The tapping beneath the fork becomes a measured knock, the same rhythm that followed Zero through the first sealed corridor. Above, the royal seal answers with one clear chime.
A seam splits the pillar's base. Dust spills away, revealing an old hand-sized reliquary set into the stone, its lid marked with the Bound family's star-like sigil.
Merrit
There it is. The thing your father hid where judgment could find it.
The reliquary opens by itself. Inside rests a black thread wound around a sliver of pale crystal. The crystal projects a trembling image of a small child standing before countless doorways.
Merrit
Give me the seal, Zero. I will let the passage close before Bram's hounds reach us.
Boots halt beyond the sealed door. The royal chime fades, but the tapping below continues, now answering from both branches of the fork.
“*I grab it and step back* Who are you”
SUCCESS (Superb Agility, rolled +1)
Zero twists sharply, using the rope-bound reach of his arms to hook the black thread and pale crystal from the reliquary.
He steps back from the pillar. The crystal settles against his bound wrists, cold light spilling between his fingers.
Zero Day Bound
Who are you?
Merrit
Merrit. Keeper of the judgment paths, and the one sent to recover what your father concealed.
The child within the crystal turns toward Merrit instead of the doorways. A thin line of light crawls across the floor, pointing beneath the sealed stone door.
Merrit
Do not follow that mark. If it opens, Bram will see you before you reach the far side.
The line brightens anyway. Stone grinds beyond the door, and the halted boots shift into a searching formation.
+ New Item Acquired
black thread
+ New Item Acquired
pale crystal
“"Merrit... Hey you're the one dad talked about in his notes! You were trying to kill him!" I said as I pointed an accusing finger "Well jokes on you just because we just met doesn't mean you can use your knowledge about my dad to trick me!"”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +3)
Zero Day Bound
Merrit... You're the one Dad mentioned in his notes. You were trying to kill him! Just because we met doesn't mean you can twist what you know about my father and trick me.
Zero's bound arms strain behind him as he juts an accusing finger through the rope's awkward gap, refusing Merrit's warning without giving the searching boots an answer.
Merrit
Those notes were not meant for you to read. And no, I was not trying to kill Salo.
The accusation lands. Merrit's pointing hand drops, and their cold certainty fractures into a guarded pause.
Merrit
He sent me to stop the hunters from reaching him. I failed. That is different from the story you were given.
The pale crystal answers the cleared refusal. Its child-image turns, and the luminous line cuts sideways into the pillar, outlining a narrow passage hidden inside the stone.
A concealed stair unfolds beneath the carved floor, descending beyond the guards' reach. Merrit steps aside from it, but does not follow.
Merrit
There is your escape. Take it, if you trust a door your father hid from both of us.
“See that's how I know it's a lie! Before we parted dad said he'd always leave notes for me, every, single, note!”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled -1)
Zero Day Bound
See? That is how I know it is a lie! Before we parted, Dad said he would always leave notes for me. Every single note.
The words strike harder than the accusation. The pale crystal steadies between Zero's restrained wrists, and the child within it lowers his head.
Merrit
Then Salo kept his promise to you. He did not keep it to me.
Merrit kneels beside the first stair, no longer blocking the way. Their fingers trace a shallow notch in the stone, worn smooth by years of searching.
Merrit
He left notes because he knew you would need a path back to him. He left me instructions because he knew I might have to choose between saving him and saving the others.
The crystal's projected child reaches toward a doorway in its impossible crowd. A tiny pale mark appears on the stair's lowest visible step, matching the sigil on the reliquary.
Merrit
I chose the others. I have regretted it every day since. If you have one of his notes, show me. I will tell you what he left out.