Princess Eden Siranteos hauls Captain Vaelorin up from the hidden tunnel and into the west stairwell. Damp stone closes around them, and frost crawls farther over the floor, bright as a warning.
Ahead, two shadowed guards block the next landing. They have not seen the breach behind them, or the captain in Eden’s grip. Their posts, meant to protect the palace, now seal it in.
Princess Eden Siranteos
Stay still. One shout, and you die before you finish it.
Captain Vaelorin
Too late, princess. The rot is deeper than me. Look at them, and think who placed them here.
Vaelorin twists just enough to nod toward the guards, then toward the passage behind Eden. The message is ugly and plain. This is not one captain’s betrayal, but a lattice of them.
One guard shifts, uneasy at the sound of struggle. Eden stands between the stairwell and the hidden tunnel, holding the line while the conspiracy waits in the dark.
✓ Quest Accepted
Force the remaining conspirators to reveal themselves
“I throw the captain at the gaurds to bring them all down, then i hold them at gun point and threaten to shoot unless the give me answers.”
SUCCESS (Superb Strength, rolled +1)
Eden wrenches Vaelorin free and hurls him across the stairwell. He slams into the two guards on the landing, breaking their balance and spilling them into the frost-slick steps.
The captain and both sentries scramble in a knot of armor and boots, striking stone hard. Frost bursts under them, and the landing opens for an instant.
Princess Eden Siranteos
On your knees. Speak, or I shoot.
Eden levels her musket at the heap before her. The barrel tracks from Vaelorin to the nearest guard, steady as a judge's verdict.
Captain Vaelorin
You see it now. They stand where they were placed. Ask who gave the order.
The Guard on the Landing
Hold, hold. We were told only to bar the stairs.
A Second Guard
If she fires here, the whole stairwell turns against us.
The second guard looks past Eden, toward the open tunnel mouth and the darkness beyond it, as if counting how many more ears may already be listening.
Quest Complete
Force the remaining conspirators to reveal themselves