Wicy turns the metal charm in her fingers by the corner table. The little disc should be cold, but it warms hard, then harder, beating in time with the thud under the floor.
The warmth jumps to a feverish pulse. Dust quivers in the seam boards. Shadow’s hush beneath the tavern sharpens into a low, answering tremor.
Elias
So it still works. Good.
Elias
That charm is a tether. I have been tracking it since the day I gave it to you.
His calm breaks. Elias’s gaze goes bright and hungry, fixed on the charm, then on Wicy. The friendly mask slips clean away.
The Tavern Keeper
By the hearth, what have you brought into my floor?
From below, something large shifts toward the heat. The boards bow, and the old seal groans as if waking to answer a name.
✓ Quest Accepted
Break Elias’s tether to the charm
“You sigh and use your control of the artifacts to quiet the floor and take back control.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled -3)
Wicy draws one slow breath and lets the charm’s hot pulse meet her own steadiness. The throb under the floor answers, then softens, like a fist unclenching in the dark.
Wicy
The tether loosens.
Her fingers tighten around the metal disc. A thin burst of warmth bites her palm, and the sketchbook under her arm shifts with the motion.
Below, the bowed boards ease up a fraction. The blue seam’s glare dulls, and Shadow’s horned outline settles back into the hush beneath the tavern.
Elias
No. Wait.
Elias’s hand jerks toward the charm, but the bond between it and him has already gone slack. The air around his tuning fork goes still, useless and cold.
The charm drops to the table with a hard click. Wicy keeps her hand on it, singed but in control, while Elias stares at the empty space where his pull used to be.
Quest Complete
Break Elias’s tether to the charm
“You pick up the charm and tell Elias that it is no longer safe in his possession.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +2)
Wicy lifts the charm from the table and closes her fingers around it before Elias can claim it. The metal is still warm, but its pull is gone.
Wicy
This is not safe in your hands anymore.
Elias
Safe? No. But it was mine to hold before it chose you.
The Tavern Keeper straightens behind the bar, eyes flicking from Elias’s tuning fork to Wicy’s hand, their alarm easing into careful attention.
Shadow
The tether slackens. The mark remembers more than one master.
Elias
You felt that, did you not? The charm is not a trinket. It is a leash, and someone else still holds the other end.
The Tavern Keeper
If this is a private quarrel, keep it quiet. If it is not, speak plainly before you upset my floor again.
Elias
I can tell you why it binds, if you want the truth. But I need to know whether you mean to keep it, Wicy, or break it.
✓ Quest Accepted
Keep Elias from reclaiming the tethered charm
“"neither," you say, "I wish to use it." you put the charm away. I think it would be best if we go while it is still early.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Agility, rolled +2)