The tower steps climb through a broken arch into a chamber flooded with violet light. Below, the barbarian chieftain remains unconscious beside his planted axe, left behind in the snow.
At the chamber’s center, a black stone altar bears the spellbook. Fractured covenant sigils circle it, their fading radiance drawn inward by an unseen summons.
The Lady Eudora
The ward is gathering what sanctity remains.
The violet fragments peel from the floor and walls, winding above the altar in thin luminous threads. Each one vanishes into the book’s sealed cover.
Then the altar’s shadow lengthens against the chamber floor. Sanctity condenses within it, shaping a tall, faceless figure with folded hands and a crown of broken light.
The spellbook remains untouched, but the waiting shape turns toward Eudora. Its featureless head tilts as the final sigil gutters out, and the tower falls utterly silent.
“I stop and groan dramatically, placing one hand on my hip and tilting my head at the figure. "How wonderful. Yet another obstacle in my path." A pause. I examined the figure for a moment longer, and noticed the silence since its appearance. "Don't tell me you're going to start barking about the gods now, too? I'd prefer if you simply surrendered your book to me, but if you're not willing, I'm not against killing you get it myself."”
FAILURE (Good Perception, rolled -4)
The Lady Eudora
How wonderful. Yet another obstacle in my path. Don't tell me you're going to start barking about the gods, too? Surrender your book, or I'll kill you and take it myself.
The Lady Eudora stops with one hand on her hip and her head tilted. Her examination finds no face, breath, or visible seam, only sanctity packed tightly around the figure's silent shape.
The Lady Eudora
It has no voice, but the altar answers through it.
The faceless figure raises one folded hand. The spellbook lifts from the altar, but violet chains burst from its cover and coil around Eudora's shadow.
The Faceless Sanctity
Threat recognized. Claim denied.
The chains do not seize her body, yet every attempt to move drags cold sanctity through her feet and into her damaged bones. Her dark magic gutters under the contact.
The book folds into the figure's chest, vanishing behind the broken crown of light. The altar cracks beneath the empty space, and Eudora's shadow remains pinned in place.
✓ Quest Accepted
Break free of the sanctity's chains
“I frown, and detect the chains as they bound around my shadow. I look back at the Faceless sanctity. "I know this may disappoint you, but I'm not interested in playing cat and mouse with a glorified statue." I skillfully twirl my wand into hand, and cast Midnight Blitz upon the faceless sanctity.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Magic, rolled +2)
The Lady Eudora
I know this may disappoint you, but I'm not interested in playing cat and mouse with a glorified statue. I cast Midnight Blitz.
Eudora frowns as her perception follows the violet chains through her shadow, tracing each sanctified link back to the faceless figure. Her wand spins neatly into her clawed hand.
Midnight Blitz erupts from the wand as a compact storm of black-blue radiance. It crosses the chamber without touching the pinned shadow and strikes the sanctity at its crown.
The Faceless Sanctity
Claim... denied.
The declaration fractures beneath the spell. Broken light bursts from the figure's crown, and its folded hands fly apart as Midnight Blitz tears the sanctity from the altar's remaining covenant.
The violet chains unravel from Eudora's shadow and dissolve into harmless sparks. The faceless figure collapses inward, leaving the spellbook suspended above the cracked altar, its sealed cover exposed.
The Faceless Sanctity
The claim is... ended.
Quest Complete
Break free of the sanctity's chains