Numet finds a dry shelf beneath leaning alder roots, hidden above the alder stream. He lowers himself carefully and gestures for Effruin to rest beside him.
Numet
Here. We should pause before entering the river-fort passage. The roots conceal us, and your shoulder needs more than hurried cloth and rainwater.
Numet studies the wounded shoulder without touching it. Effruin’s coat is stiff with old blood, but the wound has stopped worsening during their passage.
Numet
You said you would guard me to my father, then kill him. I do not understand how those promises can share one road.
The stream murmurs below the roots, carrying brown leaves toward the unseen fort. No riders disturb the alder shadows, and the imperial waymarks remain empty.
Numet
If delivering me to Grahamin is only a step toward your vow, tell me plainly. I will not mistake protection for forgiveness.
Numet
He has kept me alive, but that does not make his promise to my father less dangerous.
“I tell Numet: I will not suffer to let some lesser foe kill Grahamin. For as long as these Ashen Oath meddlers are about, your father and I share a foe. As for you, Numet, you seem like a dutiful son, and pose no risk to me.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +1)
Effruin
I will not suffer some lesser foe to kill Grahamin. While these Ashen Oath meddlers remain, your father and I share a foe. As for you, Numet, you are a dutiful son and pose no risk to me.
The words settle beneath the alder roots, hard and measured. The stream murmurs below, while Numet studies Effruin’s face and finds no deception in the promise of protection.
Numet
He means to preserve my father for his own vengeance, yet he has given me a place beside that purpose rather than beneath it.
Numet
Then I understand. You will guard him from the Ashen Oath because you claim the right to face him yourself. And you do not count me among your enemies.
Numet’s grip loosens around the hidden signet. His caution remains, but the fear of being abandoned or treated as leverage leaves his narrow shoulders.
Numet
I accept those terms, Effruin. I will lead you to my father, and I will not mistake your protection for mercy.
Beyond the roots, the alder stream bends toward the buried river-fort passage. Numet shifts forward, ready to continue, with the signet concealed and the alliance plainly understood.
“I lead Numet into the river-fort passage”
SUCCESS (Legendary Agility, rolled +0)
Effruin rises beneath the alder roots and signals Numet forward. He follows the streambank, placing each step on exposed roots and flat stones where the mud will not betray them.
Numet
The next mark is beneath that leaning ash. The passage begins where the bank breaks into stone.
Effruin guides Numet beneath the leaning tree. Behind its roots, a low stone arch emerges from the bank, its imperial waymark nearly hidden beneath moss and running water.
Effruin
The stones are old, but the passage remains sound.
He eases the concealed slab aside and leads Numet through the opening. The river-fort passage accepts them into cool darkness, where the stream runs in a narrow channel beside the floor.
Numet
We are inside. Follow the channel until the passage widens, then the old courier stairs will take us beneath the fort.
Numet draws the signet close beneath his coat and walks beside Effruin through the hidden way. Behind them, the alder roots and rain seal the entrance from the road.
✓ Quest Accepted
Pass beneath the fort without alerting its patrols
“I follow the channel toward the courier stairs”
SUCCESS (Legendary Agility, rolled +3)
Effruin follows the narrow channel into darkness, placing his feet on the submerged stones without disturbing the water. Numet keeps close behind, one hand guarding the hidden signet.
The passage bends beneath the fort. Effruin’s balance carries him over slick ledges and broken masonry, while the channel guides him unerringly toward a widening chamber.
Numet
There. Those steps are the courier stairs. My father’s messengers used them to enter the fort unseen.
Effruin reaches the foot of the stairs. Their worn risers climb through the stone, and a faint draft carries lamplight, dry air, and the distant murmur of voices.
At the stair’s side, Effruin notices a fresh chalk mark beneath the oldest waystone: a split river crossed by three short strokes. The sign matches the groove inside Numet’s signet.
Numet
That mark is recent. My father’s courier route is still active, and the upper landing should open inside the river fort.
The courier stairs stand before them, sound and unobstructed. Effruin has brought Numet to the hidden approach, with a living route into the fort and proof that Grahamin’s network remains in use.
“I lead Numet up the courier stairs”
SUCCESS (Legendary Agility, rolled +2)
Effruin leads Numet up the courier stairs, testing each worn riser before shifting his weight. The narrow ascent offers firm stone and no hidden break.
Numet follows close behind, keeping one hand over the concealed signet. The faint draft strengthens as they climb, carrying lamplight and the muted rhythm of watchmen beyond the stone.
Numet
The stairs are holding. My father’s couriers used this way when the river road was watched.
Effruin reaches the upper landing and draws Numet alongside him. A low arch opens into a lamp-lit service passage inside the river fort, its flagstones dry and clean.
Numet
We are inside the fort. From here, the courier passage should bring us beneath the command rooms without crossing the main yard.
Numet steps onto the landing, visibly steadier now that the hidden route has delivered them within the fort. Behind them, darkness swallows the stairs and the sound of the stream.
Quest Complete
Pass beneath the fort without alerting its patrols
Skill Upgrade: Stealth Mediocre→Fair