The courtyard settles after the sealing, the last chill of the spirit draining from the stones. The Merchant's Daughter gathers her shawl and turns toward the road, though she still keeps one hand near the ribbon at her belt.
From the gatehouse shadow, a tall hooded figure steps out in tattered grey robes. A lantern in his hand burns with a sickly green flame, painting his face in corpse-light as he fixes on Misty.
Bram
Who dares meddle with my specimen?
The Merchant's Daughter flinches back, but the stranger does not advance. His grip tightens on the lantern, then loosens, as if he is weighing whether to flee, bargain, or be clever instead of cruel.
Bram
You drove it off cleanly. That takes knowledge. And restraint.
Misty
The lantern flame is wrong. It does not cast shadows like normal fire.
Bram
Call me Bram, if you need a name. I study grief-things, not to feed them, but to learn how they hunt. If you mean no harm, we may be of use to each other.
At that, the Merchant's Daughter exhales in cautious relief, and Bram angles the lantern away from her, offering Misty a wary nod instead of a threat.
+ Story Quest Added
Learn what Bram is studying
+ Story Quest Added
Find out why Bram calls the spirit his specimen
“Learn what Bram is studying”
SUCCESS (Good Reasoning, rolled -1)
Bram lowers the lantern a fraction, and the green light crawls over the stones between you. His gaze flicks to the grimoire in Misty’s arms, then back to her face, measuring her silence.
Bram
I chart how sorrow clings to a place, how it learns a name, how it answers when fed fear. That spirit in the gate was part of a larger pattern.
He turns the lantern so Misty can see the dark threads trapped in the flame, thin as smoke and deliberate as handwriting.
Bram
I called it my specimen because I have watched it for three nights, tested its habits, and marked what wakes it. I did not summon it. I was studying it before you arrived.
Misty
The lantern holds traces of the spirit like ink in glass.
The Merchant’s Daughter pauses at the road’s edge, listening despite herself. Bram’s shoulders stay tense, but his voice steadies as he speaks plainly now.
Bram
If you know spirits, then you know this matters. Help me read the rest of it, and I will show you everything I have found.
Quest Complete
Learn what Bram is studying
Quest Complete
Find out why Bram calls the spirit his specimen