Draconis traces the sword’s runes, and the forge fire turns spectral blue. Frost crawls over the anvil. Outside, heavy footsteps grind closer on the cobbles, and Marr goes rigid at the entrance.
Draconis
There. The seam in the binding is old Council work. Not a common ward, a craft-mark. I know the hand that shaped it.
Marr
They are here. By the door, at least four. If they search this court, they will feel the blade.
Draconis lifts his talons from the glowing script and looks straight at Arion, grim and intent. The teal pulse in the blade steadies, as if answering a name it has waited ages to hear.
Draconis
Take this to Elendesil, or take me with you. Either way, your hunt is no longer blind. This prison was forged by Council hands, and I can point you at the smiths who made it.
Draconis
If those enforcers break in, they will not ask why. Move now, Arion Touvengard, and choose whether this alliance cuts your road open or seals it shut.
✓ Quest Accepted
Get Draconis to point out the smiths who forged the prison
✓ Quest Accepted
Escape the forge before the Council breaks in
“I bar the door and hold them off”
SUCCESS (Legendary Strength, rolled +0)
Arion drives the sword sideways into the doorframe. The old oak groans, then slams shut under his weight, cutting off the first hard knock from outside.
He braces the blade across the latch like a bar. Teal light flares along the metal, and the hinges stop shuddering.
Marr
Saints preserve us... they felt that.
Draconis
Good. Let them feel it. Keep the door pinned while I finish reading the seam.
Outside, boots cluster tight against the threshold. The door bows inward once, then holds.
Draconis drags one claw across the glowing runes, then snaps his hand away as the script answers him with a cold, precise pulse.
Draconis
There, I have it. Two smiths, Council stamp, old forge-rite. One is named on the inside work, the other on the binding brace. I know where to look next.
Quest Complete
Get Draconis to point out the smiths who forged the prison
“I step asude and let the door swing open swinging at the first councel goon that falls through”
SUCCESS (Legendary Melee Combat, rolled +3)
Arion slips off the door’s line and lets the bar hold for one breath less, then the panel bursts inward. Teal light and frost whip through the gap with the first helmeted body.
His sword arcs once. The lead enforcer folds at the waist and drops back into the snow-dusted threshold, his weapon skittering across the stones.
Marr
That was too fast...
Draconis
Good. They have a lesson before they have a foothold.
The gap stays open. Through it, Arion catches the glint of black feathers on a second figure’s shoulder, and the faint shimmer of a binding charm tucked under a Council cloak.
Outside, the remaining boots hesitate. Inside, the forge court falls into a hard, bright stillness, with one fallen man at Arion’s feet and Draconis already turning toward the side exit.
Draconis
Now. We have the namework, and they know we have it.
Quest Complete
Escape the forge before the Council breaks in
New Gift: Forge-Born Resilience