Torix leaves the shrine by a broken stair cut into the mountain’s flank. Cold wind worries at his white hair and crystal wings as the path drops into a narrow vale below.
The new place opens under slate skies, a half-buried watchhall crouched among black pines and old snow. Its yard is ringed by toppled stones, with a dead firepit at the center and prayer flags turned stiff as bones.
Ardent Vale comes up beside Torix, one hand near his blade, his relief not quite hiding the strain. The Stranger lingers a few paces back, hood shadowing their face, watching the watchhall like it owes them answers.
The Warden of Stone follows last, half free of the wall’s pale spell but still marked by it, his gaze fixed on the gatehouse arch where a seal of flaking iron hangs crooked.
Ardent Vale
This is it. Oren’s path runs through these stones. If the witness still breathes, they’ll be here.
Neris
And if they do not breathe, then someone else stands guard over their silence.
Torix reaches the yard’s edge. Beneath the dead firepit, fresh tracks stamp the snow, leading toward the watchhall door.
✓ Quest Accepted
Find Brother Oren
✓ Quest Accepted
Uncover the stranger's identity
“So much has happened in such a short time. To say he was overwhelmed would be a gross understatement. Within mere hours he had broken down emotionally from the crushing grief of loosing Luxon, relieved a swordsman of his curse, unbound seals, played mind games with a mystery monk, unbound an ancient being and used himself as seal to a long hidden, ancient gate. Magical, special, blessed - he was still only a youth. His head spun."Monk..you still...still have not...told us who you...you are" His legs wobbled as he approached Ardent. "I...Apologies, Sir Ardent but...could...I perhaps...lean on you for a moment..." He spoke between huffed breathes. It was soon much -too much- but he has to keep on. If not for him, for the others. He felt so guilty asking for the help any same person would have demanded ages ago. "I may...I feel a bit ...tired. Y-y-you don't have to, of course..."”
FAILURE (Good Health, rolled -2)
Torix sways where the tracks end, the cold biting deeper through him than the wind. He reaches for Ardent, but his knees dip first, and the motion turns clumsy and slow.
Torix Reincor
Monk... you still have not told us who you are.
Torix Reincor
Sir Ardent, could I lean on you for a moment... I am tired.
Ardent moves in at once, catching Torix beneath the arm before he can pitch into the snow. The support is firm, careful, and not quite enough to hide how strained Torix has become.
Ardent Vale
Easy. I have you.
Neris
Hood or no hood, I answer to something. You may call me Neris, if a name helps.
The Warden of Stone
And I remain to watch the boundary. Your fatigue has changed nothing about the gate, only your grip upon it.
The crooked iron seal above the arch gives a faint, dry creak. Below it, the watchhall door stands shut, with fresh tracks vanishing into its dark seam.
“"Thank you, all of you." He is relieved at this, knowing he may not have endured physical wounds, but it was all so very much. " Neris, then may I trouble you some more...at the shrine...you said you knew my name because of the shard...you knew of Ardent's curse, the bindings...even if a secret long hidden...a monk that does not wish to see this 'Brother Oren's' lies...I feel like you carry more mystery than even myself..." Having a companion to lean on helped greatly. He wasn't used to being alone and Ardent was at least dressed for the weather. He was sure the Warden even felt temperature. "The three of you seem to have history with him...and sadly, I know precious little other than what Luxon taught me and the Sleepless White." His memory hit him like an arrow flying true to his heart. "The Sleepless White...you know the layout of the land, yes? How...how far am I from home?" He asked, with the innocent curiousity of a small child.”
SUCCESS (Superb Reasoning, rolled +0)
Torix Reincor
Thank you, all of you.
Torix keeps his weight on Ardent’s arm, breathing a little easier as the snow hisses around their boots.
Torix Reincor
Neris, then, may I trouble you more. At the shrine, you knew my name because of the shard. You knew of Ardent’s curse, the bindings, and of Brother Oren. You carry more mystery than I do.
Neris
Mystery is safer than certainty, in some halls. I knew enough to follow the lie, not enough to stop it alone.
Ardent Vale
Brother Oren buried his hands in every vow here. He wanted obedience dressed as holiness.
Torix Reincor
The Sleepless White... you know the land, yes? How far am I from home?
The Warden of Stone
Far enough that your home is now a story on the wind, and close enough that old powers can still hear it.
“He stared in utter perplexity at the Warden's answer. "I..." Strange as it may be, he actually warmly laughed. "That sounds precisely like what that silly old dragon would have said." He allowed himself the levity before calming with a hum. "So, with the information you have provided, am I safe to assume that you, Neris, were perhaps a monk of the shrine who once trusted this 'Brother Oren', and you Sir Ardent, were a knight of some kind siding his order before betrayed....o...or am I-Ahhh, actually, that is terribly bold of me to ask! I am most sorry! Please forgive this one for over stepping boundaries!"”
SUCCESS (Superb Willpower, rolled +1)
Torix’s laugh breaks the cold like a little bell, and the tightness in Ardent’s grip eases at once. The Warden’s stony silhouette does not move, but the watchhall seems to listen.
Torix Reincor
I... that sounds precisely like what that silly old dragon would have said.
He lets the humor fade with a quiet hum, then gathers his nerve again, eyes moving from Neris to Ardent with careful courtesy.
Torix Reincor
So, with what you have told me, may I assume you were once of this shrine, Neris, and you, Sir Ardent, served some order before betrayal? Ah, I am sorry, that is terribly bold of me to ask.
Neris
Bold, yes. Wrong, not entirely.
Ardent Vale
I wore a sword before I wore this honesty. The order taught me discipline, then fed that discipline to Oren’s lies.
Neris
And I was close enough to the shrine to notice when the prayers stopped sounding like prayers.
Ardent Vale
No apology needed, Torix. If anything, it is a relief to say it aloud.
“"A-are you certain? I mean...you both clearly have your reasons for keeping silent, I'm sure..." His tail swished nervously. "I just...I just showed up here a few hours ago by now, and I feel more confused by all this than in my entire life." His eyes stared at the Motley as pure and innocent as his surnamesake. "The trees here have strange bumpy texture rather than smooth crystal, and white dust falls from the sky. The fauna here do not seem to approach while in the Sleepless White, we would play Hunter-Tracker near everyday. Even you all....the only people able to speak complex tongue were Luxon and I. So....I find you all so very interesting. You have history and tales!" His tail changed it's movements to a newfound wag if excitement. " I was even able to help you all, which truly is the greatest gift of all for someone like me....so I don't wish to make you uncomfortable from my curiousity and lack of knowledge."”
SUCCESS (Superb Willpower, rolled -2)
Torix Reincor
A-are you certain? I mean, you both have your reasons for silence, I am sure... I only arrived hours ago, and this all feels stranger than anything I have ever known.
Torix’s tail flicks, then settles into an eager wag as his words spill out. The white dust keeps drifting beyond the open vale, and the crooked seal hangs above them like a patient bruise.
Torix Reincor
The trees here are rough, not crystal, and the creatures keep away. In the Sleepless White, we would play Hunter-Tracker almost every day. There were only Luxon and me to speak with, so you all feel... wonderfully full of stories.
Ardent Vale
That is a kinder confession than most men would dare make. It does not make you foolish, Torix, only young enough to still be honest.
Neris
And honest enough to make the rest of us seem guarded. That is not an insult. It is a relief.
The Warden of Stone
Your wonder is plain, gatekeeper. It sits on you like fresh snow, and it has not yet been trodden flat by this world.
Torix’s admission lands cleanly, but it costs him a visible catch of breath, and his cheeks color from the effort of saying so much at once. For a moment, the watchhall feels less like a ruin and more like a fire shared in bad weather.
“"Ah, well" his light cheeks begin to flush, unsure of how to respond. "B-b-back to the task at hand then, yes? May I ask how long it has been since Oren -oh, am I allowed to say it so informally?- first cast the lie? If I have a time frame, tired eyes or no, I could get a foothold on how to begin tracking him down." Lavender eyes darted about as Torix took in his surroundings. Yes, surroundings! That's right. They were out in the open if the beasts back home taught him anything during their play, it's that the open hides many eyes. He searched around his his surroundings to see, hear or smell anything or anyone that might be around.”
SUCCESS (Good Perception, rolled -2)
Torix Reincor
Ah, well... back to the task at hand then, yes? If it is allowed, how long since Oren first cast the lie? A time frame would help me track him down.
Torix’s question hangs in the cold air, and his gaze slips past the others to the vale beyond. Snow dust whirls at the watchhall’s edge, and the crooked seal casts a hard shadow over the threshold.
Fresh tracks mark the drift near the door, but the outer path is disturbed by more than feet. Something passed there recently, and did not move lightly.
Neris
Long enough to leave old men arguing over it. Not long enough for the lie to settle cleanly. If you want the truth, follow the tracks before the wind eats them.
Ardent Vale
And keep to the lee of the wall. Whoever came through here did not come alone.
Torix scans the snow, the stone lip of the watchhall, and the torn prayer flags. He finds a drag mark near the tracks, half-buried, and the scent of lamp oil under the mountain cold. The search costs him, though, a sharp sting in his nose, and one breath too many of the thin, burning air.
“"Ah, well" his light cheeks begin to flush, unsure of how to respond. "B-b-back to the task at hand then, yes? May I ask how long it has been since Oren -oh, am I allowed to say it so informally?- first cast the lie? If I have a time frame, tired eyes or no, I could get a foothold on how to begin tracking him down." Lavender eyes darted about as Torix took in his surroundings. Yes, surroundings! That's right. They were out in the open if the beasts back home taught him anything during their play, it's that the open hides many eyes. He searched around his his surroundings to see, hear or smell anything or anyone that might be around.”
SUCCESS (Good Perception, rolled +3)
Torix Reincor
Ah, well... back to the task at hand then, yes? May I ask how long it has been since Oren first cast the lie? If I have a time frame, I can begin tracking him down.
