The iron worktable groans as weight shifts behind it. A concealed pressure plate sinks, and a narrow stair unfolds into darkness beneath the forge.
Sivanus
Another passage. The smiths built this place to survive pursuit, not to welcome visitors.
Blue furnace channels flicker below. Arion and Sivanus descend far enough to see a figure waiting among the lower chamber's broken pillars, while Council steel echoes faintly above.
Jerashi Heladine
Do not mistake me for one of the Council. I followed the smiths' trail while searching for my sister.
Magenta hair catches the cold blue light as Jerashi steps forward. Fragments of a leather ledger rest in her hand, their edges blackened and stamped with the familiar craft-mark.
Jerashi Heladine
This workshop was not abandoned willingly. They were taken, or forced to flee. The final entry mentions a living seal, but the rest is written in a cipher I cannot read.
Sivanus
And you expect Arion to trust you with that ledger?
✓ Quest Accepted
Gain Jerashi's cooperation in deciphering the ledger
“I can see what I can tell of the ledger, but you tell me who you are first”
SUCCESS (Good Perception, rolled +1)
Arion Touvengard
I can see what the ledger reveals, but first, tell me who you are.
Arion’s puppet-still body remains beneath the blue furnace glow, sword angled low but ready. Jerashi studies him, then closes the ledger fragments against her palm.
Jerashi Heladine
Jerashi Heladine. I am an assassin from a shattered empire, and I am searching for my sister. I followed these smiths because their work touched the same hidden powers that took her.
Her voice stays measured, though grief roughens its edges. Magenta hair falls across one eye as she raises the blackened ledger, making no move to offer it yet.
Sivanus
An assassin who arrives beneath a hunted forge carrying its secrets. That is not an introduction meant to inspire trust.
Jerashi Heladine
Trust is expensive. Names are cheaper, and mine is true. I wield fire, water, earth, wind, and stranger currents besides. I came alone.
Above, Council boots cross the ironworktable. Below, the furnace channels pulse once, illuminating the ledger’s ciphered marks and Jerashi’s watchful face.
“Its not often an assassin just tells you they are an assassin, finding your sister must be an important task, if you help me I will help you”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +0)
Arion Touvengard
It is not often an assassin names herself so plainly. Finding your sister must be important. Help me, and I will help you.
Jerashi studies the puppet-still vessel, weighing the offer beneath the distant thunder of Council boots. The furnace light catches the ledger’s blackened edges.
Jerashi Heladine
You offer aid without knowing what took her, or whether she still lives.
Arion Touvengard
The ledger concerns the sword, and her search concerns the same hidden powers.
Jerashi lowers the fragments, her guarded posture easing by a narrow measure. The blue channels flare, revealing a ciphered line beneath the soot.
Jerashi Heladine
Very well. I will help you read the ledger and find the living seal. In return, you help me find my sister.
Sivanus
An alliance made under a buried forge and a blade’s shadow. Keep your terms clear.
Quest Complete
Gain Jerashi's cooperation in deciphering the ledger
Attribute Upgrade: Perception Good→Great