The barge's stern rigging swings close to a squat stone landing hidden beneath Sanctuary's river wall. Fog veils the gap as the vessel passes its blind angle.
Alleria
Now. Take the lower rope, then cross beneath the rail. The landing is hidden from the deck.
Alleria catches the sagging stern line and swings toward the landing. L'Sara follows, gripping the wet rope firmly; her scraped palm flares with a sharp sting beneath the pressure.
They drop onto the concealed stones as the barge glides onward. Alleria lands silently, then draws L'Sara beneath a collapsed timber awning before the fog thins.
Alleria
We are clear. Shelter first, questions after. That packet stays hidden until we know who is listening.
The landing offers a dry recess, stacked old nets, and a rusted mooring post. Fresh tar darkens its surface around a crowned-serpent sign, cut beneath the broken-circle mark.
Alleria
That sign is here too. Someone reached this landing before us, and they wanted the mark found.
“I hide our trail among the old nets”
FAILURE (Good Stealth, rolled -2)
L'Sara crouches beside the stacked old nets and searches for a way to break the trail. The pile is cinched tight beneath the collapsed awning, beyond any clean reach.
She shifts her weight against the nearest bundle, but the wet cord snaps taut and drags a loose coil across the stones. Dark fibers rasp loudly against the landing.
Alleria
No. Leave them. That sound made a cleaner mark than our footsteps.
Alleria catches L'Sara's wrist before she can disturb the pile again, then points toward the rusted mooring post and the narrow shadow beneath the wall.
Alleria
The nets will not hide us. We move now, and keep the packet covered until we find a drier passage.
The attempted concealment has left a fresh scrape through the damp grit beside the nets. Alleria lowers herself into the wall's shadow, forcing the next escape toward the darker passage.
✓ Quest Accepted
Open the concealed service stair
“Is the crowned-serpent sign meant to lure us?”
NO, BUT (Likely, rolled 67)
Alleria studies the crowned-serpent cut beneath the tar. The mark is weathered under its fresh coating, its edges too worn to have been carved for their arrival.
Alleria
Not a lure. Someone renewed an old sign, but they did not know we would come through the river passage.
The scrape beside the nets leads nowhere useful; damp grit has collapsed over the faint trail. Yet beneath the mooring post, a narrow line of mortar breaks the wall's black face.
Alleria
There. The serpent points to a service stair, not the landing. It is sealed, but the key may fit whatever waits beyond it.
Alleria clears only the loose grit with two careful fingers. A recessed iron plate emerges beneath the mortar line, marked with a tiny crowned serpent and a keyhole gone dark with age.
Alleria
We missed the clean trail, but found a quieter door. If the iron key opens it, we can leave the river unseen and follow the sign's true route.
Beyond the wall, something hollow answers the settling stone with a faint descending echo. The concealed stair is real, and the landing offers one usable way onward.
“I fit the iron key into the crowned-serpent keyhole.”
SUCCESS (Superb Agility, rolled +3)
L'Sara fits the iron key into the crowned-serpent keyhole. Its teeth settle cleanly despite the age-darkened metal, and her scraped palm stings as she applies pressure.
The key turns with a deep internal click. Mortar dust trembles loose, and the concealed iron plate releases from the wall without a squeal.
Alleria
That was no simple service lock. Someone built this passage to protect whatever lies beneath the river wall.
The plate swings inward, revealing a narrow stone stair descending into dry darkness. Faint blue witchlight glimmers along the steps, old but still burning.
Alleria
Look there. The first step is clean. No dust, no cobwebs. Someone has used this route recently, and the light may show us where they went.
Beyond the stair, a dry stone corridor opens beneath Sanctuary. On its wall, fresh chalk marks repeat the crowned serpent beside a route symbol pointing inland, away from the river.
Quest Complete
Open the concealed service stair