Torix’s cheeks warm as he speaks, then his attention slips outward. He studies the vale, the threshold, the torn flags, and the snow beyond the watchhall. The tracks do not just lead away, they fan and double back, as if someone was watched, then startled.
Torix Reincor
Lamp oil, drag marks, fresh prints. Someone came through here with purpose.
His sharper gaze catches what the others miss, a narrow smear on the stone lip by the door, and a tiny black fleck caught in the snow. It is fresh soot, not mountain dirt. The hidden path is not empty.
Neris
You see it too. Good. Then we are not following ghosts, we are following a witness.
Ardent Vale
And not one who stayed for long. Whoever passed here was dragged, or carried, before they got far.
The Warden of Stone shifts at the arch, stone grinding softly under stone. From the fissure-bound dark beyond the seal comes a low, hungry throb, and the watchhall itself answers with a faint shiver, as though the building remembers a door it no longer trusts.
“Once more, upbringing and instinct take hold as Torix lowers his body to the ground like a beast himself. The smell of soot...did not belong here. That was as good a hint as any. "Black amount the white...our quarry was careless. We track."”
FAILURE (Mediocre Tracking, rolled -2)
Torix drops fully to the flagstones, one palm brushing soot, the other steady on his key. He follows the smear in silence, nose close to stone, but the black fleck is too faint and the drag marks split in the broken light.
Torix Reincor
The soot is newer than the snow, but the trail breaks under the threshold.
He shifts left, then right, trying to read the floor. The watchhall shudders again, and the tremor blurs the fine print of footprints into a muddle of ash, boot-edge, and old grit.
Neris leans in from the doorway, then straightens as Torix hesitates. Ardent braces a hand to the wall, watching the floor with a tightening jaw, while the Warden of Stone turns his weight toward the dark seam beyond the seal.
Neris
No, it has smeared. Whatever crossed here knew how to move, or was helped.
Ardent Vale
Then the trail ends here. We need another angle, or we are only staring at old ash.
Below them, the floor settles with a dry crack. A thin line opens between two stones near the threshold, not a passage, only a split, but enough to show cold blackness breathing underneath.
“Once more, upbringing and instinct take hold as Torix lowers his body to the ground like a beast himself. The smell of soot...did not belong here. That was as good a hint as any. "Black amount the white...our quarry was careless. We track. Do you have any talents in persuit?"”
SUCCESS (Mediocre Tracking, rolled +0)
Torix Reincor
Black among the white... our quarry was careless. We track. Do you have any talents in pursuit?
Torix lowers to the stone, key braced beside his knee. His fingertips sort soot from grit, and the scattered prints resolve into a dragged heel, then a hurried turn.
Torix Reincor
The soot is older than the crack, and the boot was turned away from the seal.
The answer comes hard and clear, the trail ending not in nothing but in a false step. Someone crossed here, then doubled back under pressure, leaving a clean wedge of direction where the tremor tried to erase it.
Neris
Sharp eyes. That is not chance, that is a hand. The witness was moved, or guided.
Torix finds the line at once, but the effort costs him, a cold scrape of stone dust under his nails and a faint sting in his palm where the edge has caught him.
Ardent Vale
There. A second set, half-hidden. If we follow it now, we reach the one who touched this place.
The Warden of Stone
Then choose swiftly. The seam is widening.
“Once more, upbringing and instinct take hold as Torix lowers his body to the ground like a beast himself. The smell of soot...did not belong here. That was as good a hint as any. "Black amount the white...our quarry was careless. We track. Do you have any talents in persuit?"”
SUCCESS (Mediocre Tracking, rolled +0)
Torix drops lower still, almost chest to stone, and the track answers him. The soot thread and drag mark bend together, then cut toward the watchhall interior, where the floor stones dip around the seam.
Torix Reincor
Black among the white... our quarry was careless. We track. Do you have any talents in pursuit?
The line is real now. It leads past the threshold instead of fading at it, and the hidden turn settles into place beneath Torix's gaze. His palm stings where the stone caught him, but he keeps moving.
Neris
Sharp eyes. That is not chance, that is a hand. The witness was moved, or guided.
Ardent shifts at the side of the door, bracing as if the floor itself might lunge. Below them, the crack in the threshold opens a little wider, and the dark under it breathes colder air into the hall.
The Warden of Stone
Then choose swiftly. The seam is widening.
Torix reaches the point where the soot path vanishes into a broken flagstone, and the chase ends there. The stone beside the threshold sinks with a grinding groan, exposing a narrow stair of black void leading down into the watchhall's guts.
“Once more, upbringing and instinct take hold as Torix lowers his body to the ground like a beast himself. The smell of soot...did not belong here. That was as good a hint as any. "Black amount the white...our quarry was careless. We track. Do you have any talents in persuit?"”
SUCCESS (Mediocre Tracking, rolled +0)
Torix flattens himself to the stone and follows the soot with a creature’s patience. The drag line is real, the witness was taken through here, down into the watchhall’s throat.
Torix Reincor
Black among the white... our quarry was careless. We track. Do you have any talents in pursuit?
Neris
Sharp eyes. That is not chance, that is a hand. The witness was moved, or guided.
Torix’s palm catches on the rough stone and stings, but the line gives way under his gaze at last. The trail does not end in doubt, it ends at a broken flagstone.
The Warden of Stone
Then choose swiftly. The seam is widening.
The flagstone sinks with a grind, and a narrow stair of black void opens beneath the threshold. Cold air breathes up from the fissure, as if the watchhall has remembered a buried mouth.
Ardent Vale
That is the way in. Torix, if you go below, go ready.
“Once more, upbringing and instinct take hold as Torix lowers his body to the ground like a beast himself. The smell of soot...did not belong here. That was as good a hint as any. "Black amount the white...our quarry was careless. We track. Do you have any talents in persuit?"”
FAILURE (Mediocre Tracking, rolled -2)
Torix lowers flat to the stone and reaches for the soot line with patient care, but the trail has gone wrong at the stair’s lip. Cold air drags the ash in a thin, shifting ribbon, and the mark smears under his touch instead of holding shape.
Torix Reincor
Black among the white. Our quarry was careless. We track. Do you have any talents in pursuit?
Neris
Sharp eyes, yes. But the floor is breathing under us, and it has swallowed the clean line.
Torix follows the smear one careful handspan farther, then the soot breaks apart into old grit and cold damp. The first step below is there, but the drag mark is no longer usable as a guide.
Ardent Vale
Then the witness is deeper in, or the hall has shifted. We do not get to chase in a straight line anymore.
The threshold answers with a low groan. One slab sinks a fraction more, and the narrow stair yawns wider, cutting off the easy approach from the doorway behind them.
The Warden of Stone
Choose. Go down now, or lose the path to the dark.
“Once more, upbringing and instinct take hold as Torix lowers his body to the ground like a beast himself. The smell of soot...did not belong here. That was as good a hint as any. "Black amount the white...our quarry was careless. We track. Do you have any talents in persuit? If so, aid would be most appreciated."”
FAILURE (Mediocre Tracking, rolled -1)
Torix sinks lower, nose nearly to the stone, and the cold ash-smell hits him wrong. The trail is there, but it is crossed and smeared by the stair’s breathing draft, as if the dark itself has dragged a sleeve across it.
Torix Reincor
Black among the white. Our quarry was careless. We track. Do you have any talents in pursuit? If so, aid would be most appreciated.
Neris
I can read disturbance, not miracles. Look there, the soot breaks around the edge of the step, like something was set down and lifted in haste.
Torix shifts his hand aside. Beneath the ruined smear, a clean scrape shows in the grit, too narrow for a boot and too deliberate for collapse. The hidden stair is not empty, it is recently used.
The Warden of Stone
The path is changing. If you mean to follow it, go now, before the threshold seals itself against you.
The flagstone groans again and drops another finger’s breadth. Cold air surges up from the fissure, and a sliver of iron glints below the stair lip, half-buried in ash, where no track should be.
Ardent Vale
There. That is not rock. Someone marked this place, or lost a blade in the dark.
“Once more, upbringing and instinct take hold as Torix lowers his body to the ground like a beast himself. The smell of soot...did not belong here. That was as good a hint as any. "Black amount the white...our quarry was careless. We track. Do you have any talents in persuit? If so, aid would be most appreciated."”
SUCCESS (Mediocre Tracking, rolled +3)
Torix flattens himself to the cold stone and follows the scrape instead of the soot. The hidden trail gives way under his nose, clean and narrow, and leads toward the stair where the dark has been collecting.
Torix Reincor
Black among the white. Our quarry was careless. We track.
Torix Reincor
Do you have any talents in pursuit? If so, aid would be most appreciated.
Neris
I can read disturbance, not miracles. But that iron glint sits in the line of travel, not the rubble.
Torix shifts his focus to the buried metal and the path beyond it. The route is no longer a guess. It angles beneath the threshold, into the watchhall’s lower dark, where the air comes up colder and older.
Ardent Vale
That mark was left on purpose. Someone went down there, and they wanted the stair found.
The Warden of Stone
Then go before the threshold takes the choice from you.
“Torix wastes no time, unintentionally leading a charge he does not yet understand he leads. "If there is a chance to learn more of how to stop the gate without requiring a seal, or Oren's' location, then I will happily set foot in dancer's maw for my friends...even if it's...admittedly kind of scary..."”
SUCCESS (Superb Willpower, rolled -1)
Torix goes down first, key in hand and shoulders tight, and the hidden stair takes him at once. Cold, older than the watchhall, breathes up around his boots as the others commit behind him.
The descent bites into the mountain. He reaches the lower landing, where the stone changes from rough ruin to carved work, and the dark opens into a narrow chamber below.
Neris
There. Someone has been here recently. Fresh oil, fresh scrape marks.
