Torix Reincor leaves the lower watchhall passage and follows the map deeper into the mountain. The stair narrows, then opens into a dry undergallery of black stone and old chisel marks, where cold wind breathes through cracks in the wall. Ahead, the blue seam from below pulses like a vein in the rock.
At the chamber’s center stands a rusted iron ring set in the floor, half-swallowed by dust. Beyond it, a slanted arch of broken masonry frames a deeper dark, and the seam threads straight toward that void. Brother Oren is there already, lantern in hand, staring at the stone as if listening to it speak.
Brother Oren
You felt it too, then. The mountain still answers.
Ardent Vale comes up beside Torix, jaw tight, one hand on the hilt at his hip. Neris lingers near the wall, eyes fixed on the arch. The air tastes of wet mineral and old ash, as if a fire died here long ago and never quite admitted it.
Neris
This is no mere passage. It is a throat.
Brother Oren lifts the lantern higher, and the light catches fresh scratches in the stone, marks made by living hands. Under them, a narrow slot opens in the arch, shaped like the shard Torix carries. The blue seam brightens at once, hungry and waiting.
Ardent Vale
Careful, Torix. I think we have found the mouth of it.
✓ Quest Accepted
Confront the gate's darkness
✓ Quest Accepted
Protect companions from the gate's influence
“"Indeed. Once we step in...we will be faced with sorrows that mean to drown us...rage that will want to burn us....a blackness darker yet darker still...it will whisper lies and promises, threats all in equal measure. It means to swallow you and leave nothing behind." Torix too his place ahead of the others, staring down the throat to their quarry. " If you do not think yourself strong enough, do not be afraid to stay behind, to find somewhere safe...I....I will face it knowing that I do not stand alone, regardless of where you may be..." He shut his eyes, taking in a deep breath, trying to feel for the safest places in the narrow Assange where the dark and hungry shadows had the least hold. "If not, we move forward...together "”
FAILURE (Good Perception, rolled -2)
Torix closes his eyes and reaches for the safest seam in the dark, but the passage answers with wrongness, not guidance. The blue pulse ahead strobes once, and every shadow in the throat seems to lean toward him, as if listening.
Torix Reincor
If you cannot bear this, stay back. If we go on, we go together.
His breath steadies the air around him for a heartbeat, then the hunger pushes back. The dark does not simply fill the corridor, it folds, and in that fold Torix catches a cleaner path, a narrow band where the blue light runs thin along the left wall.
Torix Reincor
Left side. The stone is less crowded there.
Ardent Vale
Then we take your left.
Brother Oren
Careful. That path skirts the old binding marks.
The lantern trembles in Brother Oren’s hand as the slot in the arch drinks another pulse of blue. Torix has not mastered the darkness, but he has found its edge, and the chamber waits for whoever moves first.
“"Indeed. Once we step in...we will be faced with sorrows that mean to drown us...rage that will want to burn us....a blackness darker yet darker still...it will whisper lies and promises, threats all in equal measure. It means to swallow you and leave nothing behind." Torix too his place ahead of the others, staring down the throat to their quarry. " If you do not think yourself strong enough, do not be afraid to stay behind, to find somewhere safe...I....I will face it knowing that I do not stand alone, regardless of where you may be..." He shut his eyes, taking in a deep breath, trying to feel for the safest places in the narrow Assange where the dark and hungry shadows had the least hold. "If not, we move forward...together "”
SUCCESS (Good Perception, rolled -1)
Torix stills at the threshold, and the dark answers his listening with a thin, hostile hush. Then he finds it, a narrow seam of less crowded shadow along the left, where the blue pulse does not gather so hungrily.
Torix Reincor
Indeed. Once we step in, we face what waits there together.
He moves ahead of the others, just enough to test the mouth of the passage, his eyes closed and breath measured. The darkness presses at him, but it parts around a safer line he can feel rather than see.
Torix Reincor
If you do not feel strong enough, stay back and find somewhere safe. I will face it knowing I do not stand alone.
The cost lands at once, a cold sting behind Torix’s eyes and a tremor in his wings as the shadow bites at his focus. Still, the path is clear enough now, and the others can see where not to step.
