The sedan sits dead quiet in the storage lot. Thadeus holds the open hard case on his lap, the Peacebringer laid out in plain view, while Elias watches the mirrors and the lot beyond the windshield.
Elias the Shopkeeper
That is it. Trevor was right. We have to move before Revenant circles back.
Headlights wash across the cabin from the far row, then slide away. Elias reaches for the passenger door handle, ready to run if he has to.
Marla
If you hand it off, do it now. If you keep it, you do not leave this lot with us.
The Peacebringer looks smaller out in the open than it did in the case, but no less dangerous. Thadeus has a clear choice, and the car is one breath away from movement.
Elias the Shopkeeper
Please choose fast. I cannot keep hiding from this forever.
− Story Quest Removed
Find a way off this block
“Thadeus asks Elias if he may wield Peacebringer”
SUCCESS (Great Diplomacy, rolled +1)
Rain ticks softly on the sedan roof. The Peacebringer lies between the front seats, its hard case open beside it like a lidless shell.
Thadeus Jovanović
May I wield it?
Elias the Shopkeeper
You want that in your hands? I thought that thing was supposed to stay hidden.
Thadeus keeps his voice even, and Elias’s grip loosens on the wheel. His eyes flick from Thadeus to the artifact, then back again.
Marla
If anyone should hold it, it is you. You already look like you are carrying half the weight in this car.
Elias the Shopkeeper
All right. Carefully. I am not saying I like it, I am saying I trust your hands more than my nerves.
Elias nudges the case closer with two fingers, then lets it sit there, open for Thadeus to take. Marla watches without blinking, relief softening her shoulders.
Elias the Shopkeeper
Just tell me one thing, Thadeus. If you pick it up, what do you see first?
Elias the Shopkeeper
Take it. Fast hands, steady mind. Then we go before the city decides to come calling again.
Marla
No heroics, Thadeus. Just keep it out of the wrong hands.
Thadeus Jovanović
I will. This ends with me carrying it, not hiding from it.
Elias slid the case across the seat. Marla let out a breath she had been holding for too long.
Thadeus took the Peacebringer and the burden that came with it. The sedan waited in the dim street, and for the first time that night, the choice was settled. Whatever came after, the weapon was no longer drifting in чуж hands.