Liora remains behind to settle into her own quarters while Klause follows glowing corridor markers, carrying his belongings from the ward hall. The academy gradually quiets around him.
His assigned room stands open. Serin Vale is already inside, inspecting protective script along the windowsill beside an unfamiliar warded trunk bearing no academy seal.
Serin Vale
Your roommate arrived before you. I found him examining the trunk, though neither of us can identify who placed it here.
A young adult elf man rises from the room’s second bed. He is lean and tall, with warm brown skin, tousled white hair, pointed ears, and a green traveling coat.
The Elf Roommate
I am Caelen Aris. The room assigned me this morning, and the trunk was already waiting beneath the window.
Serin Vale
There is no immediate danger in its script, but the warding style is unfamiliar. Trust begins with clear questions, not convenient assumptions.
Caelen steps aside, leaving the trunk untouched. Its engraved lid gives a faint, blue pulse as the room’s protective script answers the newcomer’s presence.
✓ Quest Accepted
Determine who placed the warded trunk
✓ Quest Accepted
Discover the warded trunk’s connection to Klause’s inherited power
“This crest is familiar I say putting my hand on it and unlocking the crest”
SUCCESS (Superb Arcana, rolled +0)
Klause larent
This crest is familiar.
Klause places his hand against the engraved crest. Its blue pulse warms beneath his palm, and a threefold mark briefly mirrors across the trunk’s lid.
The ward recognizes him. Fine lines of light unwind from the crest, releasing the lock with a soft click as the lid opens.
Caelen Aris
You knew that mark? The trunk refused every touch before you arrived.
Serin Vale
Interesting. The crest has answered through lineage or prior ward contact, not ordinary academy authorization.
Inside rests a folded blue mantle, a sealed letter bearing the same crest, and a small crystal set in protective padding. The room’s scripts settle into silence.
Caelen Aris
Whatever it contains, it was meant for you. I will not touch anything else without your permission.
“I read the letter seeing who it was from”
SUCCESS (Good Perception, rolled +2)
Klause lifts the sealed letter from the trunk. The blue crest warms beneath his fingers, and the seal opens cleanly without tearing the parchment.
The first line identifies the sender as Rebecca’s elder cousin, Lady Aelwen Vaelor, a high elf noblewoman of Rebecca’s former bloodline.
The letter explains that Aelwen received word of Klause’s academy admission and recognized the family ward-mark when it appeared in the academy’s records.
She writes that the mantle and crystal are inheritance tokens, sent so Klause may understand the lineage his mother abandoned without being compelled to serve it.
Caelen Aris
Lady Aelwen Vaelor? That name carries weight among the high elf houses. She sent this directly to you?
The final lines invite Klause to seek Aelwen through the far-lands portal when he is ready, while warning that others in her house may already know his name.
Serin Vale
Then the trunk was not an accident. Your family’s old wardcraft has reached into the academy, and someone expects you to answer.
Quest Complete
Determine who placed the warded trunk
Skill Upgrade: Arcana Superb→Legendary
Quest Complete
Discover the warded trunk’s connection to Klause’s inherited power
New Gift: Warded Power Sense
+ New Item Acquired
Opened Letter