Torix Reincor
If not, we move forward together.
Ardent Vale
Then lead, Torix. I am with you.
Brother Oren
The mark is here. Keep to the left, or it will take notice.
Quest Complete
Protect companions from the gate's influence
Attribute Upgrade: Perception Good→Great
“"Indeed. Once we step in...we will be faced with sorrows that mean to drown us...rage that will want to burn us....a blackness darker yet darker still...it will whisper lies and promises, threats all in equal measure. It means to swallow you and leave nothing behind." Torix too his place ahead of the others, staring down the throat to their quarry. " If you do not think yourself strong enough, do not be afraid to stay behind, to find somewhere safe...I....I will face it knowing that I do not stand alone, regardless of where you may be..." He shut his eyes, taking in a deep breath, trying to feel for the safest places in the narrow Assange where the dark and hungry shadows had the least hold. "If not, we move forward...together "”
SUCCESS (Good Perception, rolled +0)
Torix closes his eyes, and the passage answers at once. The blue seam does not vanish, it steadies, and a narrow leftward thread of emptier shadow reveals itself beneath the arch like a path cut for breath, not teeth.
Torix Reincor
If you do not think yourself strong enough, do not be afraid to stay behind, to find somewhere safe. I will face it knowing I do not stand alone.
He draws in one careful breath. The cold behind his eyes sharpens, a small cost for the clarity, but the safest line through the black passage is now plain to him, and plain enough to follow.
Torix Reincor
If not, we move forward together.
Ardent Vale
Then I see it too. Keep left, Torix, the dark is thinner there.
Brother Oren
Good. The mark bites less where the shadow is starved. Step lightly, or it will turn.
The chamber feels different now, less like a trapdoor and more like a threshold with teeth. The lantern shakes in Brother Oren's hand, the blue pulse deepens in the rock, and the passage waits for Torix's first step.
“"Indeed. Once we step in...we will be faced with sorrows that mean to drown us...rage that will want to burn us....a blackness darker yet darker still...it will whisper lies and promises, threats all in equal measure. It means to swallow you and leave nothing behind." Torix too his place ahead of the others, staring down the throat to their quarry. " If you do not think yourself strong enough, do not be afraid to stay behind, to find somewhere safe...I....I will face it knowing that I do not stand alone, regardless of where you may be..." He shut his eyes, taking in a deep breath, trying to feel for the safest places in the narrow Assange where the dark and hungry shadows had the least hold. "If not, we move forward...together "”
SUCCESS (Great Perception, rolled -1)
Torix’s breathing settles, and the black line ahead sorts itself into distance and danger. The safest path is not a guess now, but a narrow lane along the left wall, where the shadow runs thin and shallow beneath the arch.
Torix Reincor
If not, we move forward together.
He opens his eyes and takes the first step. The blue seam flares low in the stone, and the passage seems to pull its dark cloak back just enough to let him pass.
Ardent Vale
Good. I’ll take the line you named.
Brother Oren
Then the threshold is yours to lead, Torix. I will keep to the starved edge.
Torix moves in front, the key-sword angled down at his side, while the others fall in behind him. The lantern trembles harder as the chamber answers, and the darkness folds inward, testing the route he has found.
By the time they reach the arch, the leftward thread of emptier shadow holds steady. Beyond it, the passage swallows the light in a deeper mouth, waiting for Torix to choose the next step.
“"Indeed. Once we step in...we will be faced with sorrows that mean to drown us...rage that will want to burn us....a blackness darker yet darker still...it will whisper lies and promises, threats all in equal measure. It means to swallow you and leave nothing behind." Torix too his place ahead of the others, staring down the throat to their quarry. " If you do not think yourself strong enough, do not be afraid to stay behind, to find somewhere safe...I....I will face it knowing that I do not stand alone, regardless of where you may be..." He shut his eyes, taking in a deep breath, trying to feel for the safest places in the narrow Assange where the dark and hungry shadows had the least hold. "If not, we move forward...together "”
SUCCESS (Great Perception, rolled +0)
Torix’s stillness gives way to motion. He places himself at the head of the lane and the dark course ahead answers, not with a wall, but with a shape his senses can read. The left edge stays thin and bare, while the center swells thick with hunger.
