Xing Elira stops beside the discarded insignia, her finger still pointed at the Horn Bearer's crest. The tunnel goes quiet except for the distant thud from the archives behind them.
Xing Elira
This mark is not a rank badge. It is a lesson he abandoned.
She turns the insignia with two fingers, then looks to the Elder With Lantern like she is forcing the truth into the open.
Xing Elira
The Horn Bearer was your finest student. You taught him the road, the horn codes, the discipline. Then he chose the Warlord's shadow.
The Elder With Lantern
No... not him. I should have seen it sooner.
The Elder's face drains pale. His shoulders cave in, and the lantern at his side trembles in the hush.
Xing Elira
His terror is not only of the Warlord. It is shame. He failed to stop his own pupil before darkness took root.
Tenda Wildheart
The base was not just hidden, it was taught.
The path ahead feels different now, less like a chase and more like walking into a wound that was opened long before Tenda arrived.
✓ Quest Accepted
Confront the Elder With Lantern about his hidden past
“I step toward the Elder and demand he explain his connection to the Horn Bearer.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +3)
Tenda steps in close enough for the Elder to feel the demand, not the distance. The lantern light wobbles over the old man's bowed head, and the tunnel seems to hold its breath.
Tenda Wildheart
Explain your connection to the Horn Bearer.
The Elder flinches at once, then lifts his chin with a tired kind of surrender. His fingers tighten around the lantern handle until the knuckles pale.
The Elder With Lantern
He was my student. I taught him the horns, the routes, the timing. I taught him how to move men through fear.
Xing Elira watches the confession land, her expression sharpening as if the answer confirms a pattern she already saw. In the dimness, the cracked ceiling glows faintly above them.
The Elder With Lantern
He took that knowledge and offered it to the Warlord. I let him leave proud, and I mistook pride for strength.
The Elder finally raises his eyes to Tenda, shame bare on his face. He straightens by a fraction, and the movement reveals a small metal whistle tucked inside his sleeve, marked with the same crest as the insignia on the floor.
The Elder With Lantern
Ask what you will. I will not hide from this now.
Decide what to do with the Elder's confession
Quest Complete
Confront the Elder With Lantern about his hidden past