Mist drifts between the roots and broken stone outside the buried archive. Eladrin, Liora, and Kaelith catch their breath as the last dust settles from the sealed vault.
A fourth figure steps out of the haze, a hand resting on his sword hilt. He slows when he sees them, relief flickering across his face before caution returns.
Caelir Thorne
You are alive. Good. I followed the strain in the magic, and the Observatory of Ithryon has been stalking my sleep for nights.
Liora Asterwyn
That is either a useful coincidence, or a very suspicious one.
Caelir Thorne
I would prefer useful. I am Caelir Thorne, if names matter more than blades. I came to help, or at least to find out what was tearing at the veil between places.
Kaelith
He arrived by a trail only a trained diviner or a very lucky fool would notice.
Caelir’s gaze lands on Eladrin’s burned palm, then on the sealed ruin behind them. He does not draw his sword, but he does not let go of it either.
✓ Quest Accepted
Learn what Caelir knows about the catastrophe
“I study Caelir for a moment, then lower my gaze to the sigil burned into my palm. “Seralyth forged the prophecy, Caelir. Whatever I thought I saw that night may have been a lie.” I look back at him. “You were there. Tell me what you remember about the catastrophe—especially anything that does not match what I remember.””
SUCCESS (Good Reasoning, rolled -2)
Eladrin studies Caelir in the mist, then lowers his eyes to the sigil burning in his palm. The silver mark still throbs there, a hard reminder of Seralyth’s lie.
Eladrin
Seralyth forged the prophecy, Caelir. Whatever I thought I saw that night may have been a lie. You were there. Tell me what you remember about the catastrophe, especially anything that does not match what I remember.
Caelir’s grip tightens on his sword, but he does not raise it. The caution on his face gives way to something rawer, as if the question has struck a buried wound.
Caelir Thorne
I remember smoke first, not fire. I remember the ruin already calling your name, before the flames ever climbed.
Caelir Thorne
And I remember you turning toward the archway, as if someone had spoken from inside the light. You did not run the way I expected.
The memory lands crooked. Eladrin’s palm burns anew, and the words do not fit cleanly with the catastrophe he carries in his mind.
Caelir Thorne
If your vision says otherwise, then either I am wrong, or someone taught both of us a false ending.
Quest Complete
Learn what Caelir knows about the catastrophe