Torix follows the scrape to a barred side passage half-swallowed in shadow. The iron glint is not debris at all, but a latch laid bare by the sinking floor.
Ardent Vale
This was a route, not a prison. A witness could have been brought through here.
The Warden of Stone lingers at the top step, stone shifting around his restraint as the threshold settles behind them. The way back narrows with a hard, final grind.
The Warden of Stone
Go on, gatekeeper. The watchhall is choosing sides.
“Torix wastes no time, unintentionally leading a charge he does not yet understand he leads. "If there is a chance to learn more of how to stop the gate without requiring a seal, or Oren's' location, then I will happily set foot in dancer's maw for my friends...even if it's...admittedly kind of scary..." He readies himself, prepared to weave and dodge traps or use his strength to aid his new comrades.”
SUCCESS (Great Agility, rolled +0)
Torix moves first, and the others fall in behind him. The barred passage yields not to force, but to the hidden latch he found, and the side way opens into a cramped run of stone.
Cold pours across the threshold as he steps through. The chamber beyond is narrow, its floor marked by old drag grooves and a strip of darker dust leading deeper into the watchhall.
Neris
There it is, the witness trail. Fresh, too.
Ardent follows Torix into the passage, keeping close to the wall as the floor sinks a finger-width behind them, shutting the gap with a stone groan.
Torix Reincor
The passage is made to be taken quickly.
The Warden of Stone
Good. Then do not waste the opening.
Ahead, the corridor bends toward a blacker throat in the rock, where the cold air thickens and the darkness waits like a mouth already half-open.
“Torix wastes no time, unintentionally leading a charge he does not yet understand he leads. "If there is a chance to learn more of how to stop the gate without requiring a seal, or Oren's' location, then I will happily set foot in dancer's maw for my friends...even if it's...admittedly kind of scary..." He readies himself, prepared to weave and dodge traps or use his strength to aid his new comrades.”
SUCCESS (Great Agility, rolled +2)
Torix slips ahead, and the narrow run answers with a hush of dead stone. The darkness at the bend becomes a corridor, not a mouth, and the drag marks guide his first sure steps into it.
Torix Reincor
The air changes here. Colder, and older.
His boots find clean footing, then a slick patch of old moisture. He keeps his balance, and Ardent and Neris follow without breaking stride.
Neris
Good. The trail is still theirs to answer for.
The corridor opens into a low chamber split by a narrow crack in the floor, where blackness pools below like a second night. On the far wall, a soot-stained slit of daylight shows a second exit, half hidden behind hanging dust.
Ardent Vale
Someone passed through here recently. Not long ago.
Torix reaches the chamber first, and the others stop short behind him. Ahead, the darker passage slants toward a deeper part of the watchhall, while the fissure breathes cold at their heels.
“Torix wastes no time, unintentionally leading a charge he does not yet understand he leads. "If there is a chance to learn more of how to stop the gate without requiring a seal, or Oren's' location, then I will happily set foot in dancer's maw for my friends...even if it's...admittedly kind of scary..." He readies himself, prepared to weave and dodge traps or use his strength to aid his new comrades.”
SUCCESS (Great Agility, rolled +1)
Torix moves first, and the others commit to his pace. The chamber gives way under careful feet, not with danger, but with a path chosen and taken.
Torix Reincor
If there is a chance to learn more, or find Oren, I will go. Even if it is frightening.
His quick step carries the group across the broken stone before the fissure can claim their attention. The darkness below gapes under them like an open eye, but the line to the far exit stays clear.
Torix slips around the worst of the crack, steadying himself with a hand on the wall, and the others follow his lead. Dust shakes loose overhead, then settles as they pass.
By the time they reach the soot-stained slit of daylight, the chamber is behind them. The second exit yawns ahead, narrow and cold, with old air spilling in from beyond.
Neris
There. That is the way someone wanted seen.
Ardent Vale
Then we keep moving, before the watchhall decides to swallow this too.
The corridor beyond the slit is visible now, but its turn hides whatever waits at the far side.
“Torix wastes no time, unintentionally leading a charge he does not yet understand he leads. "If there is a chance to learn more of how to stop the gate without requiring a seal, or Oren's' location, then I will happily set foot in dancer's maw for my friends...even if it's...admittedly kind of scary..." He readies himself, prepared to weave and dodge traps or use his strength to aid his new comrades.”
SUCCESS (Great Agility, rolled -3)
“Torix wastes no time, unintentionally leading a charge he does not yet understand he leads. "If there is a chance to learn more of how to stop the gate without requiring a seal, or Oren's' location, then I will happily set foot in dancer's maw for my friends...even if it's...admittedly kind of scary..." He readies himself, prepared to weave and dodge traps or use his strength to aid his new comrades.”
SUCCESS (Great Agility, rolled +2)
Torix leads at once, and the corridor accepts his pace. The narrow stone throat bends toward the dark, cold and close enough to hear every footfall.
He keeps his key low and his shoulders loose, slipping the first rough seam in the floor before it can snag his step.
Neris follows his line, eyes on the walls. Ardent comes after with a hand hovering near the rock, ready to steady the group if the passage shifts again.
Torix Reincor
The stone is worn on one side, as if something passed here often.
The turn opens suddenly into a small watch alcove. A bound figure kneels within, head bowed beneath an iron hood, while a lantern burns low beside them.
Neris
There. That is the witness.
Ardent Vale
Careful. If they were left like this, someone wanted them silent.
The corridor behind Torix falls away into the fissure-dark, and the hooded captive lifts their head at the sound of his steps.
“Torix wastes no time, unintentionally leading a charge he does not yet understand he leads. "If there is a chance to learn more of how to stop the gate without requiring a seal, or Oren's' location, then I will happily set foot in dancer's maw for my friends...even if it's...admittedly kind of scary..." He readies himself, prepared to weave and dodge traps or use his strength to aid his new comrades.”
SUCCESS (Great Agility, rolled -1)
“Torix wastes no time, unintentionally leading a charge he does not yet understand he leads. "If there is a chance to learn more of how to stop the gate without requiring a seal, or Oren's' location, then I will happily set foot in dancer's maw for my friends...even if it's...admittedly kind of scary..." He readies himself, prepared to weave and dodge traps or use his strength to aid his new comrades.”
SUCCESS (Great Agility, rolled +3)
Torix slips the last pace into the alcove without tripping a wire or brushing the lantern. The bound witness stays still, but the hood tilts, following him.
Torix Reincor
If you can tell us what this place hides, and where Oren has gone, I will listen.
At Torix's feet, a thin line in the stone gleams and gives way under his weight. Nothing snaps, nothing falls. The hidden plate simply unlocks, exposing a narrow channel cut through the floor.
Cold air rises from the opening, carrying dust, old oil, and a faint trace of incense from deeper in the watchhall. The witness jerks as if they know the smell.
A Hooded Witness
Too late for Oren. He was here before you. He left only after he learned the gate could be fed without a seal.
Neris goes very still at that, and Ardent shifts to cover the corridor mouth. The hidden channel runs toward the darkness below, while the witness leans hard against their bindings, straining toward Torix.
A Hooded Witness
If you want his trail, cut me loose and I will show you the way.
“"I...if you were captive and bound by him, you need not give me anything I. Return for freedom. Binding one against their will is just...cruel." The young man is trusting as ever, not seeing a potential threat, only a victim. He reaches to free the prisoner unless his companions say otherwise, trusting them to act and speak where he may be lacking. "Help would be most valued, of course."”
SUCCESS (Superb Willpower, rolled -1)
Torix kneels by the witness and works the bindings loose with careful hands, giving the hooded captive the chance to breathe while the dark channel exhales cold from below.
Torix Reincor
You do not need to earn this freedom. If you were bound against your will, I will not ask payment for helping you.
The cords slacken, then fall away. The iron hood lifts free at last, and the witness flinches once at the open air.
A Hooded Witness
...You should have been wiser than mercy in this place.
Neris eases a half-step nearer, gaze fixed on the witness's face, while Ardent keeps his shoulder angled toward the corridor mouth and listens without interrupting.
A Hooded Witness
Oren called me keeper, then liar, then nothing. He came through this alcove by the hidden way, with incense on his sleeves and ash on his boots. The truth he wanted was below us.
Torix Reincor
Below us. The fissure's darkness opens under the watchhall like a swallowed stair.
A Hooded Witness
If you want more than scraps, ask quickly. I can still show you where his footsteps vanished.
“"I...if you were captive and bound by him, you need not give me anything I. Return for freedom. Binding one against their will is just...cruel." The young man is trusting as ever, not seeing a potential threat, only a victim. He reaches to free the prisoner unless his companions say otherwise, trusting them to act and speak where he may be lacking. "Help would be most valued, of course."”
SUCCESS (Superb Willpower, rolled -1)
Torix’s offer lands gently in the chill chamber, and the witness lets out a thin, disbelieving breath. The opened channel below keeps exhaling cold, but no one moves to break the quiet.
A Hooded Witness
Mercy is a strange coin in a place like this. Still, I hear you.
The witness lowers their hands from their chest and meets Torix’s gaze at last, wary but no longer braced for a blow.
A Hooded Witness
Oren was not merely passing through. He spoke to the stone as if it answered. He wanted the gate fed, not sealed.
Neris
And the truth you were kept to guard?
A Hooded Witness
That he lied to the shrine, and to all of us. I saw the hidden way, I saw his ash, and I saw the place where his steps dropped into the dark.
Ardent’s posture tightens at the corridor mouth, while Neris angles closer, listening for every word. The witness draws a slow breath, then points toward the floor channel without rising.
A Hooded Witness
If you want to find Brother Oren, follow where the watchhall goes coldest. That is where his trail disappears.
“"I...if you were captive and bound by him, you need not give me anything I. Return for freedom. Binding one against their will is just...cruel." The young man is trusting as ever, not seeing a potential threat, only a victim. He reaches to free the prisoner unless his companions say otherwise, trusting them to act and speak where he may be lacking. "Help would be most valued, of course."”
