The Lady Eudora awakens beneath a colorless sky, half-buried in frost and black soil. Her azure fissures pulse weakly, and the land carries no memory she recognizes.
The Lady Eudora
The magic within me is diminished, but not gone.
Beyond a field of broken stones, a ruined watchtower leans against the clouds. Violet light seeps from its upper chamber, where the coveted spellbook waits behind a holy shroud.
At the shroud’s edge stands a broad, middle-aged barbarian man with weathered bronze skin, braided gray hair, and a fur-lined red cloak. An iron-bound axe rests across his shoulders.
The Barbarian Chieftain
Stop there, witch. The sanctified ground rejects your kind, and I will not let you profane the tower.
The invisible boundary answers his warning with a low choral hum. Pale sigils kindle across the stones, while Eudora’s damaged power stirs hungrily toward the spellbook.
The Barbarian Chieftain
Turn back to whatever grave spat you out. Take another step, and the old gods’ ward will judge you before my axe does.
✓ Quest Accepted
Obtain the spellbook
✓ Quest Accepted
Get past the barbarian chieftain
“I scoff at the barbarian's threat, finding his stoic dismissal amusing rather than intimidating. I approach further, hands on my hips - though remain aware of my still-weakened state, and hide my tension for blood behind casual sardonicism. "Oh, pity. You seem terribly assured of yourself."”
FAILURE (Fair Willpower, rolled -2)
The Lady Eudora
Oh, pity. You seem terribly assured of yourself.
The Lady Eudora scoffs and advances with her hands on her hips, her sardonic poise concealing the strain threading through her weakened magic.
Her boot crosses the ward’s unseen edge. The choral hum becomes a piercing chord, and pale sigils flare beneath her feet.
Force folds inward around her like a closing fist. Eudora is driven back across the frost, cloak snapping, unable to reach the sanctified stones.
The Barbarian Chieftain
Assurance has little to do with it. The gods have measured you, witch, and found the threshold closed.
The ward remains bright between them, no longer merely a boundary but a sealed barrier. Violet light from the tower flickers as if the spellbook has noticed her presence.
The Barbarian Chieftain
Your strength is failing. Spend it foolishly, and the ground will finish what the winter began.
“I frown slightly at the sight of the barrier, but retain my stance. A quick once-over of the barrier's formation and recognizable defensive markings confirm my deduction of its true integrity. I draw my wand from my waist and tilt it toward the barrier, then cast two offensive glyphs using my dark magic to instantly shatter its defenses. "Spare me the warning, darling. Can't you see I've already made up my mind?"”
FAILURE (Legendary Magic, rolled -3)
The Lady Eudora
Spare me the warning, darling. Can't you see I've already made up my mind?
The Lady Eudora frowns at the barrier and studies its layered sigils. Their geometry reveals true integrity: the ward is not a wall, but a consecrated covenant anchored through the tower stones.
She draws her wand and tilts it toward the threshold. Two dark offensive glyphs snap into being, black as bruises, then strike the luminous defenses together.
The glyphs do not shatter the ward. The covenant turns them inward, folding their force through the wand and into the frost beneath her boots. Cracks of violet light web the ground, pinning her casting arm in a tightening ring.
The Barbarian Chieftain
You mistake sanctity for structure, witch. It cannot be broken by force while the oath remains whole.
The barrier endures, but its choral hum falters. One sigil near the tower steps dims, exposing a narrow weakness where the ward’s power briefly reroutes.
The Barbarian Chieftain
There. Even your failure teaches the gods where to strengthen their hand.
“I grunt, truly frustrated now. I jerk my casting arm back, only to find my violet restraints to be quite unyielding. I sigh, then release a pulse of dark magic from my withheld hand to scorch and blast apart the ground, directly severing the apparent link between the covenant and frosted earth. "Very well. I see we're going to be annoying about this. Messy it is, then."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Magic, rolled +1)
The Lady Eudora
Very well. I see we're going to be annoying about this. Messy it is, then.
The Lady Eudora grunts and wrenches against the violet restraints. Finding them unyielding, she releases a pulse of dark magic from her withheld hand.
The blast scorches through the frost and bursts the earth apart beneath her. Stone anchors crack, buried roots vaporize, and the visible link between covenant and ground is severed.
The violet ring around her arm gutters out. Across the threshold, the choral hum collapses into silence, and the ward’s sigils scatter like pale ash.
The Barbarian Chieftain
You foul the foundation itself. By the old gods, witch, you would tear open the world to avoid a locked door.
The sanctified barrier is gone. The tower steps lie open, and violet light spills from the upper chamber, revealing the spellbook’s waiting presence.
The Barbarian Chieftain
Do not mistake a broken ward for victory. The covenant is wounded, not forgotten, and the gods will hear this insult.
“I dust myself off and stride forward confidently, one hand on my hip while I advance toward the barbarian chieftain. "You just love talking about those gods, don't you? A terrible shame they won't be here to protect you when your blood and gore stain the snow."”
SUCCESS (Fair Willpower, rolled +2)
The Lady Eudora dusts frost from her cloak and advances across the ruined threshold, one hand settling upon her hip. Her confident stride carries her directly toward the barbarian chieftain.
The Lady Eudora
You just love talking about those gods, don't you? A terrible shame they won't be here to protect you when your blood and gore stain the snow.
She stops within striking distance. Violet tower-light gleams across her pale, blue-silver skin, while the broken ward smolders behind her and the spellbook waits above.
The Barbarian Chieftain
You mistake their silence for absence, witch. The gods need not stand beside me for judgment to find your throat.
The barbarian chieftain lowers his iron-bound axe from his shoulders and plants its head in the snow. The impact sends a hard tremor through the stones beneath Eudora's boots.
The Barbarian Chieftain
But if blood is what you demand, then come. Let the tower remember which of us stood fearless beneath its light.
“"This should be over quickly. I have bigger matters to concern myself with." I flip my hair with one hand, then strike out the other with lightning speed, disguising the attack beneath a casual action. From my barehanded palm a twisted, pale blue arc of dark magic snaps for the barbarian chieftain's abdomen to scorch and burn him through. "I'll spare you the honor of being slain by my wand. I'm sure the gods will be delighted to watch you comically keel over after all that talk."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Magic, rolled +0)
The Lady Eudora
This should be over quickly. I have bigger matters to concern myself with.
The Lady Eudora flips her black hair with one hand. Her other palm lashes forward beneath the casual motion, releasing a twisted, pale-blue arc of dark magic.
The spell strikes the barbarian chieftain through the abdomen and scorches across his red cloak. He staggers, axe slipping from his grasp, then drops heavily to one knee in the snow.
The Lady Eudora
I'll spare you the honor of being slain by my wand. I'm sure the gods will be delighted to watch you comically keel over after all that talk.
The Barbarian Chieftain
The gods... do not need my voice... to mark you.
His warning fades as he collapses beside the planted axe, alive but unable to rise. The tower stones shudder under the spell's thunderous report.
A sharp sickness knots through Eudora's bones as the attack consumes her diminished reserves. Her palm smokes faintly, but the path to the violet-lit tower stands clear.
Quest Complete
Get past the barbarian chieftain
Attribute Upgrade: Willpower Fair→Good