Sil’Thalis wakes against the willow’s roots, weak but conscious. Blood has dried beneath his nose, and the last sigils of the circle fade in the damp soil.
Bren kneels beside the circle, keeping watch over him and the stream. Sael and Teren remain in Phandelver, unaware of what has appeared here.
Near the water, a fresh willow-token mark lies pressed into the earth. It bears a copied likeness with no named source, preserved untouched by Bren.
Bren
You are awake. Do not rise too quickly. The vision ended, but the circle has not entirely released its hold.
Bren
This mark appeared while you were unconscious. It copied something, or someone, but gives no source and claims no authority.
Bren
I preserved its position without touching it. Should we follow its trail before the stream, rain, or ordinary footsteps erase it?
The copied likeness darkens as moisture gathers around its edges. Beyond it, faint impressions lead through the willow shade, already thinning beneath the morning wind.
✓ Quest Accepted
Build a network of freely allied Void-kin and Void-Fed
“I follow the fading impressions, seeking the mark's source without touching it.”
SUCCESS (Superb Perception, rolled +1)
Sil’Thalis rises carefully and follows the fading impressions through the willow shade, keeping his hands clear of the marked earth. Damp leaves close behind his steps.
The trail bends toward the stream, where the impressions gather around a flat stone half-submerged in shallow water. Its surface bears the same copied likeness.
Sil'Thalis
The mark came from the stone, not from a person walking here.
Water slips over the stone without erasing the image. Beneath its copied lines, older grooves form a broken circle, worn smooth by seasons rather than chiselwork.
Bren
There is no house seal, no keeper’s mark, and no claim of authority. The likeness was reflected here and carried back to the token.
Bren kneels beside the bank without touching the stone. In the water’s shifting reflection, the likeness changes subtly, preserving no face for longer than a breath.
Bren
We have found its source. Whatever made the copy was witnessed by this place, but the stone gives us no name and asks for no allegiance.
✓ Quest Accepted
Determine whether the witness-pattern mark is trustworthy
“I study the broken circle without touching the stone. I compare the stone’s reflection with the mark beneath the willow, I reach out with my shadow mist tentacles to sence anything thing from both marks”
SUCCESS (Superb Perception, rolled +2)
Sil’Thalis studies the broken circle without touching the stone. He compares its shifting reflection with the copied mark beneath the willow, noting the same central break and three softened arcs.
Shadow mist unfurls from his hand in slender, tentacular strands, hovering above both marks. It does not disturb water, soil, or stone as it reaches for their lingering traces.
Sil'Thalis
The marks share one impression, but neither was made by a hand.
The mist carries back two sensations: the stone received a reflection from passing awareness, while the willow mark preserved that likeness afterward. Neither trace contains a name, command, or allegiance.
Bren
Then the stone is a witness, not an author. The likeness traveled from attention to reflection, and from reflection to the token.
A final thread of shadow reveals the distinction clearly. The stone remembers being observed by something capable of recognition, while the willow mark remembers only the shape that recognition left behind.
Bren
You have separated source from copy without claiming either. Whatever watched this place left no authority here, only evidence that it was present.
Quest Complete
Determine whether the witness-pattern mark is trustworthy