The Hooded Matron lowers her staff and steps back, giving the dead the floor. Frost crawls over the graves as the spirits finish taking shape, solemn and solid in their grief.
They ring the Mayor in a silent circle, faces pale as candlewax, eyes fixed on his trembling hands. Harkon stands within the chill with them, the graveyard holding its breath.
The Mayor
No, wait. I can still make this right.
A spirit with a cracked brow lifts one hand toward the churned earth where the bargain was buried. The air grows heavier, as if the ground itself remembers every lie.
Harkon Devillain
The spirits are judging the man, not the blade.
The Hooded Matron
Speak your truth to them, or be dragged beneath it.
The Mayor swallows hard and falters under the dead’s stare, while the spirits lean closer, patient and merciless.
“I press the mayor to confess everything”
SUCCESS (Good Intimidation, rolled +0)
Harkon Devillain
Confess it all. The bargain, the lies, every hand you stained to keep it.
The Mayor buckles under Harkon’s stare. His mouth works once, then the words spill out in a ragged flood.
The Mayor
I lied for office, I fed the graveyard’s silence to keep my seat, and I used the dead’s peace as coin. I did it all.
A cold hush answers him. The violet glow beneath the churned earth gives one weak pulse, then dims further.
The Spirit with a Cracked Brow
Then your guilt is named. Let the living hear it.
The Hooded Matron lowers her chin, satisfied, while the spirits do not strike. Their circle stays tight, waiting for the Mayor to face what he has said.
Harkon’s boot sinks in the wet grave soil as he leans in, and the slick pull leaves a stain on the leather. The Mayor swallows, shaking, as if he expects the dead to ask one more question.
Quest Complete
Protect the graveyard from the mayor’s corruption
Attribute Upgrade: Strength Superb→Legendary