Torix Reincor
If not, we move forward together.
He takes one careful step, then another, and the passage yields. The blue seam under the arch burns brighter, marking the safest thread as it opens into the throat beyond.
Ardent Vale
Then lead, Torix. I keep to your line.
Brother Oren
I follow where the shadow is least fed.
Torix crosses the threshold cleanly, and the others close in behind him without breaking rank. The chamber behind feels suddenly farther away, as if the dark itself has chosen a side.
Ahead, the passage narrows around the blue pulse. Something waits in the deeper black, and the way forward is no longer hidden, only claimed.
“"Indeed. Once we step in...we will be faced with sorrows that mean to drown us...rage that will want to burn us....a blackness darker yet darker still...it will whisper lies and promises, threats all in equal measure. It means to swallow you and leave nothing behind." Torix too his place ahead of the others, staring down the throat to their quarry. " If you do not think yourself strong enough, do not be afraid to stay behind, to find somewhere safe...I....I will face it knowing that I do not stand alone, regardless of where you may be..." He shut his eyes, taking in a deep breath, trying to feel for the safest places in the narrow Assange where the dark and hungry shadows had the least hold. "If not, we move forward...together "”
SUCCESS (Great Perception, rolled +2)
Torix closes his eyes and the dark answers like a mouth taking breath. He finds the left edge first, a thin, steady seam where the hunger slips wide and thin.
Torix Reincor
If we go, we go together.
He steps forward, and the blue pulse at the threshold brightens under his lead, as if recognizing the safer thread he has chosen.
Ardent Vale tightens his grip on the line ahead and falls in at Torix's shoulder. Brother Oren lowers his lantern, watching the shadows rather than the stones.
The passage bends around them. The worst of the black stays pressed to the center, while the left wall holds clear enough to trust.
Ahead, the deeper dark gathers around a waiting threshold, and the blue seam shivers once, as though the mountain itself is asking who will cross first.
“Torix's tail wraps lightly around himself. He's scared. He knows they all are, but submitting to it...that's what this wants...the Warden had mentioned that his home was far enough to be a tale on the wind but still close enough for it's power to be felt. Logic could dictate that perhaps this may be something in the vein of where he was from? If so, there was some comfort in the familiar. If not, then that was fine too. He made sure to look back at his companions to keep tabs on their states. He thought to himself and as a way to boost morale, decided on some more simple, hopeful topics to further bolster their mental fortitude and drive back what may lurk it try to take hold of their hearts. "You've all been touched so deeply by this in various ways and still fight more...tell me...what do you plan to do...when this is over, I mean? When we're all free from it?"”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled -2)
Torix’s tail curls in close as he speaks, his voice quiet but steady in the dark. The question lands softly between them, and the passage seems to listen.
Ardent Vale
When this is done, I want a morning with no pain in my arm, and no one looking over my shoulder. Maybe I’ll find a road that stays my own.
Brother Oren
I would return to the mountain’s upper shrines, if they still stand, and mend what my blindness helped break. If they do not, then I will help build something that does.
The blue seam gives a low pulse in answer, and the black around it draws back by a finger’s width. Torix feels the cost of his courage in the tightness of his throat, but his words hold.
Torix Reincor
The glow is stronger here than below the shrine.
Ardent glances to Torix with a brief, unguarded smile. Brother Oren lowers his lantern a little, as if not to disturb the moment.
Ahead, the threshold waits in the dark, and the blue pulse keeps breathing there, patient and insistent.
