Sirtoy steps onto the coronation road with the crown's heart still in hand. Silver lines race beneath the paving stones, racing toward the capital gates as the final distance closes.
Blackened beacon towers awaken one by one along the avenue, their flames rising in stark columns visible through the gates. Behind her, the dragon in human form remains among the graves, watching but not following.
The bells cease together. On the walls, faction banners unfurl through the smoke: royal soldiers gather beneath crimson, temple envoys beneath white, and merchant lords beneath green and gold.
The groups enter the road from separate gates, keeping their distance while their heralds raise staffs and sealed tablets. Each formation turns toward the living relic in Sirtoy's grasp.
A royal soldier steps ahead of the crimson standard, armored shoulders squared and one hand lifted for silence. The temple envoys answer with a low, measured chant that makes the paving stones tremble.
Far beyond the road, a final beacon burns beneath a veil of shadow. Its dim fire bends toward the crown's heart, and every banner on the walls pulls taut in the same breath.
No faction advances. The silver lines converge beneath Sirtoy's boots, while the capital waits for her next movement and the shadowed beacon continues to burn.
✓ Quest Accepted
Bring the capital’s factions into a shared parley
✓ Quest Accepted
Prevent the dead’s next assault on the capital
“I raise the crown's heart and invite every faction to parley.”
FAILURE (Good Willpower, rolled -3)
Sirtoy raises the crown's heart above her head and invites every faction to parley. Its silver pulse answers, while violet light from her Arcane Heritage steadies her arm and carries her voice across the road.
The Oath-Bound pressure tightens around her throat, resisting the invitation's binding shape. The crown's heart compensates, brightening until silver radiance spills over crimson, white, and green-gold banners.
Royal Soldier 1
Parley, yes, but not beneath a relic that can decide the throne. Royal soldiers will hear terms from behind our line.
Royal Soldiers
No common table. No shared oath. Each faction answers for itself.
Temple Envoys
The heart must be veiled before counsel. Its light makes every promise suspect.
Merchant Lords
We will bargain, but only for protection of our charters and vaults. Let the crown name its price.
The invitation opens negotiation, but not unity. Silver lines divide beneath Sirtoy's feet toward three separate assemblies, and the factions begin withdrawing, the royal soldier a young adult man with a square jaw, close-cropped brown hair, and a crimson-plumed steel helm over a red-trimmed mail hauberk behind their own standards, forcing her to choose which parley to pursue first.
“I approach the royal soldiers and propose terms”
FAILURE (Good Willpower, rolled -1)
Sirtoy approaches the crimson line with the crown's heart held before her and proposes terms for parley. Silver radiance draws the royal soldiers' attention, while violet Arcane Heritage steadies her voice across the stones.
Sirtoy Stonevein
I propose terms for parley.
The Oath-Bound pressure catches on the proposal, tightening her throat and stripping its binding force. The crown's heart answers with a clear pulse, preserving the offer but exposing how little authority the soldiers grant her.
Royal Soldier 1
Your terms arrive carrying a relic that could crown or unmake every claimant. I cannot accept them for the royal line.
The royal soldiers close ranks, and the attempted parley falls short of a shared negotiation. Yet the heart's silver light catches on a sealed tablet at the soldier's belt, marked with the royal seal and a narrow clause of emergency authority.
Royal Soldier 1
If you want terms heard, address the emergency clause alone. It permits one witness, one demand, and no crown-bargaining.
“Address the emergency clause before the royal line”
SUCCESS (Good Willpower, rolled +0)
Sirtoy turns her attention to the sealed tablet and addresses the emergency clause rather than the royal line. The surrounding soldiers hold their formation, listening.
Oath-Bound pressure constricts her throat and fractures her composure, forcing a visible hesitation. Arcane Heritage steadies the broken rhythm, while the crown's heart burns clear against the tablet's royal seal.
Royal Soldier 1
The emergency clause is addressed. One witness, one demand, and no bargaining over the crown.
The soldier breaks the seal and unfolds the tablet. Silver light passes through its ink, revealing the clause's authority before every crimson-plumed helm.
Royal Soldier 1
I will stand as witness. State your single demand under emergency law.
The royal line accepts the emergency hearing, though Sirtoy's hesitation remains visible and her spirit feels scraped thin. The crown's heart settles into a steady pulse.
“I bargain with the soldier for protection”
SUCCESS (Good Willpower, rolled +0)
Sirtoy Stonevein
Under emergency law, I bargain for the royal line's protection while I carry the crown's heart. Shield me from seizure, and I will submit to your witness.
The demand catches in Sirtoy's throat as the Oath-Bound force resists her composure. For one visible moment, her voice falters before Arcane Heritage gathers the words into a steady shape.
The crown's heart brightens against the tablet, silver radiance tracing the emergency clause and lending weight to her narrow bargain. The crimson formation watches in taut silence.
Royal Soldier 1
Accepted. Under this clause, the royal line protects you from seizure until the emergency hearing concludes. I stand witness, and my soldiers enforce that shield.
The soldier raises the opened tablet. Crimson standards dip as the royal soldiers acknowledge the bargain, and a clear space forms around Sirtoy without anyone reaching for the relic.
Royal Soldier 1
The protection is granted. But your hesitation is recorded with the terms, bearer. Spend neither lightly.
The bargain holds, securing the royal soldiers' protection. The effort leaves Sirtoy's spirit visibly worn, her next breath measured beneath the oath's lingering pressure.
“I use royal protection to inspect the shadowed beacon”
SUCCESS (Superb Perception, rolled -3)
Sirtoy invokes the royal protection and crosses the cleared stones toward the shadowed beacon. A royal soldier signals the crimson formation to hold, then walks within the shield's boundary.
Royal Soldier 1
The emergency clause covers your inspection. I witness the beacon, and no royal hand will interfere.
The beacon's dim flame bends toward the crown's heart. Its shadow is not smoke but a narrow script of black radiance, carrying the dead king's claim along the coronation road.
Oath-Bound pressure knots around Sirtoy's throat whenever her attention reaches for the script's meaning. Arcane Heritage threads violet light through the obstruction, separating the oath's command from the beacon's design.
The crown's heart answers with a silver pulse, revealing the truth: the beacon is a relay, not the source. It is directing the severed claim toward a hidden royal seal beneath the capital.
The inspection succeeds, but the effort costs time. While Sirtoy reads the final markings, the temple and merchant assemblies shift their positions, and she cannot determine which faction noticed the beacon's response.
Royal Soldier 1
You have your answer. Whatever lies beneath the capital, the beacon is calling to it. We should move before the others choose their own interpretation.