A low vibration passes through the altar while Titano stands over the open account. The iron key shivers against the stone, and dust trembles from the shelves.
A seam opens beneath Mother’s mark, revealing worn steps descending into darkness. A cold draft rises, carrying the scent of old ash and recently disturbed dust.
Arveth
That passage was known only to the family elders. It leads beneath the oldest foundations, beyond every route recorded in the public archives.
Arveth crouches beside the opening without crossing it. Fine tracks interrupt the settled dust on the first steps, leading downward before vanishing into blackness.
Arveth
Someone has entered recently. The council, Orun, Seressa, and the Ithacan delegation remain above, while the two guards wait beyond the archive door.
Arveth
We can seal this passage and confront the council with what Mother preserved, or follow the disturbance before whoever made it disappears.
The draft stirs the linen around the open account. Somewhere below, a faint scrape answers the altar’s fading vibration, then the hidden passage falls silent.
✓ Quest Accepted
Confront the council
“no brother, we must confront the council with what we know”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled +0)
volcanon
No, brother. We must confront the council with what we know.
Arveth
Yes. We will bring Mother’s account, the false seal, and the disturbed passage before them together. No elder will separate those truths.
Arveth carefully wraps the clay tablet in its linen and takes the iron key. He closes the hidden recess, leaving the worn steps concealed beneath Mother’s mark.
Arveth
The one who entered below may still matter, but the council must answer for the binding order first. We confront them with proof, not accusation.
The brothers climb from the archive. Arveth opens the ancient door and signals the waiting guards to summon the council, Orun, Seressa, and the Ithacan delegation.
Arveth
Tell them the chief calls an immediate hearing beneath the valley banners. Mother’s preserved account will be read, and every named elder will answer publicly.
Word travels through the colonnade. Voices gather above as the council assembles, while Arveth stands beside Titano at the archive threshold, key and account held openly.
“I present Mother’s account before the council”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled -2)
Arveth places Mother’s linen-wrapped account into Titano’s waiting hands before the assembled council. The elders gather beneath the valley banners, while Orun, Seressa, and the Ithacan delegation stand witness.
Titano opens the wrapping and holds the clay tablet high enough for every terrace to see. The broken-tusk seals and the altered final turn are displayed beside it.
Arveth
This account records the elders’ order to bind my brother’s strength for clan warfare. It also records our mother’s refusal, and the threat that forced her silence.
Arveth reads the preserved words aloud. Names, dates, and the order itself pass through the arena, stripping the council’s old authority of its claim that Titano simply abandoned the Valley.
The Senior Valley Champion
The account is genuine. I witnessed the seals, and I will witness this hearing. Those named must answer before the Valley.
The Elder Council
We deny no tablet bearing the family mark. But chief, by bringing this before the whole Valley, you make reconciliation harder than truth alone required.
Arveth’s jaw tightens as several elders withdraw their support from him. The account is accepted as evidence, but the council’s public censure becomes the price of exposing it.
Quest Complete
Confront the council
Skill Upgrade: Melee Weapons Superb→Legendary
+ New Item Acquired
Mother’s Account