Lorgash steps fully into the passage, his immense frame sealing the route. The three guards halt before him, their spearpoints wavering in the torchlit gloom.
Lorgash
No one drags this matter toward the Arena until Varnek hears what woke beneath its floor.
The guards glance toward Varnek, but none advances. Behind Sorin, the cell stands open and empty; ahead, the passage has become a wall of ogre flesh.
Lorgash
Our last meeting shook more than stone. Something answered beneath the arena, and the masters heard it too.
Varnek's scarred hand closes around the purse. The coins whisper against one another, suddenly sounding less like payment and more like a gag placed over a dangerous truth.
The Mercenary Captain
You were paid to fight, Lorgash. Not to frighten my men with cellar tales. Move, or I will have them force the issue.
Lorgash
Force it, then. But when the Arena asks why its buried voice is awake, your purse will not buy my silence, Varnek.
✓ Quest Accepted
Learn what woke beneath the arena
“Sorin says,"You heard the weakling Ogre!”
FAILURE (Fair Intimidation, rolled +1)
Sorin
You heard the weakling ogre!
The insult strikes, but Lorgash does not retreat. His broad mouth tightens, and the guards' wavering spears steady as Varnek watches for blood.
Lorgash
Weak enough to leave you breathing, Sorin. Strong enough to make the Arena remember my name.
The taunt fails to bend him. Instead, Lorgash plants one immense hand against the passage wall, revealing a narrow seam where old masonry has shifted.
The Mercenary Captain
Enough. You have both made your point. Lorgash, show us what lies beneath, or stand aside and let the bout proceed.
Lorgash
There. A choice at last. The lower stair leads toward the buried voice. The Arena waits beyond the guards.
Lorgash shifts aside by a fraction. Behind his arm, the cracked seam opens onto descending darkness, while the guards still block the sunlit route ahead.