The hidden hollow breathes cool damp air around Zellery and The Elder. Silver marks on the carved wall wake to a soft glow, and the relic’s thrum steadies into a slow, listening pulse.
The Elder
Take the lantern, child. My hands are not as sure as they were.
The Elder passes the lantern over with a shaking grip, then leans harder into the wall, one hand pressed to their chest. Their eyes drift over the inscriptions as if the stone has begun speaking in a language they can no longer hear.
The Elder
The mountain knows you better than it knows me now. Your eyes will catch what mine miss.
Zellery holds the lantern close. Its warm light slides across the carvings, picking out fine lines, repeated signs, and a spiral shape buried in the silver glow.
Zellery
The markings repeat in patterns. Some are older than the rest.
The Elder
I used to feel the roots answer when I came near this place. Now there is only a fading hum. Still... if you can read even part of it, we may learn why this relic was hidden.
The thrum settles into the hollow like a heartbeat, and for a quiet moment, the two of them simply stand with the stone, the lantern, and the hush between breaths.
✓ Quest Accepted
Read the carvings beneath the stairs
+ New Item Acquired
lantern
“*i hold the lantern close to the carvings in order to read them. Since every Harpy is taught from a young age to be able to read old languages & carving like this one i am easily able to decipher it.*”
SUCCESS (Good Arcana, rolled +1)
Zellery tilts the lantern and traces the first spiral with a claw. The silver lines answer under the light, and the old script snaps into meaning.
Zellery
A warning wraps around the spiral, then a name, then a place beneath the roots.
The carvings speak of a relic sealed by the village founders, not buried by accident. The shard is a key, and the hollow is only the outer lock.
The Elder
No... the binding mark should have stayed dormant.
One line catches bright as fresh frost. It names a vow broken long ago, and a second path hidden deeper than this wall.
The Elder
Tell me what you see, child. Tell me all of it.
Behind the wall, the low thrum deepens for one slow beat, as if something listening has just recognized the words.
Quest Complete
Read the carvings beneath the stairs