The narrow path drops at last into a wider shelf of stone. The tremors still whisper through the ground, but the air softens, and the damp earth smell gives way to cold grass and rain-wet rock.
Dravin slows and lets the others close in. Bram loosens his grip on the records. Lord Markul stands with one hand on the wall, listening to the lingering thrumming below.
Bram
We made it this far. That counts for something.
Dravin
Take a breath while you can. The lowlands are still ahead, but this is the first still place we have had in hours.
Slaan eases into the shadow of a broken spur, checking the path behind them out of habit. Nothing follows. Only mist, grit, and the slow pulse of the mountain remain.
Lord Markul
You carried the worst of it well, Slaan. Bram did too. We are not finished, but we are no longer running blind.
Bram gives a tired snort that almost becomes a laugh. Dravin’s shoulders uncoil by a fraction, and the group settles into a shared pause, the kind that invites a question instead of a warning.
✓ Quest Accepted
Reaffirm the pact with Dravin
“I stop and give Dravin a long hard look. " You thought Kina just about everything she know, I learned from her. That make me in your teaching lineage." I pause " I also was a student of your rivels Seada, so I promise you if you betray us, I will end you."”
SUCCESS (Good Intimidation, rolled +2)
Slaan stops cold on the stone shelf and turns that long, hard look on Dravin. The mountain keeps breathing underfoot, but the hush between them sharpens.
Slaan
Kina taught me enough to name the pattern.
Slaan
You taught Kina almost everything she knew. That puts me in your line. I studied under Seada too, so if you betray us, I end you.
Bram goes still with the records in both hands. Lord Markul watches Dravin, unreadable and exact, while the grit hisses softly across the shelf.
Dravin
Then you understand the only language that matters here, consequence. I do not like being cornered, Slaan, but I respect the hand that can hold the blade.
Dravin
The old toll cairn answers to a keeper, not a prayer. If we reach it, I will stand with you and name what I know.
Lord Markul gives a slight nod, as if sealing a ledger entry. Bram’s shoulders loosen a fraction, and the uneasy line between them settles into something sturdier, if no warmer.
Quest Complete
Reaffirm the pact with Dravin
Quest Complete
Learn the old toll cairn contact
New Gift: Cairn Whisperer