The basin settles into dark, clean water. The restored runes cast a muted violet glow across the chamber, while the last traces of rot withdraw into the sealed depths.
Bram
It worked. The fields may have a chance now, but I doubt the city will welcome what we have learned.
Elowen steps beside the basin, bow lowered but ready. In the clear water, the old chain remains visible, each link whole and bright beneath the stone.
Elowen
Your blade did not break the prison. It chose what the elders feared to choose.
Gray-Cloaked Guard
Then the archives are no longer our only proof. The surviving seal answers to him, and the order cannot bury that.
A tremor passes through the spire, gentler than before. Dust drifts from the ceiling, and somewhere above, the wild fields exhale a long breath.
Bram
We should leave before this place decides to close around us. Yllamaris, the next step is yours.
“"sure... Sure..." - *I look around to see if there are any books or other rooms down here to search.*”
SUCCESS (Superb Perception, rolled -1)
Yllamaris surveys the chamber instead of following the others toward the stair. Behind the basin, violet light reveals a narrow side passage sealed by a stone door.
The door bears the same unbroken chain carved around the basin. At Yllamaris's approach, its runes dim, and the slab folds inward without resistance.
Gray-Cloaked Guard
An archive room. I thought this branch had collapsed centuries ago.
Beyond lies a dry, low chamber lined with shelves. Wax-sealed ledgers, clay tablets, and thin books wrapped in treated hide rest beneath a veil of dust.
Elowen
Those markings match the First Seal. The records survived because the stone hid them.
One ledger lies open on a central stand, its pages preserved and legible. Names of elven elders and Oakhaven founders surround a drawing of Yllamaris's blade.
Bram
Take what proves the truth. Then we leave before the city notices its buried history is missing.
✓ Quest Accepted
Take the ledger proving the elders' lie
“"Hmm... Even with proof they will want to kill me... But I'll preserve the truth..." *I secure the truth*”
SUCCESS (Good Reasoning, rolled +1)
Yllamaris gathers the ledger, tablets, and sealed books from the shelves, wrapping them carefully in treated hide. Dust falls away, revealing names, dates, and the truth of the First Seal.
Yllamaris
The truth must survive, even if I do not.
He copies the ledger's key pages onto clean scraps of archive parchment, then secures the originals beneath his cloak and within a satchel found beside the stand.
Gray-Cloaked Guard
That is enough to expose the order and Oakhaven together. No council can dismiss every record.
Elowen
Keep the names safe. If they learn these survived, they will hunt whoever carries them.
The archive's preserved truth now rests with Yllamaris, copied and secured against fire, water, and hurried hands. The open ledger remains on its stand as a witness.
Bram
Then we leave with proof, not rumors. The stair is still open, and the city waits above.
Quest Complete
Take the ledger proving the elders' lie
+ New Item Acquired
Ledger
+ New Item Acquired
Archive Tablets
+ New Item Acquired
Sealed Books
+ New Item Acquired
Satchel