SUCCESS (Superb Willpower, rolled -1)
Torix’s careful hands reach in, and the last knots give way. The hooded witness sags with sudden, unspent relief, free at last in the cold wash from below.
The witness rubs at their wrists, then looks up as if surprised mercy can still touch a place like this.
A Hooded Witness
You mean it. No oath, no chain, no price.
Torix Reincor
Help would be most valued, of course.
A Hooded Witness
Then hear this plainly. Oren took the lower way when the watchhall began to fail. He never feared the dark, only what it might not keep.
Ardent stays near the corridor mouth, silent but alert, while Neris watches the witness with sharpened interest. The cold breath from the channel licks at the stones, carrying up a deeper black from the fissure.
A Hooded Witness
If you go now, I can show you the turn he used. If you stay, I can tell you what he said of the gate before he vanished into it.
“"I...if you were captive and bound by him, you need not give me anything I. Return for freedom. Binding one against their will is just...cruel." The young man is trusting as ever, not seeing a potential threat, only a victim. He reaches to free the prisoner unless his companions say otherwise, trusting them to act and speak where he may be lacking. "Help would be most valued, of course." He begins to allow some healing magic to softly hum and glow, in hopes of helping the individual's likely soreness from the restraints whilst doing so.”
SUCCESS (Superb Willpower, rolled -1)
Torix lets the healing light gather in his hands, soft as breath on snow. It settles over the witness’s sore wrists and the raw marks fade, while the offer of freedom hangs there without a hook.
A Hooded Witness
...That kind of mercy is rare here.
The witness studies Torix a moment longer, then lowers their hands from their wrists as if deciding the pain no longer matters. Their shoulders ease.
A Hooded Witness
Brother Oren called it duty when he bound people. He spoke of the gate like a beast that must be fed, and of fear like a lesson.
Neris
And you stayed close enough to hear that?
A Hooded Witness
I stayed because I thought silence might spare me. It only made me useful.
Ardent remains at the passage, grim but listening, while the cold breath from the dark channel keeps threading through the chamber. The witness glances toward it, then back to Torix, as if weighing whether to speak the last thing they know.
“"I...if you were captive and bound by him, you need not give me anything I. Return for freedom. Binding one against their will is just...cruel." The young man is trusting as ever, not seeing a potential threat, only a victim. He reaches to free the prisoner unless his companions say otherwise, trusting them to act and speak where he may be lacking. "Help would be most valued, of course." He begins to allow some healing magic to softly hum and glow, in hopes of helping the individual's likely soreness from the restraints whilst doing so.”
SUCCESS (Superb Willpower, rolled +0)
Torix Reincor
You need not repay me for freedom. If you were bound against your will, that is cruelty enough.
Torix’s hands glow brighter for a breath, and the soreness in the witness’s wrists eases as the last of the raw pressure drains away.
He reaches toward the loosened cords and the final tension gives, leaving the witness unbound.
A Hooded Witness
...He really means it.
A Hooded Witness
Then I will not spend your mercy wastefully. Oren kept speaking of the gate as if it listened. He never named what he feared most.
Neris
And you heard enough to point us at him?
A Hooded Witness
I heard enough to know he took the lower turn when the stone began to breathe. Past that, there is only the dark and his voice in it.
Ardent Vale
Then tell us where that turn lies.
“"I...if you were captive and bound by him, you need not give me anything I. Return for freedom. Binding one against their will is just...cruel." The young man is trusting as ever, not seeing a potential threat, only a victim. He reaches to free the prisoner unless his companions say otherwise, trusting them to act and speak where he may be lacking. "Help would be most valued, of course." He begins to allow some healing magic to softly hum and glow, in hopes of helping the individual's likely soreness from the restraints whilst doing so.”
SUCCESS (Superb Willpower, rolled +2)
The witness’s shoulders loosen as Torix’s light finishes its work, and the last bite of rope-marks fades from their wrists.
Torix Reincor
I...if you were bound by him, you need not repay me. If that was against your will, that is cruelty enough.
Torix reaches again, this time only to ease away the last of the loosened cords, while his healing glow hums softly over the sore skin.
A Hooded Witness
He really means it.
A Hooded Witness
Then I will not waste your mercy. Oren spoke to the gate as if it listened. He never named what he feared most.
Neris
And you heard enough to point us at him?
A Hooded Witness
I heard enough to know he took the lower turn when the stone began to breathe. Past that, there is only the dark, and his voice in it.
Ardent Vale
Then tell us where that turn lies.
“"If there is only dark, then become the light that banished it. That's something Luxon would tell me. Thank you sir...uhhhh...madam....dear fellow. Yes, that will do in absence of a name. The gate does indeed speak...but like magic itself, it speaks to those who will listen, and not all words carry kindness. Is there a map of clear directions you can provide? I wish to help my friends in any way I can, and a clear path lessens the dangers for them, making it easier to protect them." Such an odd feeling; to be the protector rather than the protected. To Torix, being able to help someone in need without thinking of the danger was simply how things were. He did not understand all he had done for these stranger's he now claimed friends. He did not know how much of himself he gave up so willingly, how easily he gave up his vunerabilities. All he knew is that they were in need and he was there.”
SUCCESS (Superb Reasoning, rolled +1)
The witness lifts a hand, then points past Neris and Ardent toward the slanted seam in the stone. A narrow sketch of the lower watchhall’s turns is traced in ash on the floor, and the cold breath from the channel seems to lick at it.
A Hooded Witness
There. Left at the split, then down by the broken brace. Oren took the passage where the wall sweats salt.
Torix Reincor
Then your path helps ours. Thank you, good fellow. A map like that keeps danger smaller for my friends.
A Hooded Witness
Your thanks is strange, but welcome. Take this, if you mean to keep going.
They press a chalk-stub into Torix’s hand, the tip already whitened by use. Ardent straightens at once, reading the mark with a soldier’s focus.
Ardent Vale
That makes the turn plain. We move when you are ready.
Neris
And if Oren hears us coming, we are no longer chasing him, we are entering his dark.
+ New Item Acquired
chalk-stub
“"If there is only dark, then become the light that banished it. That's something Luxon would tell me. Thank you sir...uhhhh...madam....dear fellow. Yes, that will do in absence of a name. The gate does indeed speak...but like magic itself, it speaks to those who will listen, and not all words carry kindness. Is there a map of clear directions you can provide? I wish to help my friends in any way I can, and a clear path lessens the dangers for them, making it easier to protect them." Such an odd feeling; to be the protector rather than the protected. To Torix, being able to help someone in need without thinking of the danger was simply how things were. He did not understand all he had done for these stranger's he now claimed friends. He did not know how much of himself he gave up so willingly, how easily he gave up his vunerabilities. All he knew is that they were in need and he was there.”
SUCCESS (Superb Willpower, rolled +1)
Torix’s words settle into the chamber like a candle set in a draft, and for a breath the cold does not seem quite so sharp.
A Hooded Witness
A map, then. Aye, I can give you that much.
The witness kneels by the ash sketch and drags a knuckle through it, sharpening the lower route into a clean turn, then a narrow stair, then a marked landing.
Ardent Vale
That is better than guessing in the dark.
Neris
And better than walking blind into Oren's hands.
The witness taps the last bend, where the line dips beside the place the wall sweats salt.
A Hooded Witness
He uses the channel as cover. If you keep left of the hollow stones, you should reach him before he hears your steps.
Ardent takes the chalk-stub and marks the route on the stone again, while the darkness from below breathes steadily through the seam.
“"If there is only dark, then become the light that banished it. That's something Luxon would tell me. Thank you sir...uhhhh...madam....dear fellow. Yes, that will do in absence of a name. The gate does indeed speak...but like magic itself, it speaks to those who will listen, and not all words carry kindness. Is there a map of clear directions you can provide? I wish to help my friends in any way I can, and a clear path lessens the dangers for them, making it easier to protect them." Such an odd feeling; to be the protector rather than the protected. To Torix, being able to help someone in need without thinking of the danger was simply how things were. He did not understand all he had done for these stranger's he now claimed friends. He did not know how much of himself he gave up so willingly, how easily he gave up his vunerabilities. All he knew is that they were in need and he was there.”
SUCCESS (Superb Willpower, rolled +1)
Torix’s plea lands cleanly. The witness straightens from the ash map and draws in a slow breath, as if deciding something he has kept folded away for too long.
A Hooded Witness
A clear path, then. Yes. Look here, this is the route worth taking.
He takes the chalk-stub from Ardent and redraws the lower way in firmer strokes, marking a left-hand bend, a broken stair, and a narrow landing beside the salt-sweating wall.
A Hooded Witness
Brother Oren keeps to cover and hates open stone. If you see a dry niche with old soot, you are close.
Torix Reincor
The map is clearer now. He gives them a safer way.
Neris
That should spare us a bad guess, and a worse fight.
Ardent folds the copied route into the stone dust with one careful press, then looks up toward the dark seam breathing at the floor’s edge. The way forward is fixed, but the hush after it feels like a door closing somewhere deeper.
“"If there is only dark, then become the light that banished it. That's something Luxon would tell me. Thank you sir...uhhhh...madam....dear fellow. Yes, that will do in absence of a name. The gate does indeed speak...but like magic itself, it speaks to those who will listen, and not all words carry kindness. Is there a map of clear directions you can provide? I wish to help my friends in any way I can, and a clear path lessens the dangers for them, making it easier to protect them." Such an odd feeling; to be the protector rather than the protected. To Torix, being able to help someone in need without thinking of the danger was simply how things were. He did not understand all he had done for these stranger's he now claimed friends. He did not know how much of himself he gave up so willingly, how easily he gave up his vunerabilities. All he knew is that they were in need and he was there.”
