Inside the timber shelter, the charcoal keeper bars the door against the whispering hills. He sets aside his russet cloak and gestures toward a low bench beside the cold brazier.
the charcoal keeper
Sit. That ankle needs binding before you take another step.
He examines the scrape with practiced care, cleans away the dirt, and wraps it in a strip of linen. Then he kneels beside a chest and draws out a smoke-stained wooden route board.
the charcoal keeper
These lines are the old charcoal roads. These stones mark the shrine's boundary, but the shrine does not own this path. The keepers do.
His soot-dark finger follows the road north, past clustered boundary marks, to a fork bearing the newer three-tailed seal around a split flame.
the charcoal keeper
That mark was cut recently by my daughter. She opened a route beyond the shrine's reach, but not beyond every keeper's word. The fork leads to a refuge where your passage can be recorded.
the charcoal keeper
If she wants freedom, she must understand that every safe road belongs to someone before it belongs to her.
✓ Quest Accepted
Secure permission to pass through the keepers' refuge
+ New Item Acquired
Linen bandage
“"Sir if you grant me permission to walk this path, I promise I'll keep your daughter safe while she's in my company!" Iris proclaims to the charcoal keeper.”
SUCCESS (Great Willpower, rolled +0)
Iris
Sir, if you grant me permission to walk this path, I promise I will keep your daughter safe while she is in my company.
The charcoal keeper studies Iris across the route board. Firelight from a newly kindled coal catches the pale scar above his eye, while the shelter holds steady around them.
the charcoal keeper
You ask plainly, and you bind your promise to my daughter rather than to some vague claim of freedom.
His finger rests on the three-tailed seal. After a measured silence, he takes a small iron token from the chest and places it beside the marked fork.
the charcoal keeper
Permission granted. Carry this token openly at keeper stones, and the path will recognize your passage. My daughter knows the refuge beyond the fork.
the charcoal keeper
Keep her safe, and she will guide you farther than these roads. Betray her, and every keeper will learn your name before sunset.
He slides the token across the board toward Iris, granting both the passage and the burden that comes with it.
Quest Complete
Determine whether the shrine controls the northern path
Skill Upgrade: Survival Mediocre→Fair
Quest Complete
Secure permission to pass through the keepers' refuge