Brin lifts the broken iron from beneath the stair. Beyond it, roots choke a descending chamber, and a missing length of safeguard glints in the dark below.
Brin
There. The rest of the iron. And beneath it, the old keeper's chamber.
The Taken Child presses close behind Enzo Yamada as cold whispers seep through the cracks. The roots twitch toward them, testing the open path.
The Taken Child
It knows me now. It is saying her name again. Ilyra Vey.
Brin
Ilyra was not buried here. She was sealed here. If the missing iron remains below, the safeguard can still be completed.
A root lashes across the threshold, stopping short of the child. Beneath the stone, something answers with a slow, hungry knock. The missing iron is the only visible path to closing the breach and uncovering what happened to Ilyra Vey.
✓ Quest Accepted
Secure the missing iron
✓ Quest Accepted
Complete the safeguard
“Can the missing iron be fitted into the safeguard below?”
YES, AND MORE (Likely, rolled 13)
Yes. The missing iron fits the broken safeguard below, its ends locking cleanly into the buried frame. More than that, the joining metal catches the whispered name of Ilyra Vey, and a thin band of pale ward-light seals the opening between the roots.
The roots recoil from the forming barrier, and the hungry knock beneath the stone falls silent. Enzo Yamada's reopened hand still bleeds, but the darkness no longer has a direct path to the Taken Child.
“I inspect the joined iron without touching it”
SUCCESS (Superb Perception, rolled +2)
Enzo Yamada studies the joined iron from the stairwell, keeping his burned hand clear of the ward-light.
The inspection reveals three clean alignments: the iron bears Ilyra Vey's name, the buried frame anchors it, and the pale barrier closes every visible gap.
Enzo Yamada
The safeguard is functioning.
The Taken Child
It is quiet now. Ilyra's name is not crying anymore.
The child's hovering hand lowers, stopping short of the ward-light. Beneath the stone, the completed safeguard answers with a steady, faint warmth.
The Taken Child
Can we leave before it remembers us?
Quest Complete
Complete the safeguard
“I ask the child to guide us home”
SUCCESS (Fair Willpower, rolled +1)
Enzo Yamada
Guide us home.
The Taken Child
I can. The safe way is not the way we came.
The child steps along the chamber's outer wall, keeping clear of the ward-light. Their feet find shallow marks hidden beneath the dust.
The Taken Child
Follow the marks. They lead to the old keeper's passage, and that passage opens above the village.
Behind Enzo Yamada, the completed safeguard holds its pale band without flicker. His burned hand seeps fresh red where Ilyra Vey's name is carved into the iron.
The Taken Child
Stay close. When the stones begin to whisper, do not answer them.
A concealed seam parts beneath the child's searching fingers, revealing a narrow stair rising into the tower wall. Cold air flows down from somewhere beyond.
Quest Complete
Secure the missing iron
Attribute Upgrade: Perception Superb→Legendary