Frost spiderwebs across the landing as Princess Eden Siranteos keeps her musket leveled. The two guards freeze where they fell, one scrambling to his knees, the other staring past her toward the tunnel mouth. Captain Vaelorin leans against the stone, blood on his grin, watching to see whether she breaks first.
Princess Eden Siranteos
Who gave the order?
The kneeling guard swallows hard. His eyes flick to the tunnel, then to Vaelorin, then back to Eden's glowing runes.
The Guard on the Landing
Captain Vaelorin said it was by the Queen's command. He told us to bar the stairs and let no one through.
Captain Vaelorin
Careful. If you name the Queen in vain, little guard, you may yet lose your tongue for it.
Vaelorin's mocking ease falters as the second guard turns pale. The lie or truth of it hangs in the air like a drawn blade.
The Guard on the Landing
I heard her myself. The order came down from above. We were told the tunnel must stay hidden.
Princess Eden Siranteos
Then you will take me to whoever said it.
The frost cracks loudly beneath Eden's feet as the guard nods, terrified, and Vaelorin's grin finally vanishes. The hidden passage is no longer just a breach, it is a route into the Queen's own secrets.
✓ Quest Accepted
Reach whoever issued the order from above
✓ Quest Accepted
Expose the architect of the hidden passage conspiracy
“I fire a warning shot into the ceiling to show im not afraid to take action if necessary. These men will take me to whoever is behind this betrayal of the kingdom so that they all may fave justice by my hand, and I will not take no for an answer.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +1)
Eden’s musket cracks the silence, not toward flesh, but into the stone above. Chips of mortar snap loose and rain across the landing.
Both guards flinch hard. The kneeling one bows lower, hands shaking. The other scrambles backward on the cracked floor, eyes wide on the smoking barrel.
Princess Eden Siranteos
You will take me to the one behind this. Now.
Vaelorin’s mouth tightens. He shifts his weight, no longer smirking, while frost trembles in the seams of the stair.
The Guard on the Landing
I will. Just do not fire again.
A Second Guard
The orders came from the upper halls. I can show you the route... if you let us live to walk it.
The hidden passage behind the armory hangs in the memory of the landing like a wound, and Eden now has a fearful guide, not a wall of silence.
“Looks like these two are far more useful than the now demoted, former Captain Vaelorin. I will make an example of what we do to traitors by shooting Vaelorin between the eyes then telling theother two gaurds to start leading the way.”
SUCCESS (Fair Ranged Weapons, rolled +0)
Eden’s shot lands true. Vaelorin jerks once and drops hard against the stair rail, his body slackening as the landing goes very still. The kneeling guard chokes on a gasp, and the one on the cracked floor stares upward, frozen by the sound of their captain’s fall.
Princess Eden Siranteos
Lead the way.
The surviving guards move at once, terror dragging them forward. One points to the upper stairs with a shaking hand while the other rises clumsily to his feet, eyes never leaving Eden’s musket.
The Guard on the Landing
This way. Please, this way.
A Second Guard
The upper hall. The one who gave the order waits beyond it.
Vaelorin’s blood darkens the stone by the rail, and the guards flinch around it without daring to look long. Somewhere above, a door shuts with a muffled, final thud.
The route is open now, but the stairwell carries Eden toward a higher silence that knows she is coming.
