The Hooded Figure scrapes a shaking hand over the cracked slab, pressing themself upright with a hiss of pain. The brass key lies at Kara’s feet, cold and bright, while the violet glow under the cloak gutters like a dying coal.
The Hooded Figure
Do not let go of the key. If the seal slips now, it wakes.
A pause hangs in the hall. Behind the stone, whatever pounds there has gone still, listening.
Kara
The crack is wider than before.
The Hooded Figure
This ruin was not built to keep treasure. It was built to keep a thing buried, and I have been holding it shut too long alone.
They clutch the wall harder, breath ragged, eyes fixed on Kara and the fallen key as if the floor itself might betray them.
The Hooded Figure
Help me hold it, or tell me now what price you want for staying.
✓ Quest Accepted
Hold the seal intact
✓ Quest Accepted
Learn who sent the hooded figure
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The cracked slab shudders, not from force, but from a lock turning deep inside the stone. Frost beads along the fissure. The Hooded Figure flinches as the violet glow under their cloak answers with a weak pulse.
The Hooded Figure
It is not waking yet. The seal is loosening because I am not the only hand on it.
A second whisper answers from behind the wall, thin as breath through teeth. The hall chills further, and a sliver of darkness slides through the widened crack, shaped like a finger testing for purchase.
The Hooded Figure
Kara, listen to me. I came here to keep it buried, yes, but someone else wants it open. If you stand with me, I tell you who sent me. If you do not, we both lose the truth.
“I draw my blade and point it at the figure, demanding they speak the name now.”
SUCCESS (Fair Willpower, rolled +1)
Kara lowers the blade just enough to aim its point at the figure's throat, steady and unblinking.
Kara
Speak. Name who sent you.
The Hooded Figure
You want the name? Fine. Lady Sereth sent me to keep the seal closed, and to lie if I had to.
The words land hard. The violet glow under the cloak gutters, then steadies, as if the confession costs them something.
The Hooded Figure
I was hiding the brass key because it is my oath and my leash. Sereth believes the buried thing can be turned into a weapon.
A thin hiss of cold breath slips farther through the crack, but the slab holds. For the moment, the seal remains intact.
The Hooded Figure
Now you know enough to decide whether you trust me, Kara. Will you keep listening?
Quest Complete
Learn who sent the hooded figure