The golden ward settles over Oakhaven, and Xarsthos remains its blazing center. Light crawls across the square, sealing shattered stones and turning every survivor's face pale.
Bera
Keep back from him. The ward is holding, but he is carrying its heart.
Bera drags the survivors away from the well. Gedwyn and the unconscious Lead Soldier lie motionless near the cobbles as the ward's glow gathers around Xarsthos's feet.
The Hooded Figure
You claimed a god's burden, Xarsthos. Now learn what it demands of a home. The breach is where your protection fails.
A luminous line tears across the square toward the breached palisade. At its far end, the golden ward flickers, and blackness pulses beyond the broken stakes.
Bera
If that weakness spreads, the ward will turn Oakhaven into a trap. We need you there before the village becomes dependent on a power it cannot survive.
✓ Quest Accepted
Reach the breached palisade
“I really the palisade. There i stop and meditate. I turn inward to myself. I must make this power stable and safe for everyone. I will make Oakhaven safe.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled -3)
Xarsthos reaches the breached palisade and stops among splintered stakes. Behind him, the golden ward trembles across Oakhaven; ahead, blackness presses against the broken boundary.
Xarsthos
The ward answers through my body. Its rhythm can be steadied.
He lowers himself onto the churned earth and turns inward. Breath follows pulse, pulse follows the seal, and the scattered golden lines draw together beneath his will.
Bera
Hold there. Do not force it. Let the village stand with you, not beneath you.
The power settles into the palisade stones, filling every fracture with warm gold. The black pulse beyond the stakes fades, and the ward becomes a quiet, continuous shield around Oakhaven.
The cost arrives in a sharp burn along Xarsthos's marked arm. His sleeve chars at the forearm, and the seal leaves a fresh, painful line across his skin, but the power no longer feeds unpredictably.
The Hooded Figure
You have made the burden serve the boundary. For this moment, Oakhaven is safe, and the ward answers to you.
Quest Complete
Reach the breached palisade