Xarsthos stands in the village square, arm raised into the storm of static. The seal in his flesh flares blinding gold, and the cracked earth at the well begins to knit itself shut.
The repair takes hold, but it bites back. Color drains from Xarsthos's face as the light drinks deeper, and the villagers recoil when they see how much of him the ward is taking.
The Hooded Figure
If you keep feeding it that way, it will save the square and break you.
Bera
Xarsthos, stop. We need you standing, not burning yourself away.
The well gives one hard shudder. The dark seams in its stonework widen, and a cold draft spills up from below, sharp with old magic.
Xarsthos
The well is tied to the ward. If it fails, the whole square goes with it.
Xarsthos forces the glow back through his arm, steadying the seal instead of feeding it blindly. The cracks hold, the surge quiets, and Oakhaven stays standing, but only because he has chosen to bear the strain himself.
✓ Quest Accepted
Keep the well from breaking Xarsthos
“I am one with the power. I clench my jaw and fists. I absorb all of the energy into me. I keep the power safe. Because of this action, my power increases 10000 times”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +4)
Xarsthos draws the ward inward instead of pushing it out. The gold around the well snaps tight, then flows along the glowing seal on his body like water finding a channel.
Xarsthos
The pressure changes. It is in me now.
His shoulders lock, jaw clenched, fists white at his sides. The cracks in the wellstone stop widening and begin to knit under a deep, steady hum.
Bera
It is holding. By all the roots, it is holding.
The villagers’ fear shifts to stunned silence as the cold draft fades. Beneath the surface, the uneven pulse settles into a slow, controlled throb that matches Xarsthos's own breathing.
The Hooded Figure
Good. You have not merely borne it, you have mastered its shape.
For one bright moment, the ward answers with an opened path in the stonework, revealing a narrow seam of amber light beneath the well ring before it seals itself again.
Quest Complete
Keep the well from breaking Xarsthos