The Dryad of Eld
The hum of that stone is discordant, Taydo. It poisons the soil even within your grasp.
Taydo
The gemstone feels heavier than it did moments ago, and the light around it is turning a sickly, bruised shade of indigo.
The Dryad of Eld
Do not falter now. The Sunken Basin is near, but the corruption inside that gem senses the proximity of the spring. It will fight to keep its shape.
The Dryad of Eld stops abruptly, her hands weaving patterns in the air to part the thick, thorny briars blocking the path.
The Child
Look. The trees here are shivering. Even the shadows are afraid of what Taydo is carrying.
The Dryad of Eld
Stay close, little one. Taydo, channel your will into your shell. If the stone breaks, the rot will consume everything we have fought to save.
+ Story Quest Added
Keep the violet gemstone intact
“Create a protective sphere around the stone to keep it intact and block the connection to the woods”
SUCCESS (Legendary Arcana, rolled -2)
Taydo plants the gemstone in both palms and draws a slow, steady breath. Green light threads from his staff, then folds inward around the stone.
Taydo
The shell bears the strain better than my hands do.
A clear sphere blooms around the violet gem, thin at first, then firm as glass. The sour hum inside it muffles at once.
The Child
It is quieter. Taydo, you did it.
The grove flinches anyway. Nearby bark crisps, and a ribbon of dark dust spills off one trembling branch where the sphere seals the stone away from the roots.
The Dryad of Eld
Good. Now it cannot drink so greedily from the living wood.
A bead of blood wells at Taydo’s palm from the pressure, and the sphere flickers once, then holds. The path ahead is open, but the Basin’s trees bow toward the contained corruption, as if waiting for the next move.
Quest Complete
Keep the violet gemstone intact