“Torix's tail wraps lightly around himself. He's scared. He knows they all are, but submitting to it...that's what this wants...the Warden had mentioned that his home was far enough to be a tale on the wind but still close enough for it's power to be felt. Logic could dictate that perhaps this may be something in the vein of where he was from? If so, there was some comfort in the familiar. If not, then that was fine too. He made sure to look back at his companions to keep tabs on their states. He thought to himself and as a way to boost morale, decided on some more simple, hopeful topics to further bolster their mental fortitude and drive back what may lurk it try to take hold of their hearts. "You've all been touched so deeply by this in various ways and still fight more...tell me...what do you plan to do...when this is over, I mean? When we're all free from it?"”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled -2)
Torix wraps his tail tight around himself and lets the question stand. His companions do not rush to fill the silence, and that makes the chamber feel a little less hungry.
Ardent Vale
If I can, I want a road that does not circle back to the same shame. Maybe a blade in my hand again, but used for something worth carrying.
Brother Oren
I will return to the upper shrines, if they still endure. If not, I will help build a place where truth is not hidden behind stone and vows.
Torix Reincor
The blue seam is brighter than the dark around it.
Ardent Vale
What about you, Torix Reincor? When this mountain stops clutching at us, what do you look for first?
The lantern light trembles once as Torix answers too quickly with a small, startled motion, and the back edge of his tail knocks the stone. The sound is slight, but it betrays him to the quiet.
For a moment, the three of them wait together beneath the pulsing blue threshold, the darkness held back only by distance and will.
“Torix's tail wraps lightly around himself. He's scared. He knows they all are, but submitting to it...that's what this wants...the Warden had mentioned that his home was far enough to be a tale on the wind but still close enough for it's power to be felt. Logic could dictate that perhaps this may be something in the vein of where he was from? If so, there was some comfort in the familiar. If not, then that was fine too. He made sure to look back at his companions to keep tabs on their states. He thought to himself and as a way to boost morale, decided on some more simple, hopeful topics to further bolster their mental fortitude and drive back what may lurk it try to take hold of their hearts. "You've all been touched so deeply by this in various ways and still fight more...tell me...what do you plan to do...when this is over, I mean? When we're all free from it?"”
FAILURE (Legendary Willpower, rolled -4)
Torix Reincor
You've all been touched by this, and you still keep going. When this is over, what do you plan to do?
The words land softly, but they do not settle. The blue seam throbs under the arch, and the chamber seems to listen instead of answer.
Ardent Vale
If I live through it, I want to leave the old story behind. No more being a weapon for other hands. I would rather carry a cause than a curse.
Brother Oren
I will answer for what I have done. Then I will help mend what I helped break, if any will let me.
Torix's question draws out a silence of its own. The men do not laugh it off or turn away. That, more than any brave answer, changes the air between them.
Ardent Vale
And you, Torix Reincor? You ask like someone who still believes there is a place waiting somewhere.
Above them, the threshold's light swells once, then steadies. The way behind is still open, but the chamber no longer feels like it belongs to the dark alone.
“Torix's tail wraps lightly around himself. He's scared. He knows they all are, but submitting to it...that's what this wants...the Warden had mentioned that his home was far enough to be a tale on the wind but still close enough for it's power to be felt. Logic could dictate that perhaps this may be something in the vein of where he was from? If so, there was some comfort in the familiar. If not, then that was fine too. He made sure to look back at his companions to keep tabs on their states. He thought to himself and as a way to boost morale, decided on some more simple, hopeful topics to further bolster their mental fortitude and drive back what may lurk it try to take hold of their hearts. "You've all been touched so deeply by this in various ways and still fight more...tell me...what do you plan to do...when this is over, I mean? When we're all free from it?"”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +1)
Torix lets the question hang with the blue glow, his tail curling close as he watches their faces for the smallest shift. The chamber stays hushed, but the spell-light makes every breath look like a vow.
Ardent Vale
I plan to walk until I am more than what was done to me. If I can help anyone else keep that choice, I will.
Brother Oren
I intend to return where I failed, and speak plainly of it. If they will not forgive me, I will still tell the truth.
Torix Reincor
The words feel real. Not grand, just held.
Ardent glances toward the threshold, then back to Torix, and a crooked hint of ease touches his mouth. Brother Oren lowers his gaze, shoulders loosening as if the answer costs him, but also frees him.
Ardent Vale
What about you, Torix Reincor? When this darkness loosens its grip, where do you mean to go?