SUCCESS (Superb Willpower, rolled +3)
Torix Reincor
If there is only dark, become the light that banishes it. Thank you, dear fellow. Is there a map with clearer directions? I want to help my friends keep safe.
The witness lowers the chalk-stub, then slides the ash map toward Torix instead of away from him. A thumb taps a hidden turn beside the salt-sweating wall, and the chalk marks there shine brighter than the rest.
A Hooded Witness
Take it. There is a cleaner route, and one I did not mark before. Oren hates that passage, so it is likely the safer one.
Ardent straightens from the floor and glances to Torix, then to the seam breathing cold from the stone. The chamber shifts with a soft grind as the lower way settles open, as if the watchhall itself is yielding a little more of its bones.
Neris
That is better than guessing blind. We go with the map, now.
A Hooded Witness
And this, too. Oren took a lantern-route below, but he will not have long before the old watchsteps collapse behind him.
The witness presses a second fold into Torix’s hand, a rough charcoal sketch of the lower descent. It shows a broken stair, a bend, and a dry landing where the darkness narrows into a throat.
“Torix makes it a point to study the maps as carefully as he can, committing what he can to memory in case of emergency. He takes the witness's hand in his own, trying to give a reassuring smile. His own appearance matched with the pure white crystals flying through the air manage to light him in a way that looks almost ethereal. "Keep safe, dear fellow. We shall see too it that Oren can harm no one else." He stands once more, looking to Ardent and Neris. "You have my word I will do my utmost to find him for you both...I will found out how and why he hurt you so you may have closure, so long as I draw breath. I may....I may be a bit of a mess, but I was always taught the importance of a promise. Come now, we shouldn't tarry”
SUCCESS (Superb Reasoning, rolled -3)
Torix studies the sketches until the lines settle in his memory, then folds them with careful fingers and tucks them away. The chalk dust on the stone catches in the drifting white crystals around him, making his stillness look almost holy.
He takes the witness’s hand, and the older figure answers with a brief squeeze before letting go. The map’s charcoal edge scrapes softly against Torix’s palm as the chamber grinds underfoot.
A Hooded Witness
Go lightly. Oren always listens for feet on the wrong stone.
Torix rises, the white sheen around his horns and wings brightening in the cold draft. Ardent watches him from the side, tense but ready, while Neris keeps their gaze on the marked route.
Torix Reincor
Keep safe, dear fellow. We shall see that Oren can harm no one else.
Torix Reincor
You have my word I will do my utmost to find him for you both. I will find out how and why he hurt you, so you may have closure, so long as I draw breath.
The witness turns toward the lower way, then points past the throat of darkness where the passage dips out of sight. The floor gives another hard groan, and a thin spill of grit slides into the fissure.
“Torix makes it a point to study the maps as carefully as he can, committing what he can to memory in case of emergency. He takes the witness's hand in his own, trying to give a reassuring smile. His own appearance matched with the pure white crystals flying through the air manage to light him in a way that looks almost ethereal. "Keep safe, dear fellow. We shall see too it that Oren can harm no one else." He stands once more, looking to Ardent and Neris. "You have my word I will do my utmost to find him for you both...I will found out how and why he hurt you so you may have closure, so long as I draw breath. I may....I may be a bit of a mess, but I was always taught the importance of a promise. Come now, we shouldn't tarry”
SUCCESS (Superb Reasoning, rolled +0)
Torix commits the route to memory, the ash lines and charcoal bends settling into his mind before he folds the sketches away. The chamber shudders, and the lowered way ahead yawns wider into the fissure’s black throat.
He takes the hooded witness’s hand once more, and the older figure returns the grip with a brief, steady squeeze. White crystals drift through the air around Torix, catching on his pale glow like frost on a lantern flame.
A Hooded Witness
Go carefully. Oren hears every poor step down there.
Torix rises, map folded away, and the three companions look to him as the chamber groans again beneath their feet.
Torix Reincor
Keep safe, dear fellow. We shall see that Oren can harm no one else.
Torix Reincor
You have my word I will do my utmost to find him for you both. I will find out how and why he hurt you, so you may have closure, so long as I draw breath.
The witness points into the descending dark, and the route below answers with a hard grind of stone on stone. The next step is waiting in the mouth of the fissure.
“"If he hears every step, then no footfalls I will make. Allow me to scout ahead, so you may find safety if something goes awry." He spreads his wings so he may fly just enough to not leave steps nor heavy footfalls, smiling back to Neris and Ardent. "Perhaps once this is done, you can share more tales." With that, he defends along the path the witness had provided”
FAILURE (Good Stealth, rolled -4)
Torix lifts from the stone in a hush of pale wings, skimming the lip of the fissure without a step. The chamber below answers at once, stone whispering and dust slipping after him into the dark.
He smiles back toward Ardent and Neris, a small promise of caution, but the air around his wings shivers. White motes cling to the crystal sheen, then scatter as if something below has tasted his motion.
The black opening widens by a handspan, and the hidden route gives a hard, grinding lurch. A ribbon of grit slides away under Torix’s feet, turning his silent drift into a risky hover over emptiness.
A Hooded Witness
Careful, Torix. It is waking to you.
Ardent Vale
The floor is moving. Do not let it pull you off the path.
Torix keeps forward, but the next stone edge shears loose beneath him and drops into the darkness. The route ahead is no longer a clean descent, only a broken mouth of ledges and falling dust.
Neris
He has the scent of the way now. Either follow him, or brace for the chamber to take more of the floor.
“"If he hears every step, then no footfalls I will make. Allow me to scout ahead, so you may find safety if something goes awry." He spreads his wings so he may fly just enough to not leave steps nor heavy footfalls, smiling back to Neris and Ardent. "Perhaps once this is done, you can share more tales." With that, he defends along the path the witness had provided”
SUCCESS (Good Stealth, rolled +0)
Torix banks forward and gives the witness and Ardent one last light smile before the ledges take him. His wings catch just enough air to keep him above the stones, and the path accepts him without a footfall.
Torix Reincor
If he hears every step, then I make none. Let me scout ahead, so you may find safety if this goes awry.
Torix Reincor
Perhaps, once this is done, you can share more tales.
He slips beyond the broken lip and into the hidden descent, following the witness's route with careful, drifting flight. Below him, the fissure's dark throat opens wider, while above, loose grit pours after his wake.
The first turn lands him at a lower landing of cracked stone, where the way ahead narrows into a sealed span of old masonry. The route does not continue cleanly, it ends at a heavy door set fast in the rock, its iron seams dusted with fresh chalk.
Neris
There. The trail stops at the old way. If Oren passed here, he passed through that door.
A low tremor rolls through the chamber, and the door answers with a dull shudder from within. Torix reaches the destination, but something on the other side stirs as if it has heard him arrive.
“"If he hears every step, then no footfalls I will make. Allow me to scout ahead, so you may find safety if something goes awry." He spreads his wings so he may fly just enough to not leave steps nor heavy footfalls, smiling back to Neris and Ardent. "Perhaps once this is done, you can share more tales." With that, he defends along the path the witness had provided”
SUCCESS (Good Stealth, rolled +1)
Torix glides off the broken lip and into the narrow descent, silent as dust. His wings hold him above the stone, and the chalked route stays clean beneath him.
Torix Reincor
If he hears every step, then I make none. Allow me to scout ahead, so you may find safety if something goes awry.
Torix Reincor
Perhaps once this is done, you can share more tales.
He banks along the passage without touching down, following the witness's marks into the lower watchhall. The fissure's dark yawns beside him, drinking loose grit as he passes.
The path ends hard at a lower landing, where a heavy door blocks the way ahead. Fresh chalk dust lies on its iron seams, and the old stone seems to tense around it.
Neris
There. The trail stops at the old way. If Oren passed here, he passed through that door.
A deep tremor answers from beyond the door. The seal shudders once, as if something inside has just felt Torix arrive.
“The tremor does certainly unnerve the boy. He is naive and inexperienced afterall. With no past to speak of and lost in unfamiliar lands, thrown into helping people he knows nothing about and spare no hints of their own pasts, such feelings are to be expected. "...I...I must push forward....I promised them...Ardent, Neris...even the Warden...whatever is there I will face." His throat felt like catching and his stomach turned in knots, but he pressed he hand upon the door bladed key sword in hand and ready to face what awaited him.”
SUCCESS (Superb Willpower, rolled +1)
Torix presses the bladed key to the seam. The door gives under his weight and thought alike, then swings inward on a breath of stale air.
A narrow chamber opens beyond, its floor cut by old channels and its walls marked with chalk sigils half-ground away. The fissure's darkness runs along one edge like spilled ink.
Torix Reincor
I am here.
His voice carries into the room. Something inside answers with a scrape of metal and a low, human exhale.
Brother Oren
Too late to turn back now.
At the far side, a robed figure shifts beside a stone dais, half-hidden by the dim. The trail has led true.
The door stands open behind Torix, and the chamber beyond waits for his next move.
Quest Complete
Find Brother Oren
Attribute Upgrade: Willpower Superb→Legendary
“"It is never too late so long as hope stands true." He tried to stand tall, puff his chest, spread his wings to look bigger, but a young man of only 166cm does not a frightening silhouette make. "I am Torix Reincor of the Sleepless White. I am new seal and guardian of the mountain shrine and I am friend to Sir Ardent the knight, and Neris the Monk, and you will answer for what and why you have acted against the." While intimidation was not his strong suit, his earnest and pure soul did shine through as he spoke the words he truly believed in.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled -2)
Torix Reincor
It is never too late so long as hope stands true.
Torix straightens and spreads his wings, trying to seem larger than he is. The effect is earnest more than frightening, but it holds the room anyway.
Torix Reincor
I am Torix Reincor of the Sleepless White. I am the new seal and guardian of the mountain shrine, friend to Sir Ardent and Neris. You will answer for what you have done, and why.
