The pressure behind the mountain sharpens. Through the blue-white ward comes a distant resonance, as though unseen hands are testing the route Lucidus and their companions abandoned.
Caelan
They have reached the main descent. The sanctuary is no longer the only trail they can follow.
Caelan studies the barrier from a step away. Its frozen surface reflects not their faces, but three shifting images: the exposed stair, the lower stair, and a fading crimson thread.
Maereth
The ward is not guarding Valkonias. It is redirecting marked blood away from the old descent. That means the Court cannot pass this way without following us.
She turns the black vellum beneath the dim red light. New writing crawls across its surface, showing the lower stair ending at a sealed observatory before the eastern crown.
Caelan
An observatory may hold a map, a warning, or another trap. More importantly, it gives us stone between ourselves and the Court.
The muted pressure becomes a slow tremor underfoot. Behind the mineral spines, the cramped stair waits downward, while the translucent ward begins sealing its edges around the arch.
✓ Quest Accepted
Escape the Veiled Court’s pursuit
“I stare at the ward before holding out my hand to it saying "We need to continue on to get to the passage that leads to Valkonias." I will attempt to use my will and magic to force the passage open.”
SUCCESS (Superb Magic, rolled +0)
Lucidus stares into the blue-white ward. Its frozen surface reflects the abandoned routes, while the pressure behind the mountain deepens into a warning tremor.
Lucidus
We need to continue on to get to the passage that leads to Valkonias.
Lucidus holds out their hand and gathers will through their claws. Silver frost and crimson summons-light collide across their palm as they force the ward to yield.
The barrier splits open with a thunderous crack, revealing the lower stair beneath the mineral spines. The passage beyond is clear, descending toward the sealed observatory.
Caelan
You opened it. But the ward took payment. Your summons-mark is burning brighter, and the Court will hear that fracture.
A sharp line of cold pain cuts across Lucidus’s marked palm. Crimson light pulses once, loud enough to echo through the mountain, then settles beneath their skin.
Maereth
Move now. The lower stair is ours, and the observatory waits below. Whatever follows, it will follow the sound you made.
“I hold my hand close to my chest as the mark pulses with pain as I keep following the sanctuary will hold the Veiled Court back as we continue on. I say, as we walk "Lets go the path opens up further down by the looks of it."”
SUCCESS (Good Agility, rolled -2)
Lucidus
Let’s go. The path opens up further down, by the looks of it.
Lucidus holds their marked hand close to their chest and descends the cramped stair. Each pulse burns beneath the skin, but the sanctuary’s will steadies the route ahead.
Caelan follows with his shield turned sideways, while the frost-stiffened woman keeps the black vellum tucked beneath her coat. Behind them, the fractured ward groans and seals shut.
Caelan
The sanctuary is holding the Court back for now. Keep moving, Lucidus. The observatory is below us.
The stair opens into a round chamber beneath the eastern crown. A domed ceiling of dark glass reveals faint stars trapped in the stone, and an ancient astrolabe rests at the center.
Maereth
This is the sealed observatory. Its records may show the way to Valkonias, but your mark has announced our arrival.
The observatory door stands open at the chamber’s far side, revealing star-maps and a descending stair beyond. Lucidus reaches it, though fresh pain flashes through their marked palm.
“"You two look around for any information you can find," I say as I walk into a side room trying to ease my pained hand. I refuse to allow either of them to see that with each command I give my hand hurts worse.”
SUCCESS (Mediocre Stealth, rolled +2)
Lucidus
You two look around for any information you can find. I will check the side room.
Lucidus enters the side room and keeps their marked hand close beneath their other arm. They move slowly, presenting the pause as deliberate examination rather than pain.
Caelan
We will search the observatory together. Call if you find anything important, and do not force another ward.
Caelan crosses to the ancient astrolabe, studying its engraved rings and star-map while keeping the open doorway in view. The frost-stiffened woman searches the shelves beneath the dome.
