Xarsthos drops into the crawlspace, and the dark swallows the room above. The Rusted Iron Key throbs in his hand, throwing gold over damp stone and carved roots.
The ward beneath Oakhaven answers with a deep, pulsing heartbeat. Dust trembles loose from the ceiling, and the old carvings begin to glow one by one.
The Hooded Figure
If that seal breaks, the warlord reaches the village. If it holds, you buy Oakhaven time.
The Hooded Figure
Stay here and guard it, or leave now and meet him at the walls. That is the choice.
Xarsthos stands at the threshold of the ward, key blazing in his grip, while the hidden earth hums like a caged drum. Above him, the village waits. Below him, something ancient strains against the lock.
The moment narrows to a single decision, defend the seal and trust Oakhaven to hold, or abandon the depths and face the warlord head-on.
✓ Quest Accepted
Guard the ancient ward beneath Oakhaven
✓ Quest Accepted
Meet the warlord at the village walls
“I head down to the depths. I want to see the ward in hopes of using the power for myself to protect Oakhaven”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +3)
Xarsthos lowers himself past the floorboards and into the deeper dark. The key’s gold washes over a round chamber of roots and old stone, and the ward sits at its center like a sealed heart.
He reaches the floor below, boots scraping grit, sword steady at his side. The heartbeat in the stone answers his presence and then quiets, as if listening.
The carvings flare brighter. Thin lines of light run through them, revealing a hidden ring of script under the dust, and a narrow passage behind the ward opens into view.
The Hooded Figure
It recognizes you. That is no small thing.
The Hooded Figure
The ward does not just bar the warlord. It feeds on oath and iron. With the right hand on it, it can lend strength, or take a burden away.
Xarsthos
The stone is awake.
The glow settles into a steady pulse in Xarsthos’s hand, and the hidden passage stands open behind the ward, waiting for his next move.
“I go beyond the passage and see the ward and the power it holds back. I undo the ward, absorbing the power. My strength is increased 1000 fold. My speed even more so at 2000 fold. Im stronger, faster, smarter. I also have magical powers. I can heal all wounds. I can call on fire, water, lighting, ice”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled -2)
Xarsthos presses deeper, palm flat to the ward. The stone drinks in his will, then opens like a locked eye.
Light surges up his arm, hot and clean. The hidden passage behind the seal yawns wider, and an older current moves beneath the floor.
Xarsthos
The ward is a gate, not just a lock.
He forces the seal apart. For a breath, the chamber roars with power, and then the force folds into him, flooding bone and breath with fierce new strength.
A sharp crack splits one carved ring. Dust jumps from the floor, and the ward’s pulse turns uneven as if something inside it has noticed the theft.
The Hooded Figure
Careful. It has accepted you, but it remembers being broken.
Xarsthos stands with the ward dimming under his hand, power humming through him. The passage remains open behind the seal, dark and waiting.
Quest Complete
Guard the ancient ward beneath Oakhaven
New Gift: Warden of the Depths