Brother Oren
So the shrine sent a bright fool with a borrowed title.
Brother Oren lowers the hand he had half-raised toward the dais. The scrape of metal ceases. He studies Torix instead of the floor, as if weighing the wings, the key, and the courage behind them.
Brother Oren
New seal? Hah. Then you have already been fed a lie, or a burden. I fed the gate because the order feared it, and fear is easier to preach than duty.
The words land with a dry click in the chamber. Chalk dust shifts under the draft from the fissure, and the open door behind Torix groans once as if listening.
Brother Oren
If you want the whole truth, come closer and ask it like a witness, not a judge.
“"It is never too late so long as hope stands true." He tried to stand tall, puff his chest, spread his wings to look bigger, but a young man of only 166cm does not a frightening silhouette make. "I am Torix Reincor of the Sleepless White. I am new seal and guardian of the mountain shrine and I am friend to Sir Ardent the knight, and Neris the Monk, and you will answer for what and why you have acted against the." While intimidation was not his strong suit, his earnest and pure soul did shine through as he spoke the words he truly believed in.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +0)
Torix’s words settle over the chamber, and Brother Oren’s face tightens. For a moment, the old man looks less like a threat and more like a witness cornered by his own history.
Brother Oren
If you truly seek answer and not applause, then listen. I was not born here, only stationed here, and the order taught me that mercy without sacrifice is a child’s song.
He lifts a hand toward the stone dais, then stops short of touching it, as if the slab might bite. Chalk dust stirs around his boots and slips toward the fissure’s darkness.
Brother Oren
The gate hungered. I learned its hunger, and the shrine called that blasphemy. They wanted a seal that would never ask them to pay for keeping it shut.
Torix Reincor
He knows the gate by name, at least by nature.
Ardent remains silent at Torix’s side, watching Oren with a narrowed, searching stare, while Neris keeps to the edge of the chamber, attentive and still.
Brother Oren
So ask it plainly, Torix Reincor. Do you want my confession, or do you want the path I found beneath the watchhall?
“"It is never too late so long as hope stands true." He tried to stand tall, puff his chest, spread his wings to look bigger, but a young man of only 166cm does not a frightening silhouette make. "I am Torix Reincor of the Sleepless White. I am new seal and guardian of the mountain shrine and I am friend to Sir Ardent the knight, and Neris the Monk, and you will answer for what and why you have acted against the." While intimidation was not his strong suit, his earnest and pure soul did shine through as he spoke the words he truly believed in.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +3)
Torix straightens, wings flaring wider than his frame can truly command, and the chamber seems to measure him anyway. His voice rings clear over the chalk dust and the fissure’s hush.
Torix Reincor
It is never too late so long as hope stands true. I am Torix Reincor of the Sleepless White. I am the new seal and guardian of the mountain shrine, and friend to Sir Ardent and Neris. You will answer for what you have done, and why.
Brother Oren goes still. The defiance in his face breaks, not into fear, but into recognition, as if a door inside him has finally been named.
Brother Oren
Then you truly are the one the mountain chose. I do answer, and I answer to you, not to the order that buried the truth.
Ardent Vale
He made him yield. Just by standing there.
Oren lowers his hand from the dais and steps back from it, exposing a narrow seam of chalk hidden beneath his sleeve. The line matches the route map, and it points deeper than the chamber floor.
Neris
That mark is a witness path. Oren kept a second way open.
Brother Oren
If you want the full truth, follow where I was forbidden to speak.
“A pregnant pause, before confusion anew. "W-wait...what? I...I am confused. No, wait...if you answer to me then...then tell me; we may have freed him from it, but why did you curse Sir Ardent? What is the history between you and Neris that had them pursue you so? What is the buried gate hiding?" While clear he was trying to sound commanding, he befuddled mind made it all seem more like a request. "You tied a man up, cursed another and have a third pursue so with so much fervor that they were reluctant to even give us a name." The dragonkin looked to his compatriots. "Surely you have questions as well?"”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled -1)
Torix’s question lands, and the chamber loosens around it. Oren’s shoulders sag, while Neris and Ardent both turn in, drawn by the answer at last.
Brother Oren
Ardent was never meant to suffer for himself. The rite was a shield, twisted after I found what slept below.
Brother Oren
Neris came seeking the witness I hid, and I knew their footsteps before I knew their name. They have hunted me because I made them promise silence, then broke the promise first.
Brother Oren
The gate is not empty stone. It hungers, remembers, and answers to old vows buried under this mountain.
Torix Reincor
So the seal, the curse, and the witness path all point to the same buried thing.
Neris
He is telling the part that hurts him. The rest is in the lower way.
Brother Oren
If you want it all, follow me. Or stand here and let the dark keep listening.
“Torix looked between Neris and Brother Oren."Promised silence? Silence for what? Ah, no...wait...you're right... We should keep moving. Ancient things don't like being forgotten....but...but I wish. To know what you mean while we travel. What silence wehe you swearing and breaking? Why curse Sir Ardent particularly?" He asked, but following without question. It could be a real, certainly but he spoke no lie that Ancient things do not like being forgotten...and an angry, ancient darkness was not going to allow them a reprieve to talk it over. He just wanted to know just who Neris was. A trusted ally with no identity but a name...why hide who you are?”
SUCCESS (Superb Reasoning, rolled +4)
Torix falls in beside them and the chamber answers with the soft grind of stone. Brother Oren starts down the lower way, and the chalk on his sleeve flashes once in the dim. The fissure’s darkness breathes at their heels, patient and cold.
Torix Reincor
Promised silence for what? I want to hear it while we walk.
Neris glances back at him, then toward Oren, as if weighing how much the walls themselves can bear. Ardent keeps pace near Torix’s shoulder, silent but listening hard.
Brother Oren
For naming the lower way aloud. For asking what should have stayed buried until I had the courage to face it.
Neris
And for swearing the witness would never be found, then breaking that oath when the shrine began to fail.
Torix Reincor
Why Ardent, then?
Brother Oren
Because he was nearest the false rite, nearest the lie I helped build. I told myself harm would be smaller if it wore one face.
The words land hard. Oren does not slow, but his hand tightens on the chalked seam, and Neris’ stare sharpens as if a hidden shape has finally stepped into view. Ahead, the lower passage opens toward deeper dark, and the map of old mistakes seems to widen with it.
“Torix looks back to Neris while they walk, clearly growing discomforted by the air about them. "Then...then Brother Oren isn't the only one at fault here. You...knew something was wrong and swore silence. Luxon used to say that 'To ignore the plight of those one might conceivably save is not wisdom—it is indolence'. You could have saved others from pain and suffering if you sought a solution over silence...the reason you know so much is because you're just as involved...aren't you? Did you perhaps hear the whispers of the dark...and wants it's siren song to caress you again?" His large lavender eyes watched Neris unblinking. The was no judgement or persecution; only a rainbow flecked gaze with an honesty that could Peirce the strongest of armors. "If so...then yours is the soul I need to work on saving the most. Magic listens. The dark listens. The earth, sky, trees and waves...they all listen....and they do not forget."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +0)
Torix Reincor
Then Brother Oren is not the only one at fault here. You knew something was wrong, and you stayed silent. If the dark spoke to you before, I need to know that too.
Torix keeps walking, but his gaze stays on Neris. The corridor narrows around them, and the chalk scent fades into colder stone.
Neris
...He sees too much.
Neris
I knew enough to be afraid. Fear is not innocence, Torix, only a poor excuse for delay.
Torix Reincor
If the dark left whispers in you, I would rather face that truth than let it fester unseen.
Neris
It did whisper, once. I listened. I did not answer, but I did not walk away clean.
Ahead, Brother Oren glances back over one shoulder, hearing the change in tone. The passage opens into a taller seam of black rock, and the fissure's hidden breathing seems to pulse somewhere below the stones.
“Torix looks back to Neris while they walk, clearly growing discomforted by the air about them. "Then...then Brother Oren isn't the only one at fault here. You...knew something was wrong and swore silence. Luxon used to say that 'To ignore the plight of those one might conceivably save is not wisdom—it is indolence'. You could have saved others from pain and suffering if you sought a solution over silence...the reason you know so much is because you're just as involved...aren't you? Did you perhaps hear the whispers of the dark...and wants it's siren song to caress you again?" His large lavender eyes watched Neris unblinking. The was no judgement or persecution; only a rainbow flecked gaze with an honesty that could Peirce the strongest of armors. "If so...then yours is the soul I need to work on saving the most. Magic listens. The dark listens. The earth, sky, trees and waves...they all listen....and they do not forget."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled -2)
Torix slows only enough to turn his gaze fully on Neris. The words land cleanly, and the corridor seems to hush around their breathing.
Neris
I knew enough to be afraid, and afraid enough to stay. That is the shape of my shame.
Neris
He sees straight through me. Of course he does.
Neris keeps walking, but their shoulders tighten under the confession. The black seam of stone beside them drinks the torchless gloom, and the fissure below gives a faint, cold pulse.
Neris
Yes. I heard it once, in the dark below the watchhall. I answered nothing, but it left a mark all the same.
Torix's frank concern draws a wary, startled look from Neris. For a moment, their pace falters, then steadies as they study his face in return.
Neris
You speak as if mercy itself has teeth. If I tell you the rest, will you still look at me that way?
“Torix looks back to Neris while they walk, clearly growing discomforted by the air about them. "Then...then Brother Oren isn't the only one at fault here. You...knew something was wrong and swore silence. Luxon used to say that 'To ignore the plight of those one might conceivably save is not wisdom—it is indolence'. You could have saved others from pain and suffering if you sought a solution over silence...the reason you know so much is because you're just as involved...aren't you? Did you perhaps hear the whispers of the dark...and wants it's siren song to caress you again?" His large lavender eyes watched Neris unblinking. The was no judgement or persecution; only a rainbow flecked gaze with an honesty that could Peirce the strongest of armors. "If so...then yours is the soul I need to work on saving the most. Magic listens. The dark listens. The earth, sky, trees and waves...they all listen....and they do not forget."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +1)
Torix Reincor
Then Brother Oren is not the only one at fault here. You knew something was wrong, and you stayed silent. If the dark whispered to you before, then I need to know that too. I am not judging you.
