The Inquisitor halts mid-stride, sword half-raised, as a cold ripple rolls over the mossy stones. His gaze jerks toward the far side of the shrine ruins, away from Madd One's hiding place.
The Inquisitor
That chill is no weather.
He turns his back on the shadows, stepping toward the breach in the fallen wall. The Bard freezes beside a split altar, fingers hovering over silent strings.
The Bard
He feels it too. Dark work.
For one narrow beat, the inquisitor's attention leaves Madd One entirely. The torn strip of cloak still hangs on the pillar edge, swaying in the damp wind.
Madd One can slip through the gap between toppled pillars while the Inquisitor watches the far ruin. Behind him, the Bard starts to lower his hands, wary and ready to move.
✓ Quest Accepted
Slip away from the shrine ruins
“I slip silently through the gap between the toppled pillars.”
SUCCESS (Mediocre Stealth, rolled +1)
Madd One glides into the gap, cloak brushing wet stone without a whisper. The toppled pillars swallow him at once.
Behind him, the inquisitor keeps moving toward the cold breach, still staring away from the shadows. The torn strip of cloak trembles on the pillar edge, untouched.
The Bard
He is gone from the open.
Madd One reaches the far side of the broken span, where the ruin thickens into shadow and rubble.
The Inquisitor
Show yourself, whatever stirs this place.
His voice cuts across the stones, but it finds only the empty gap Madd One has already crossed. The bard shifts by the altar, watching both the breach and the darkness.
Quest Complete
Slip away from the shrine ruins