The chamber remains still behind Kael. No footfall disturbs the dry passage, and the opened gemstone rests dark in its socket while dust hangs undisturbed in the air.
The writing table is scarred by old knife cuts, some deep enough to bite into the wood. Along its rear brace, a concealed catch yields beneath careful pressure.
A strip of blackened leather lies tucked inside the hollow. Its edges are brittle, but the hand cut into its surface is unmistakably Varric’s a broad-shouldered middle-aged man with weathered skin, close-cropped dark hair, and a scarred left knuckle, angular and impatient.
Kael Veyrin
Varric left this for someone who knew where to look.
The leather describes a route beyond the vault, through a sunken gallery and down toward an underground audience chamber beneath the oldest crown foundations.
Below the route, Varric has cut a warning into the leather: the sealed crown was never meant to be opened alone. The final mark is crossed twice, as if added in haste.
Beyond the table, the black-shelved chamber offers no second message and no visible movement. The route, the warning, and the silent doorway wait for Kael’s next choice.
✓ Quest Accepted
Reach the underground audience chamber