Torix keeps walking, but his unease shows in the set of his shoulders as the passage drinks the little light it has left. His gaze does not waver from Neris, steady and clear.
Neris
I did hear it. Once. I answered nothing, yet I carried the echo like a stain. That is the truth of it.
Neris slows beside him, then matches his pace again. The cold seam in the floor gives a dim pulse under their feet, like a heart buried in stone.
Torix Reincor
If so, then yours is the soul I need to help most. Magic listens. The dark listens. The earth, sky, trees, and waves listen too, and they do not forget.
Neris
He speaks as if mercy can still reach me. As if I have not already gone too far to be seen.
Neris
Then look at me plainly, Torix Reincor. If I tell you the rest, will you still call it shame, or will you hear the whole wound?
“Torix looks back to Neris while they walk, clearly growing discomforted by the air about them. "Then...then Brother Oren isn't the only one at fault here. You...knew something was wrong and swore silence. Luxon used to say that 'To ignore the plight of those one might conceivably save is not wisdom—it is indolence'. You could have saved others from pain and suffering if you sought a solution over silence...the reason you know so much is because you're just as involved...aren't you? Did you perhaps hear the whispers of the dark...and wants it's siren song to caress you again?" His large lavender eyes watched Neris unblinking. The was no judgement or persecution; only a rainbow flecked gaze with an honesty that could Peirce the strongest of armors. "If so...then yours is the soul I need to work on saving the most. Magic listens. The dark listens. The earth, sky, trees and waves...they all listen....and they do not forget."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +1)
Torix slows his stride, then turns fully toward Neris as the passage keeps moving around them. The cold seam under the stones throbs once, lighting his face from below.
Torix Reincor
Then Brother Oren is not the only one at fault here. You knew something was wrong, and you stayed silent. I am not judging you.
His large eyes stay fixed on Neris, steady and unblinking, while the black corridor presses close on either side.
Neris
He speaks of mercy as if it still has room for me.
Torix Reincor
If you heard the dark before, then tell me plainly. Yours is the soul I need to help most.
Neris
Then hear the whole wound, Torix Reincor. I did hear it. I answered nothing, but I carried the echo anyway.
Neris lifts their chin at last, shame and relief both visible in the set of their shoulders. The fissure's pale pulse glints across the floor between them like a vein of buried ice.
Neris
If I say the rest, will you still look at me the same?
“Torix looks back to Neris while they walk, clearly growing discomforted by the air about them. "Then...then Brother Oren isn't the only one at fault here. You...knew something was wrong and swore silence. Luxon used to say that 'To ignore the plight of those one might conceivably save is not wisdom—it is indolence'. You could have saved others from pain and suffering if you sought a solution over silence...the reason you know so much is because you're just as involved...aren't you? Did you perhaps hear the whispers of the dark...and wants it's siren song to caress you again?" His large lavender eyes watched Neris unblinking. The was no judgement or persecution; only a rainbow flecked gaze with an honesty that could Peirce the strongest of armors. "If so...then yours is the soul I need to work on saving the most. Magic listens. The dark listens. The earth, sky, trees and waves...they all listen....and they do not forget."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +1)
Torix keeps walking at Neris’s side, but his words pull the passage inward around them. The cold seam below the stones flickers, and the dark feels suddenly listened to, as if the watchhall itself leans closer.
Torix Reincor
Then Brother Oren is not the only one at fault here. You knew something was wrong and stayed silent. I do not judge you.
Neris
You speak of mercy as if it still has room for me.
Torix Reincor
If you heard the dark before, tell me plainly. Yours is the soul I need to help most.
Neris
Then hear the whole wound, Torix Reincor. I heard it. I answered nothing, but I carried the echo anyway.
Torix Reincor
If so, then yours is the soul I need to work on saving the most. Magic listens. The dark listens. The earth, sky, trees, and waves, they all listen, and they do not forget.
Neris
...No one has spoken to me like that since before I came here. If I say the rest, will you still look at me the same?
“Torix looks back to Neris while they walk, clearly growing discomforted by the air about them. "Then...then Brother Oren isn't the only one at fault here. You...knew something was wrong and swore silence. Luxon used to say that 'To ignore the plight of those one might conceivably save is not wisdom—it is indolence'. You could have saved others from pain and suffering if you sought a solution over silence...the reason you know so much is because you're just as involved...aren't you? Did you perhaps hear the whispers of the dark...and wants it's siren song to caress you again?" His large lavender eyes watched Neris unblinking. The was no judgement or persecution; only a rainbow flecked gaze with an honesty that could Peirce the strongest of armors. "If so...then yours is the soul I need to work on saving the most. Magic listens. The dark listens. The earth, sky, trees and waves...they all listen....and they do not forget."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +1)
Torix slows just enough to meet Neris’s gaze, the cold seam below the stones pulsing between their steps like a buried heartbeat. His words land without heat, and the passage seems to listen harder.
Neris
Then do not look away from me now. I carried the echo, yes, and I said nothing because fear made itself sound like survival.
The admission hangs in the thin light. Neris’s shoulders loosen by a fraction, as if naming the shame makes it lighter to bear.
Neris
Brother Oren called it duty. I believed him long enough to become complicit.
Torix Reincor
The watchhall keeps breathing. Neris is telling the truth, or something close enough to hurt.
Neris
If you still mean mercy, then hear this too. I did not answer the dark, but I know its voice, and I know why it chose me to whisper at.
For a beat, the corridor is only stone, breath, and that cold light underfoot. Neris looks to Torix as if waiting to see whether honesty breaks him or binds them.
“Torix looks back to Neris while they walk, clearly growing discomforted by the air about them. "Then...then Brother Oren isn't the only one at fault here. You...knew something was wrong and swore silence. Luxon used to say that 'To ignore the plight of those one might conceivably save is not wisdom—it is indolence'. You could have saved others from pain and suffering if you sought a solution over silence...the reason you know so much is because you're just as involved...aren't you? Did you perhaps hear the whispers of the dark...and wants it's siren song to caress you again?" His large lavender eyes watched Neris unblinking. The was no judgement or persecution; only a rainbow flecked gaze with an honesty that could Peirce the strongest of armors. "If so...then yours is the soul I need to work on saving the most. Magic listens. The dark listens. The earth, sky, trees and waves...they all listen....and they do not forget."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled -2)
Torix Reincor
Then Brother Oren is not the only one at fault. You knew something was wrong, and you stayed silent. If you heard the dark whispering, then you were touched by it too. Magic listens, and it does not forget.
Torix keeps walking, but the air around him seems to tighten with each quiet word. His blunt honesty lands without malice, only a tired insistence that truth should not be left buried.
Neris
Yes. I heard it. I feared it, and I let that fear make my silence into a habit.
Neris stops pretending the answer is anything cleaner than that. The confession costs them, but it also strips away the last of their guarded distance.
Neris
I did not choose the whispers, Torix. But I chose not to warn others when I should have.
The passage gives a soft, hollow groan beneath their feet, and a breath of cold rises from the fissure like a held secret finally exhaled. Neris watches Torix as if waiting for judgment, or a hand extended instead.
“Torix looks back to Neris while they walk, clearly growing discomforted by the air about them. "Then...then Brother Oren isn't the only one at fault here. You...knew something was wrong and swore silence. Luxon used to say that 'To ignore the plight of those one might conceivably save is not wisdom—it is indolence'. You could have saved others from pain and suffering if you sought a solution over silence...the reason you know so much is because you're just as involved...aren't you? Did you perhaps hear the whispers of the dark...and wants it's siren song to caress you again?" His large lavender eyes watched Neris unblinking. The was no judgement or persecution; only a rainbow flecked gaze with an honesty that could Peirce the strongest of armors. "If so...then yours is the soul I need to work on saving the most. Magic listens. The dark listens. The earth, sky, trees and waves...they all listen....and they do not forget."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled -3)
Torix Reincor
Then Brother Oren is not the only one at fault. You knew something was wrong, and you stayed silent.
Torix Reincor
If you heard the dark whispering, then it touched you too. Magic listens, and it does not forget.
Torix keeps walking, but the passage seems to tighten around his words. The cold seam in the floor throws pale light across his face as he turns back toward Neris.
The bluntness lands cleanly, without cruelty. It strips the silence from the air between them and leaves only the truth of it.
Neris
Yes. I heard it. I feared it, and I let that fear make my silence into a habit.
Neris
I did not choose the whispers, Torix. But I chose not to warn others when I should have.
Neris slows, then squares their shoulders as if bracing for judgment. Torix's concern keeps holding the space instead.
Neris
If I tell you what else I heard, will you still look at me the same way?
“Torix looks back to Neris while they walk, clearly growing discomforted by the air about them. "Then...then Brother Oren isn't the only one at fault here. You...knew something was wrong and swore silence. Luxon used to say that 'To ignore the plight of those one might conceivably save is not wisdom—it is indolence'. You could have saved others from pain and suffering if you sought a solution over silence...the reason you know so much is because you're just as involved...aren't you? Did you perhaps hear the whispers of the dark...and wants it's siren song to caress you again?" His large lavender eyes watched Neris unblinking. The was no judgement or persecution; only a rainbow flecked gaze with an honesty that could Peirce the strongest of armors. "If so...then yours is the soul I need to work on saving the most. Magic listens. The dark listens. The earth, sky, trees and waves...they all listen....and they do not forget."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +2)
Torix Reincor
Then Brother Oren is not alone in fault. You knew something was wrong, and you stayed silent. If you heard the dark whispering, it touched you too. If so, yours is the soul I need to help most.