Maereth
Here. These tablets name the eastern crown and describe a descent beneath the observatory. Valkonias lies beyond it, not above us.
In the side room, Lucidus finds a narrow stone table covered in dust and rests their unmarked hand upon it. Their marked palm burns harder, but remains hidden from both companions.
Caelan
The astrolabe confirms her reading. The observatory has recorded a safe route, and its stair is the direct way toward Valkonias.
✓ Quest Accepted
Obtain the observatory’s route records
“I look for the exact record to Valkonias though being able to read. I'm specifically looking for a similar symbol of the marking for the ancient dragon.”
FAILURE (Good Perception, rolled -2)
Lucidus searches the side room’s tablets, shelves, and dust-covered table for a precise record of Valkonias, comparing every carved emblem with the ancient dragon’s mark.
The script remains unreadable to them. When their marked palm nears one tablet, however, its dust peels away and reveals a familiar silver-dragon symbol beside a branching stair.
The tablet’s lines blur before Lucidus can identify the exact route. The crimson mark flares, staining the symbol red and sealing the tablet’s surface beneath a thin crust of frost.
Caelan
Lucidus, step back. The mark has made the record react, and forcing it further may destroy what it is showing.
The frost does not cover everything. Beneath its edge, Lucidus can see three repeated points: the observatory, the eastern crown, and a lower chamber marked with the same dragon sign.
Maereth
That is not the final record, but it confirms the lower chamber. The tablet is directing you beneath the observatory, not along the open stair.
The exact text stays beyond Lucidus’s reading, yet the matching symbol and newly revealed chamber give them a usable lead without requiring another attempt on the sealed tablet.
“I move back as Caelan takes the record as I ask "Is that the right one?" I lean over his shoulder staring at the records in his hands.”
SUCCESS (Good Perception, rolled +0)
Lucidus steps back as Caelan carefully lifts the frost-crusted tablet from the stone table. The crimson mark dulls, leaving the silver-dragon symbol visible beneath the frozen surface.
Lucidus
Is that the right one?
Lucidus leans over Caelan’s shoulder, keeping their burning marked palm away from the tablet. The branching stair, eastern crown, and lower dragon-marked chamber align across its revealed surface.
Caelan
Yes. Not the final record, but the right record. It confirms the lower chamber is our route toward Valkonias.
Maereth
The open stair is a decoy or a later approach. This tablet directs the heir beneath the observatory, where the older descent begins.
Caelan angles the tablet so Lucidus can inspect every visible mark. The frost holds the unreadable script sealed, but it no longer hides the route’s three landmarks.
Caelan
We have the answer we needed. We should take the lower chamber before the mark announces us again.
“I take lead starting to get restless with everything that's going on seeing as the Veild Court is still trying to reach us.”
SUCCESS (Good Agility, rolled +2)
Lucidus takes the lead from the observatory, marked palm held close as they follow the tablet’s three landmarks toward the lower chamber. Their pace quickens beneath the trapped stars.
Caelan
I will keep the rear. The Court may be searching the upper descent, but they will not find us standing still.
Lucidus crosses beneath the astrolabe and finds a narrow stair concealed behind its eastern ring. Silver-dragon carvings brighten as their shadow passes over them.
Maereth
That is the older descent. The tablet was right. Move quickly, before the mark sends another echo through the mountain.
Lucidus leads downward without waiting for the open stair. The hidden steps curve beneath the observatory and end at a lower chamber sealed by a broad silver-dragon door.
Caelan
We are here. This chamber lies beneath the observatory, exactly where the record directed us.
Behind them, a distant tremor rolls through the upper stone. Ahead, the lower chamber’s door bears Lucidus’s lineage mark and opens a narrow seam of warm, ancient air.
“I study it as I attempt to find if there's any way to open it without using my mark.”
SUCCESS (Good Reasoning, rolled -2)
Lucidus studies the silver-dragon door without touching the lineage mark. Their gaze follows the seams, hinge-stones, and warm air leaking through the narrow opening.
