Years of hunts have put silver in the purse and wear in the bones. Neko sits in a warm tavern, the firelight catching old scars while the room hums with low talk and clinking cups.
The door opens. A young priestess steps in, travel-dusted and careful, her vestments patched for the road. A heavy iron-bound satchel hangs at her side, and it gives off a faint, uneasy thrum.
She finds Neko at once and approaches his table with measured steps, keeping her voice low as nearby patrons continue their chatter.
Sister Elowen
You are Neko, yes? I was told to seek the monster slayer who keeps a ruined house standing. I need help, and I was warned you would not waste time.
She sets the satchel on the table but does not open it. The iron clasps shiver once, as if something inside answers the room.
Sister Elowen
There is a thing in my care that should not be carried alone. If you will hear me out, I can pay in coin, and in something rarer.
✓ Quest Accepted
Hear the priestess out
“I gesture to the empty chair across from me and invite her to sit.”
FAILURE (Legendary Willpower, rolled -4)
Neko tips the empty chair out with two fingers, a small invitation made without hurry.
The priestess studies him for a breath, then lowers herself into the chair, keeping one hand near the iron satchel as it gives a faint, uneasy thrum.
Sister Elowen
Thank you. I am called Sister Elowen, though I have not worn a proper shrine in months.
Sister Elowen
What I carry was taken from a sealed cellar beneath an old roadside chapel. The seal bore a baron's mark, older than the one still in use.
She loosens one clasp, just enough for Neko to glimpse wrapped metal, dark stone, and a strip of faded wax stamped with a familiar noble crest.
Sister Elowen
The relic wakes when touched by blood or steel. I meant to deliver it to the temple in the next town, but I no longer trust the road.
Sister Elowen
If you hear me out, I will tell you why the baron's old work is still breathing, and why it knows your name.
“I listen to Sister Elowen as well telling her that I can escort her to the next town.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +2)
Neko lets the priestess speak, still as the table between them, while the hearth pops softly behind her. His hand leaves the chair back and settles near his cup, open, patient.
Sister Elowen
I was sent to account for a chapel storehouse after the winter floods. Instead I found a sealed room, and inside it, relic fragments wrapped like wounds.
Sister Elowen
There were notes too, old ledger scraps, speaking of tinctures, animal parts, and a method meant to make flesh answer to shell.
She shifts the satchel closer and eases out a folded scrap, its edge marked with the same wax crest. The nearby patrons keep pretending not to watch.
Sister Elowen
One line names a buyer by title only, but the hand that wrote it mentions a hunter with your manner of work. That is why I came here.
Neko
I will escort you to the next town.
Sister Elowen
Then I can breathe again. Thank you, Neko.
Her shoulders loosen at once, though her fingers stay on the satchel clasp. The wax seal lies between them like a quiet verdict, waiting for the road.
Escort Sister Elowen to the next town
Quest Complete
Hear the priestess out
New Gift: Priestess's Insight