Crystal lamps flare around the circular vault. Golden script pours across the walls, naming the council’s final witnesses and recording how the king erased them from Ithaca’s history.
The Palace Guard Captain
These tablets are the testimony the crown feared. Gather them carefully. Every name must reach the public council court.
The palace guard captain lifts the nearest stone tablets into a leather-wrapped case. Penelope keeps her father’s bronze tablet hidden beneath the azure-and-crimson shroud, while Alexios stands armed before the awakened record.
Alexios's father
The witnesses did not vanish by chance. The king ordered their names struck away, then sealed this vault beneath his throne.
A concealed stair unfolds from the far wall, descending toward the public council court. Behind them, the two younger guards remain at the passage, holding back crown patrols while the elf captain stays with the ship above.
Penelope
The bells have begun. The palace knows the vault is open, and the court will soon know we carry its buried truth.
Distant bells toll through the foundations, each peal shaking dust from the ceiling. The golden script brightens over the open stair, awaiting the company’s next movement.
“I descend toward the public council court, and ask the cpatin to rally the guards”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled +2)
Alexios descends the concealed stair toward the public council court, Everburn blazing beside the leather-wrapped testimony. Bells thunder through the foundations.
Alexios
Captain, rally the guards. Bring every loyal soldier to the council court before the king can silence these witnesses.
The Palace Guard Captain
You have my word. Guards, leave the passage in pairs and summon every watch that still serves Ithaca rather than the crown.
The two younger guards hand their posts to summoned sentries, then hurry down the stair. Boots multiply beneath the ringing bells as loyal guards gather around the testimony.
The Palace Guard Captain
We will form a shield around the witnesses and carry the tablets openly. Let the people see who protects truth, and who fears it.
Alexios's father
Then the council shall hear what was buried. My testimony, the tablets, and the names of the dead will stand together.
The stair opens onto the public council court, where torchlight floods the waiting stones. Palace guards assemble behind Alexios and his companions as the great doors begin to open.
✓ Quest Accepted
Gain a public hearing for the testimony
“I enter the council court and raise the testimony for all to see.”
SUCCESS (Good Willpower, rolled +2)
Alexios enters the public council court beneath thunderous bells. He raises the leather-wrapped testimony high in one claw, Everburn blazing beside him as the assembled citizens turn toward the buried record.
The palace guards form a living shield around Alexios, Penelope, his father, and the stone tablets. Torches flare across the court, revealing crowded balconies and stunned faces beneath the royal banners.
The Palace Guard Captain
People of Ithaca, look upon the testimony your king buried. These names belong to your lost council, and these tablets record how they were silenced.
The captain opens the leather case and displays the tablets one by one. Golden script spills across their surfaces, projecting the vanished witnesses’ names onto the court’s ancient walls.
Alexios's father
I witnessed the king’s treason. He sealed me beneath his throne and erased the council so Ithaca would forget who opposed his rule.
Penelope
The tablet bears my father’s seal, and Alexios brought it from the ruins where the king’s crime began. Let every witness here compare the marks.
A murmur rolls through the court, swelling as citizens recognize family names among the testimony. Above them, the royal banners tremble while the great doors stand open to the gathering crowd.
Quest Complete
Gain a public hearing for the testimony