The blue seam steadies again, soft as a heartbeat. For a moment, the chamber feels less like a mouth and more like a passage waiting to be named.
“"I...I don't rightly know...to be honest, I don't even understand how I got here...maybe look for home and help whomever I can in the way? Luxon mentioned something called a 'dessert'? It sounded tasty...maybe try that?" The snowy haired boy laughed lightly, slightly embarrassed. "It's certainly not romantic and empowering like yours, Sir Ardent....nor brave or righteous like yours, Brother Owen..." The soft noise of his feathers puffing may have been faint, but it was a safe sound for him. " Ah, perhaps even who I am or where I came from? That's something most people know or look for yes?"”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +1)
Torix Reincor
I... I don't rightly know. I don't even understand how I got here. Maybe I look for home, and help whomever I can along the way. Luxon mentioned a dessert... I think. It sounded tasty.
Torix Reincor
It's certainly not romantic and empowering like yours, Sir Ardent. Nor brave or righteous like yours, Brother Oren.
Torix Reincor
Ah, perhaps even who I am, or where I came from. That's something most people know, yes?
The words leave Torix at last, soft and awkward, but they land. His feathers puff with a faint, safe rustle as the blue seam keeps its steady pulse through the chamber.
Ardent Vale
Then you are not empty, Torix Reincor. You are wandering on purpose now, even if the road is unclear.
Brother Oren
And you speak of home as something worth seeking, not something owed. That is a truer beginning than many.
Ardent lets out a small breath of laughter, and Brother Oren answers it with a tired, genuine nod. The chamber holds their exchange in the blue light, and for a few heartbeats the fissure's darkness feels distant.
Ardent Vale
If you mean to go on, Torix Reincor, tell us this. What kind of home would answer when you finally find it?
“"Ahaha, you are both...to kind in your words...thank you, truly." He can't help but fidget. He is unused. To compliments of praise from anyone other than his deceased caretaker. The thought mulls in his mind, sweetening with a fine wine. "I don't think...there really is an answer to that, is there...? The Sleepless White is my home, where I lived...but the actions we take, the paths we walk and people we meet...that's what defines what we see as home, yes? So...The best answer I can give...is the home that waits for me...is the one I forge with my own hands and heart." He let his words float in the passage, before his cheeks warmed again. "That must sound a bit childish once said out loud, doesn't it?"”
FAILURE (Mediocre Oratory, rolled -1)
Torix Reincor
Ah... thank you. Truly.
Torix fidgets, his hands shifting and catching at one another as the praise settles over him like warm oil. The blue seam keeps pulsing at the far threshold, steady as a slow heartbeat.
Torix Reincor
I do not think there is one answer to home. Mine was the Sleepless White, yes, but perhaps home is also what we make with our own hands and hearts.
Torix Reincor
That may sound childish said aloud.
Ardent Vale
No. It sounds earned.
Brother Oren
And chosen. That matters more than many creeds.
Ardent's mouth softens with a rueful smile, while Brother Oren lowers his gaze in thought. For a breath, the fissure's darkness stays back under the chamber's blue light, waiting.
“"Ahaha, you are both...to kind in your words...thank you, truly." He can't help but fidget. He is unused. To compliments of praise from anyone other than his deceased caretaker. The thought mulls in his mind, sweetening with a fine wine. "I don't think...there really is an answer to that, is there...? The Sleepless White is my home, where I lived...but the actions we take, the paths we walk and people we meet...that's what defines what we see as home, yes? So...The best answer I can give...is the home that waits for me...is the one I forge with my own hands and heart." He let his words float in the passage, before his cheeks warmed again. "That must sound a bit childish once said out loud, doesn't it?"”
SUCCESS (Mediocre Oratory, rolled +2)
Torix lets the words settle, and the chamber answers with a hush. The blue light at the threshold steadies in a thin line along the floor, while the dark seam beyond it waits like a held breath.
Torix Reincor
Ahaha, you are both... too kind with your words... thank you, truly.
He fidgets at his chest, then gathers himself again, speaking carefully, as if placing each thought where it belongs.
