The soaked villagers remain beneath the willow arch while the fishmonger and elder stay near the stair, watching the dark lake. Viren stands among them, rapier dimly glowing.
A courier in the colors of Aqari’s adventurer’s guild stumbles up from the lakeside path. Water streams from her cloak as she clutches a wax-sealed message.
Seren Vale
Viren Redhood? Elder? I am Seren Vale, courier of the guild protectorate. This message bears the guild seal, and its order is plain.
Seren Vale
No one is to kill the wake-serpent. Its return may be tied to ruins beneath the Aboleth’s eye, ruins once studied by the Sages.
the village elder
You arrive after it nearly shattered Aqari. Why should we trust a sealed command over the lives of our people?
Before Seren can answer, a low vibration travels through the wet stones beneath the willow arch. The lake answers with widening rings, though no wind touches its surface.
Seren Vale
Because that is not an ordinary tremor. Something below has heard us. Mage, prepare yourself, but hold your blade unless the guild’s order changes.
✓ Quest Accepted
Authenticate the guild’s sealed order
✓ Quest Accepted
Discover the cause of the tremor
“"... To be fair, sir, the ruins bellow may hold the key to stopping the rampage... though I must ask, Seren... how could we track the cause without alerting the Lake Wyrm? And if we are to wait for the guild's forces to come aid the villagers, what is to be done in the meantime?"”
SUCCESS (Superb Diplomacy, rolled -1)
Viren Redhood
To be fair, sir, the ruins below may hold the key to stopping the rampage. Seren, how can we track the cause without alerting the lake wyrm?
Viren Redhood
And while we await the guild’s forces, what should be done to protect the villagers?
Seren Vale
We investigate from shore first. The old waterward stones beneath the willow arch mark a quiet descent, and their runes can reveal the ruins’ shape without disturbing the deep.
Seren kneels beside the wet stones and presses the guild seal against a faintly carved mark. Blue light threads through the inscription, outlining a submerged passage and three sheltered platforms.
Seren Vale
The villagers shelter on the western rise. The fishers will keep watch from land, while we use muffled spells and follow the marked channel. No striking, unless lives face immediate danger.
The seal fractures with a dry click as the rune answers, its wax crumbling into Seren’s palm. The revealed map remains clear, but the guild’s proof is spent.
the village elder
Then Aqari will hold the shore, and you will seek the truth below. Mage, take only what the water cannot tempt you to lose.
Quest Complete
Authenticate the guild’s sealed order
“"So in essence, we follow the stones until we find something that is workable..." *Viren muttered as he would take out his journal, thist time using his magic to keep the journal dry as he worked on sketching the beast again and then following it up with notes and the map in the stones.* "... But if these ruins were related to the sages... then that could mean more than just the wyrm on the outside of the ruins that we will have to worry about... I don't think it'd be a good idea to go about it alone."”
SUCCESS (Superb Magic, rolled +1)
Viren Redhood
So in essence, we follow the stones until we find something workable.
Viren draws his journal beneath the willow arch. A thin veil of magic settles over its pages, turning rain aside as he sketches the wake-serpent’s pale scales, narrow eyes, and coiling shape.
He copies the elder’s notes beneath the drawing, then carefully transfers the waterward map: the submerged passage, three sheltered platforms, and the runes marking their quiet descent.
Viren Redhood
If these ruins were related to the Sages, that could mean more than the wyrm outside. I do not think it wise to go alone.
Seren Vale
You will not. The guild sent me to assess the ruins, and I know the old descent routes. We proceed together, with the villagers protected behind us.
the village elder
Then take the western rise as your refuge. I will keep Aqari’s people there, and the fishers will signal if the lake stirs.
As Viren finishes the final rune, a second pattern glimmers beneath the copied map, revealing a sealed symbol below the deepest platform. Seren’s expression tightens.
✓ Quest Accepted
Reach the submerged ruins
“*Viren's face would lighten up as he would recognize the pattern.* "Oh! I know that rune... that's an Oceanus rune! That's related to Primordial magic that is related to the sea... the ruin's are layered to create the pattern of the ruin if viewed from above!"”
SUCCESS (Fair Lore, rolled -1)
Viren Redhood
Oh! I know that rune. It is an Oceanus rune, tied to primordial sea magic. The ruins are layered to form their pattern when viewed from above.
Viren’s face brightens as recognition takes hold. Beneath his finger, the copied symbol answers with a muted blue pulse, and the three platforms shift into a single vast design.
The submerged lines resolve into a spiraling sea sigil, with the sealed mark at its center. From above, the ruins resemble an open eye surrounded by curling waves.
Seren Vale
Oceanus. Then this is not merely a ruin map. The layers were arranged as one working, perhaps to contain or call something beneath the lake.
