The Black Book tears free again, just as it did before, and hangs at the court’s center above the barricade. Ink streams from its pages, climbing into a towering shadow that chills the air to the bone.
The Black Book
You learn quickly, Ellowicous the Black. But do you endure, when power looks back?
The ogres tighten around the timber line. The goblins flinch and bow their heads. Even the tower seems to hold still.
Ellowicous the Black
The warding shapes are already in mind.
The Black Book
Choose. Bind yourself, discard the gift, or prove you can carry what you have taken.
The shadow leans closer, and the green gem in Ellowicous’s staff answers with a hard, sick light. The court waits for his answer.
“Knowing his black helm aids in his mental defenses, he telepathically communicates back that he is in charge not the book”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +0)
Ellowicous closes his mind around the helm’s cold edge, and the dark pressure in the court answers him at once. The hovering book stills, as if listening.
Ellowicous the Black
I am in charge, not you.
The Black Book
Then show it.
The ink shadow recoils a fraction, not from fear, but from recognition. The frost-bright air loosens around the tower base.
The Lead Ogre
It bows to you, lord. I see it.
The Goblin Spearman
Good. Let it know the tower has teeth.
The staff’s green gem dims from a sick glare to a steady, watchful glow. Above the barricade, the Black Book’s pages settle, its quiet satisfaction sharp as a knife sheathed.
The Black Book
For now, Ellowicous the Black, for now.
Quest Complete
Determine the Black Book's approval of your service
Skill Upgrade: Intimidation Good→Great