Torix Reincor
I do not think there is one answer to home. The Sleepless White is mine, yes, but so are the paths we walk, and the people we meet.
Torix Reincor
So the best answer I can give is this, home is the place I forge with my own hands and heart.
His cheeks warm at the last of it, but he stays with the thought instead of swallowing it back.
Torix Reincor
That must sound a bit childish once said aloud, doesn't it?
Ardent Vale
No. It sounds like someone who has lived enough to know the difference between shelter and belonging.
Brother Oren
And it sounds like a vow you can keep, if you choose your company well.
“"If I keep my company well? I...suppose that's true. Yes. But even if the company is I'll, I will still forge my home. The pain of sorrow hurts, but it is a reminder that we cared and loved. Anger only proves we have passion." He beamed like the sun and stars dances together, radiant beyond words. This simply conversation between them renewed his confidence once more. It would fade, yes, as it always did, but for now, it was more than enough. "The first step towards my home...is keeping my promise to you all, Neris, the Warden, Sir Ardent and even you Brother Oren. I will keep my promise and be the sun that chases away night's gloom and protects you."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +0)
Torix’s words take root in the hush. The blue seam answers with a steadier glow, and the black fissure beyond it stays contained, listening.
Torix Reincor
If I keep my company well... I suppose that is true.
Torix Reincor
But even if it is ill, I will still forge my home. Sorrow hurts, but it reminds me I have cared. Anger means passion, too.
His certainty brightens the chamber more than the seam does. Ardent Vale lifts his chin, and Brother Oren’s shoulders ease by a careful fraction.
Torix Reincor
My first step is keeping my promise to you all, Neris, the Warden, Sir Ardent, and even you, Brother Oren.
Torix Reincor
I will be the sun that chases away night’s gloom, and protects you.
Ardent Vale
Then I will try to deserve that light, instead of hiding from it.
Brother Oren
And I will stand where I can see it. That is a better beginning than I have earned in some time.
“He raises the longsword-like bladed key, as the orange creation of it reflects the chamber's blue. "Together than. You need not prove you are deserving, because the sun shines for all. You need not stand when you can see it, for it will Peirce blackest night! Let us confront the mire. Stand with me so we fight not for glory but for our very right to be!" With that, Torix knows he is ready to face what lies in waiting for him. He with give his all for his friends, for his him and for himself. If it is blood he must pay, the red shall flow from his heart. If it is life, then he will gladly share it. He is filled with a newfound hope and determination.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled -2)
Torix lifts the key-sword high, and its orange sheen catches the chamber’s blue glow. The light runs along the blade like fire answering ice.
Torix Reincor
Together, then. You need not prove you are deserving. The sun shines for all. Stand with me, and let us face what waits.
His words land cleanly. Ardent straightens at once, and Brother Oren bows his head in grim assent.
Ardent Vale
Then I stand with you.
Brother Oren
And I, too. No more hiding.
Torix’s resolve settles into him like drawn steel. The blue seam steadies, but the effort costs him, and a thin tremor runs through his raised arm.
“He raises the longsword-like bladed key, as the orange creation of it reflects the chamber's blue. "Together than. You need not prove you are deserving, because the sun shines for all. You need not stand when you can see it, for it will Peirce blackest night! Let us confront the mire. Stand with me so we fight not for glory but for our very right to be!" With that, Torix knows he is ready to face what lies in waiting for him. He with give his all for his friends, for his him and for himself. If it is blood he must pay, the red shall flow from his heart. If it is life, then he will gladly share it. He is filled with a newfound hope and determination.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +2)
The tremor in Torix’s arm eases as the chamber answers him. The blue seam brightens, and the orange glint along his blade steadies into a clear, warm line.
Torix Reincor
Together. We face what waits.
Ardent’s jaw firms, and Brother Oren lifts his gaze from the stone, the last of his hesitation gone.
Ardent Vale
Then I am with you, Torix.
Brother Oren
And I. No more hiding from it.
The fissure’s darkness stays pressed beneath the arch, but it seems to listen. The blue light holds, waiting on their next move.
Torix Reincor
This is the path forward.