The revelation costs Viren a sharp pulse of magic through his hand. His protective veil over the journal gutters out, and rain immediately blurs the outer edge of the sketch.
the village elder
An eye beneath Aqari? If that pattern marks the lake’s heart, then the western rise must remain guarded. No villager goes near those stones.
Seren Vale
Agreed. We can use your reading to follow the spiral inward without disturbing its center. Show me which layer carries the quiet descent.
“*Viren would smile a bit, this is a hyperfixation of his as he would be muttering aloud, almost giddie as he would be tracing the rune before shifting it to an illusion that hung in the air with him using his rapier to draw the diagram.* "... Okay... we can't go for the innermost areas, since they are also the deepest down... so that leaves the conduit points..." *He would make small circles around the edges of the rune, the point he was referring to as he soon mark too possible points of entry. Both on the far ends of the Ovaline Pattern.* "... Here and Here are the most likely caniddates... given how the ruin seems to be shaped."”
SUCCESS (Superb Magic, rolled +1)
Viren Redhood
Okay... we cannot take the innermost routes, since they are deepest. That leaves the conduit points.
Viren smiles faintly, absorbed in the pattern. He traces the Oceanus rune, then lifts his rapier and draws its lines into a suspended illusion.
Viren Redhood
Here and here are the likeliest candidates, given how the ruins are shaped.
Blue geometry unfolds above the stones: the ovaline pattern becomes layered and legible, its spirals turning around the sealed center. Viren circles both far ends with light.
Seren Vale
Two outer conduits. If they carry the working inward, we can examine either without approaching the deepest chamber.
the village elder
Then the western rise remains our shield. Choose the route that keeps any disturbance farthest from the platforms.
Seren Vale
The northern candidate lies beneath a shorter channel. We will begin there, with muffled magic and no blade drawn unless lives are threatened.
“"Agreed... though I hope you have some abjuration magic... because we are going to be struggling against the waters on the way down there." *He said as he would look to the Elder.* "Keep an eye out for any signs of trouble and of the guild's main force."”
SUCCESS (Superb Diplomacy, rolled +0)
Viren Redhood
Agreed... though I hope you have some abjuration magic. We will struggle against the waters on the way down. Elder, watch for trouble and the guild’s main force.
the village elder
You have my word. I will keep the western rise watched, and send the fishers’ bells if danger approaches or the guild force appears.
The elder gestures to the fishers, who take positions beneath the willow arch and along the western rise. Their signal cords are tied where every watcher can reach them.
Seren Vale
I do. Abjuration is my strongest warding craft. I can wrap us in a hush against the current, though it will demand steady focus below.
Seren draws a circle of pale sigils over the waterward stones. The runes settle around Viren and her like a thin, translucent shell, muting the lake’s restless murmur.
Seren Vale
The ward will resist pressure, cold, and the pull of the channel. It will not conceal careless movement, so follow my marks and keep your magic measured.
Beyond the stones, the northern channel darkens into a narrow descent. The first submerged rune answers Seren’s ward with a quiet blue pulse, revealing the route beneath the surface.
“*Viren would place his rapier in it's sheathe, instead using his mana to help support Seren as they traveled along the path, down into the lake... Viren remained quiet and controled his own mana output as he would look to Seren.* "Soooooo... this is a first time for me... not just being underwater like this but... also exploring the anchient sages ruins... I'm a little nervous, but also excited. I love studying this kind of thing..." *He said before blushing, realizing he was going on a rant with a sheepish smile.* "Heh, sorry... um... Seren... if you don't mind me asking... are you a staffer or a contractor for the guild?"”
SUCCESS (Superb Magic, rolled +1)
Viren sheaths his rapier and extends a careful thread of mana into Seren’s ward. The translucent shell steadies as they descend along the rune-lit channel.
Viren Redhood
Soooooo... this is a first time for me. Not just being underwater, but exploring the ancient Sages’ ruins too. I’m nervous, but excited. I love studying this kind of thing.
Viren Redhood
Heh, sorry. I suppose I was rambling. Seren, if you don’t mind me asking, are you a staffer or a contractor for the guild?
Muted water presses against the ward as they pass beneath the surface. Viren’s controlled magic reinforces its lower edge, keeping the current from dragging Seren off the marked descent.
Seren Vale
You needn’t apologize. Curiosity is safer than silence in ruins like these. I am a contracted field agent, not a permanent guild staffer.
Seren Vale
The guild hires me for difficult routes, sealed sites, and situations where local knowledge is incomplete. Today, Aqari’s protection gives the contract its urgency.
Below them, the northern conduit opens into a vaulted passage. Ancient Oceanus runes awaken along its walls, and a distant pulse answers from deeper within the lake.
Quest Complete
Reach the submerged ruins
Skill Upgrade: Magic Superb→Legendary