The bone-pit yawns open beneath a bruised sky, a hollow of ivory shards and half-buried relics. Luna steps into the stench of old dust and mineral rot, and the glitter of ancient treasure flashes from the far mound.
A lone cultist stands guard atop the hoard, head snapping toward the horizon, then back again. Their grip tightens on a rusted blade.
Merrin
Stop there. That hoard is claimed. I saw the dragon first, and I will not lose her riches to another scavenger.
The cultist’s knees tremble, but they do not retreat. Their eyes keep darting between Luna and the empty sky beyond the pit.
Merrin
If this one reaches the pile, the oath is broken. If the dragon returns, I must still be standing.
Luna’s shadow stretches long over broken ribs of bone and gold-flecked stone. The smallest shift of her weight sends pebbles skittering down the slope.
The cultist lifts the blade higher, voice cracking at the edge of fear. "Name your business, rival, or turn back now."
✓ Quest Accepted
Win the cultist’s trust
“Ask the cultist why they fear the sky more than they fear me.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled +0)
Luna the Dragon Goddess
Why do you fear the sky more than you fear me?
Merrin
Because the sky takes without warning. Dragons come like verdicts.
Merrin
You ask like a judge, but you stand there like something ancient that has chosen restraint.
Merrin
If she wanted the hoard, I would already be dust. If she wanted me gone, the pit would answer for it.
Merrin
I fear the heavens because they can crush me. I fear you because you might understand.
Merrin
...And because I do not know whether the dragon I swore to guard would thank me, or devour me, for standing here.
Their blade eases a fraction lower, not yet surrendered, but no longer aimed to strike.
“I ask the cultist if they know the dragon's name? Or her face? Or if she's ever appeared to him in a mkrtal form before?”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled +0)
Luna lets the question settle in the dark pit, and the cultist’s grip tightens before it loosens again. The relics below them glimmer like buried stars.
Merrin
A name? No. Only a face in torchlight, and that face was never steady long.
Merrin
She came in mortal form once, hooded and ash-dusted, with a voice like stone after rain. I thought her a pilgrim.
Merrin
If this is a trick, it is a patient one. If it is not, then I am standing before the mercy I was taught to fear.
Merrin
When she looked at me, I knew only this, she was too vast to fit the shape she wore.
Merrin
I have wondered ever since whether I guarded her path, or merely stood in her way.
Their blade sinks another careful inch, no longer a threat, more a question held in trembling hands.
Quest Complete
Win the cultist’s trust
New Gift: Cultist's Insight
“I gently put a finger under his chin and lift his gaze to meet mine, and ask what he'd do if i claimed to be the dragon of thid hoard”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled +2)
Luna steps closer on the hush of old bones and lifts one finger beneath the cultist’s chin. The motion is gentle, sure, and impossible to mistake for threat.
Their eyes rise to hers. The lower blade hand slackens, and the point dips away from both of them.
Luna the Dragon Goddess
If I claimed I am the dragon of this hoard, what would you do?
Merrin
I would... stop pretending the question is about the treasure.
Merrin
I would ask whether you came to take it, or whether you came because it called to you first.
His shoulders ease by degrees. The blade lowers to his side, no longer braced for a strike.
Merrin
If you are what I think you are, then this hoard is not mine to defend against you. It is mine to explain.
✓ Quest Accepted
Explain the hoard to the cultist
“I tell him that i am not just a dragon, but a goddess, a powerful goddess, and all this treasure was offerings given to me by mortals who worship me”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled +1)
Luna the Dragon Goddess
I am not merely a dragon. I am a goddess, and this treasure is no thief's spoil. Mortal hands laid it here as offerings to me.
Merrin
Offered... not hidden. That changes everything.
Merrin
Then I have stood guard at a shrine, not a grave.
His grip loosens fully. The rusted blade tilts down until the tip nearly kisses the bones, more reverent than ready.
Merrin
Forgive me. I thought I was protecting a prize from raiders. I never guessed I was keeping a vow.
The hoard glints between the ribs of the pit, no longer feeling hidden so much as attended.
Merrin
Tell me, then, what sort of goddess am I meant to be serving?
Quest Complete
Explain the hoard to the cultist
“My name is Luna. I am a goddess of twilight and magic”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled -2)
Luna the Dragon Goddess
My name is Luna. I am a goddess of twilight and magic.
The words settle over the pit like a soft veil. The cultist goes still, then sinks to one knee among the bones, his blade held low in both hands.
Merrin
Twilight and magic... yes. That fits the hush in here, the way the relics keep the dark without being swallowed by it.
Merrin
I was guarding an altar and did not know it. I nearly threatened the very presence I meant to honor.
Luna's token slips against her palm as she speaks, its edge pressing a clean red line into her skin. A small price for the name given aloud.
Merrin
If you are Luna, then tell me what offering belongs at your feet, and what vow I have failed to understand.
“You have not failed in your viw, dear protector. Ehile the welth of these relics is useless to me, the sentimental value they hold is very near and dear to me. I remember all the name's and face's of all the proole who gave these sacrifices to me.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled -2)
Luna the Dragon Goddess
You have not failed me, dear protector. These relics mean little to me, but the devotion behind them matters. I remember the names and faces of those who gave them.
The cultist’s bowed shoulders loosen. He looks up from beneath his lashes, as if hearing a prayer answered in a language he almost knows.
Merrin
Then I was never guarding treasure for myself. I was keeping faith, even without understanding it.
Luna’s nicked palm warms around the token, and a drop of blood darkens the metal. The small pain is real, but so is the hush that follows.
Merrin
Tell me their names, if you would. I want to carry them properly, not as a thief clutching scraps, but as one who tends your gifts.
Luna the Dragon Goddess
The cut is shallow, but the token has drawn blood.
He lowers his blade fully to the bone-dust and turns the offering mound into a place of reverence, waiting with open hands for whatever memory Luna chooses to share.
✓ Quest Accepted
Gain the cultist’s service
“I use my magic to create a throne of treasure and sit down, offer the cultist a seat in my lap”
SUCCESS (Legendary Magic, rolled -1)
Luna’s magic answers without strain. Treasure rises in a slow, ringing bloom, coins, chains, and bright trinkets gathering into a low throne beside the offering mound.
She settles into it at once, the piled gold cupping her like a courtly seat made for a dragon queen.
Then Luna eases her hand out, inviting the cultist closer with a calm tilt of her lap and a patient, open posture.
Merrin
A throne of tribute... for me to witness from below. No, to be received.
Merrin
I would not presume to sit where relics rest, unless you command it.
He rises from the bone-dust with careful reverence, one hand hovering near his chest as if approaching a shrine.
Merrin
If this is your will, I will come close and learn how to be worthy of it.
“"A goddess offers you a seat with her and you hesitate to accept? . . . I will onky ask once more" she says as she pats her lap offering him to sit”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled +1)
Luna the Dragon Goddess
Once more. Come here, and sit with me.
Luna pats her lap, the gesture simple and unmistakable, a queenly invitation softened by patience.
Merrin
To be invited there is no small mercy. It is an honor I must not misread.
Merrin
Then I obey, my goddess.
He climbs onto the treasure throne with measured care and lowers himself to sit at Luna’s side, hands drawn in close as if before an altar.
Merrin
I have guarded scraps and shadows for so long. If I may learn, then teach me what your offering means.
Quest Complete
Gain the cultist’s service
New Gift: Hard-Won Insight