Beneath the carved dragon’s throat, they find a smaller symbol hidden among the scales: not a blood seal, but a recessed spiral shaped like a listening ear.
Caelan
That may be an old keeper’s release. Try the spiral, not the mark. If it answers, the door was built for more than heirs.
Lucidus presses the spiral with one claw. The door opens inward without drawing on their summons-mark, revealing a descending passage filled with amber light and ancient warmth.
The release is not silent. A deep metallic note rolls through the mountain, and pain flashes across Lucidus’s marked palm as the sound briefly answers the Court’s summons.
Maereth
You opened it without giving the door your blood. Good. But that resonance carried farther than the ward’s fracture did.
Caelan
Then we have the passage, and a warning. We move now, before whoever heard that note reaches the chamber behind us.
“I quickly head inside as I look around for the specific record for the route to Valkonias. I say, as I look "We need to hurry the court could be anywhere at the moment."”
FAILURE (Good Perception, rolled -1)
Lucidus
We need to hurry. The Court could be anywhere at the moment.
Lucidus quickly enters the amber-lit passage and searches its carved walls, recessed shelves, and dragon-marked floor for a record of the route to Valkonias.
The passage answers with shifting script, but the letters blur whenever Lucidus’s marked palm nears them. A concealed panel seals, trapping the route record behind frost.
Caelan
The mark is corrupting the record before you can read it. Do not force the panel, or we may lose the passage entirely.
Maereth
Wait. The frost has spared one carving. That lower symbol is not Valkonias, but it marks an older descent beneath the eastern crown.
A narrow seam opens beside the sealed panel, revealing a steep stair descending toward a dim silver glow. The exact record remains inaccessible, but the alternate route is clear.
Caelan
We cannot take the record now. We can take that stair, and it may lead beneath the eastern crown before the Court reaches us.
“"Lets go the path should seal behind us it'll allow our escape, one of you two take lead." I will follow after them so nothing should stop us.”
SUCCESS (Good Agility, rolled -1)
Lucidus
Let’s go. The path should seal behind us and allow our escape. One of you two take the lead. I will follow.
Caelan
I will lead. Stay between us, and keep your marked hand close. We move before the mountain changes its mind.
Caelan descends the steep stair first, shield turned sideways beneath the low stone. The frost-stiffened woman follows Lucidus, keeping the black vellum beneath her coat.
Lucidus follows into the amber-lit descent, claws finding firm purchase despite the slope. Behind them, the concealed seam draws shut and seals the passage without leaving a visible join.
Maereth
The escape is sealed, but the summons-mark heard the closing. The Court will know we passed below the eastern crown.
A sharp crimson pulse burns across Lucidus’s palm, and the sound travels down the stair like a struck bell. The cost fades to heat as the group reaches a level landing.
Caelan
We are safely beyond the sealed route. The silver glow ahead marks the lower descent, and nothing follows us through the closed passage.
“"For now we've escaped the Veiled Court's pursuit so we're safe for the time being. It looks like the passage might lead to that forked path that was on the map."”
Lucidus
For now, we have escaped the Veiled Court. This passage may lead to the forked path shown on the map.
The landing opens into a broader tunnel, and the amber glow gives way to pale silver light. Two passages divide ahead, matching the map’s forked route.
Caelan
You are right. The markings match the old route, and nothing has followed us through the sealed passage.
Caelan lowers his shield slightly and examines the branching walls. One path slopes toward a warm subterranean draft; the other carries colder air from deeper stone.
Maereth
The fork is real. The warmer branch should lead beneath the eastern crown, while the colder one may join the mountain’s outer veins.
Caelan
Then we have gained distance and a choice. We can study the markings before moving, without fearing an immediate pursuit.
The crimson heat in Lucidus’s palm settles to a faint throb. Beyond the fork, the ancient passages remain open and quiet, offering time to determine the route toward Valkonias.
Establish a safe route through the fork
Quest Complete
Escape the Veiled Court’s pursuit
Attribute Upgrade: Agility Good→Great