following. We travel quietly and keep the chisels covered.
The guildmaster marks the expedition roster for a moonrise departure and deducts the additional ration from the party's provision account. The agreement is entered into the guild's ledger.
guildmaster
Then it is settled. Lethiel, Bram, Dagna Stonehand, and Nova Male Man enter the ravine after moonrise, with the guild expecting a full accounting.
Lethiel folds the ordinary road map while Dagna secures her chisels and Bram distributes the added water. Beyond the shutters, the last stars fade toward dawn.
Quest Complete
Secure the party's agreement to the expedition route