Torix keeps walking, but his words slow the whole passage. The cold seam in the floor throws pale blue across their boots, and the narrow way seems to listen with them.
Neris
Yes. I heard it. I feared it, and I let that fear become habit.
Neris
I did not choose the whispers, Torix. But I chose silence when I should have warned others.
Neris squares their shoulders, then lets them ease. The shame in their posture gives way to something more fragile, like they are waiting to be struck and finding only air.
Torix Reincor
Then I will listen to you. The dark listens. Magic listens. The earth, sky, trees, and waves, they all remember.
Neris
If that is true... then hear this. I did not only serve Oren. I knew the lower ways, and I followed them because I thought I could keep the damage smaller.
Above them, the passage opens into a steep, high chamber. The fissure below glows colder still, and the route ahead bends toward a darker drop.
“Torix looks back to Neris while they walk, clearly growing discomforted by the air about them. "Then...then Brother Oren isn't the only one at fault here. You...knew something was wrong and swore silence. Luxon used to say that 'To ignore the plight of those one might conceivably save is not wisdom—it is indolence'. You could have saved others from pain and suffering if you sought a solution over silence...the reason you know so much is because you're just as involved...aren't you? Did you perhaps hear the whispers of the dark...and wants it's siren song to caress you again?" His large lavender eyes watched Neris unblinking. The was no judgement or persecution; only a rainbow flecked gaze with an honesty that could Peirce the strongest of armors. "If so...then yours is the soul I need to work on saving the most. Magic listens. The dark listens. The earth, sky, trees and waves...they all listen....and they do not forget."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled -1)
Torix slows beside the narrowing ledge, and the cold seam below answers with a dimmer pulse. Neris does not recoil from his honesty; they take it in with both hands, as if bracing against weather.
Neris
No, I was involved. Not in Oren's cruelty, but in its shadow. I knew the lower ways. I kept them to myself.
The confession lands, and the passage seems to widen by a finger's breadth around it. Neris's shoulders remain tight, but their chin lifts a little, no longer hiding behind shame.
Neris
I heard the whispers, yes. Not as command, more like a mouth in the stone, trying to learn my name.
Neris
If I say it plainly, maybe it stops ruling me.
Ahead, the chamber rises into a steep dark vault, while the fissure's blue light crawls over the rock like a cold tide. The way forward is still open, but it feels less like a hunt now and more like a reckoning.
Neris
If you mean to help me, Torix, then stay with me a little longer. Ask what you need. I will answer while I can.
“Torix looks back to Neris while they walk, clearly growing discomforted by the air about them. "Then...then Brother Oren isn't the only one at fault here. You...knew something was wrong and swore silence. Luxon used to say that 'To ignore the plight of those one might conceivably save is not wisdom—it is indolence'. You could have saved others from pain and suffering if you sought a solution over silence...the reason you know so much is because you're just as involved...aren't you? Did you perhaps hear the whispers of the dark...and wants it's siren song to caress you again?" His large lavender eyes watched Neris unblinking. The was no judgement or persecution; only a rainbow flecked gaze with an honesty that could Peirce the strongest of armors. "If so...then yours is the soul I need to work on saving the most. Magic listens. The dark listens. The earth, sky, trees and waves...they all listen....and they do not forget."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled -2)
Torix’s words hang in the cold air, and Neris stops with one hand against the stone, taking the rebuke without flinching away. The blue seam below brightens once, as if the passage itself is listening.
Neris
Yes. I heard it. I did not answer it, but I did listen. That is the part I cannot wash away.
They draw a slow breath and let it out through their teeth, then tip their head toward Torix, shame giving way to something more honest.
Neris
I knew enough to fear the wrong things, and not enough to stop Oren. That silence belongs to me.
Torix’s compassion lands where accusation might have broken the moment. Neris’s shoulders ease, but their fingers still tighten on the ledge, and a few pale dust motes drift from the vault above.
Neris
If your mercy is real, then keep asking. I want the truth spoken before this place swallows it.
The climb ahead remains dark and steep, the fissure’s blue pulse crawling along the floor seam like a patient eye. Neris waits beside Torix, open now, but visibly braced for what his next question will uncover.
“Torix looks back to Neris while they walk, clearly growing discomforted by the air about them. "Then...then Brother Oren isn't the only one at fault here. You...knew something was wrong and swore silence. Luxon used to say that 'To ignore the plight of those one might conceivably save is not wisdom—it is indolence'. You could have saved others from pain and suffering if you sought a solution over silence...the reason you know so much is because you're just as involved...aren't you? Did you perhaps hear the whispers of the dark...and wants it's siren song to caress you again?" His large lavender eyes watched Neris unblinking. The was no judgement or persecution; only a rainbow flecked gaze with an honesty that could Peirce the strongest of armors. "If so...then yours is the soul I need to work on saving the most. Magic listens. The dark listens. The earth, sky, trees and waves...they all listen....and they do not forget."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled -1)
“Torix looks back to Neris while they walk, clearly growing discomforted by the air about them. "Then...then Brother Oren isn't the only one at fault here. You...knew something was wrong and swore silence. Luxon used to say that 'To ignore the plight of those one might conceivably save is not wisdom—it is indolence'. You could have saved others from pain and suffering if you sought a solution over silence...the reason you know so much is because you're just as involved...aren't you? Did you perhaps hear the whispers of the dark...and wants it's siren song to caress you again?" His large lavender eyes watched Neris unblinking. The was no judgement or persecution; only a rainbow flecked gaze with an honesty that could Peirce the strongest of armors. "If so...then yours is the soul I need to work on saving the most. Magic listens. The dark listens. The earth, sky, trees and waves...they all listen....and they do not forget."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +3)
Torix Reincor
Then Brother Oren is not the only one at fault. You knew something was wrong and kept quiet. Silence could have saved no one.
Torix Reincor
Did you hear the dark whispers too? If so, you are not beyond saving.
The words settle into the passage without a blade in them. Neris’s hand slips from the rock, and their shoulders loosen as if the weight they carried has finally been named.
Neris
Yes. I heard them. I was afraid of what I might become if I answered.
Neris
I can tell you this much, then. I was not Oren's pawn. I was his witness, and his coward.
A pale seam of light crawls along the floor below them, and for a heartbeat it outlines a shallow notch in the stone wall, a hidden handhold cut for someone who knew this passage well.
Neris
You ask for the truth, so take all of it. The whispers knew my name before I gave it to them. They still do.
Neris looks to Torix, no longer guarded, only tense with the danger of being understood. The stair above waits in cold shadow, and the dark below listens in silence.
“As curious as it is, Neris and his admission seem to ease some of the tension and free gnawing as the boy. "...you came back. That does not make you a coward...it makes you human..." With a small, sweet smile, he returns to looking forward. "And you knew my name before I gave it...you spoke even the surname granted to me by my dragon caretaker when I had not once uttered it...yet, I do not fear you." He held his blade close to his chest once more. " This darkness is just that. It is fear, anger, temptation...but it is only darkness...a coward does not return to face it once more. A coward resists the stillness that paralyzes them. Courage is what we do this day...press on despite our fears." After taking an almost too tranquil moment to hug the blade, he holds it to his side once more. "I meant it, you know. That I will be the light of hope. The darkness will listen...and I will stand before it for you all and be the one to speak back - tell it that it holds no power here."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled -1)
Torix Reincor
You came back. That does not make you a coward, it makes you human.
Torix eases the bladed key against his chest for a quiet breath, then lets it rest at his side. The blue seam below them keeps its steady pulse, and the dark beyond the stair stays listening.
Torix Reincor
You knew my name before I gave it, even the one Luxon gave me. I do not fear you.
Neris
Then hear mine too, and hear it plainly. I am afraid, but I am here.
Torix Reincor
This darkness is only darkness. Courage is what we do while fear still clings to us.
Neris
He speaks like a lamp in a sealed room. I do not know if that is hope, but I can stand near it.
Torix Reincor
I mean it. I will stand before it for you all, and tell it it holds no power here.
Neris
Then lead on, Torix. If the dark is listening, let it listen to that.
“As curious as it is, Neris and his admission seem to ease some of the tension and free gnawing as the boy. "...you came back. That does not make you a coward...it makes you human..." With a small, sweet smile, he returns to looking forward. "And you knew my name before I gave it...you spoke even the surname granted to me by my dragon caretaker when I had not once uttered it...yet, I do not fear you." He held his blade close to his chest once more. " This darkness is just that. It is fear, anger, temptation...but it is only darkness...a coward does not return to face it once more. A coward resists the stillness that paralyzes them. Courage is what we do this day...press on despite our fears." After taking an almost too tranquil moment to hug the blade, he holds it to his side once more. "I meant it, you know. That I will be the light of hope. The darkness will listen...and I will stand before it for you all and be the one to speak back - tell it that it holds no power here."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled -1)
Torix lets the words settle in the cold air, then draws the bladed key close to his chest for one quiet breath before lowering it again. The blue seam below keeps pulsing, but the dark no longer feels like a mouth waiting to bite.
Neris
That is not bravado. It sounds like something earned.
Neris shifts on the ledge, shoulders easing a fraction as they study Torix with open, wary surprise.
Neris
You speak of light like it is a duty, not a boast. That is rarer than kindness here.
The name of Luxon hangs between them, and the memory of white crystal and old shelter sharpens Torix’s gaze for a heartbeat.
Neris
Luxon gave you a name to carry, and you carry it like a vow. I hear that now.
Neris kneels at the edge of the slanted stone, palm hovering over the hidden handhold as if the chamber might answer back through it. Their voice drops, quieter, more honest.
Neris
If you stand before the dark for us, then I will not hide my face from what I know of it. Ask, and I will answer what I can.
Quest Complete
Uncover the stranger's identity
New Gift: Worldly Wisdom