The crack beneath the shrine splits wider with a grinding snap. Wet scraping settles into a rhythmic dragging, while thin streams of blood draw across the black sand toward the blue-lit opening.
the employer
Captain, identify every erased name. Now. Those pilgrims are within reach, and I will not let your silence condemn them.
the smuggler captain
The names were taken below. There is a concealed stair beneath those stones, and whatever lives there has begun feeding.
He points past the shrine’s broken basin. A seam opens between the stones, revealing narrow steps descending into blue darkness. The disarmed smugglers remain behind him, hands raised.
the employer
You knew of the stair and kept it hidden. Tell me who went down, and tell me who came back.
The three pilgrims press together within arm’s reach of Mehrunes, pale beneath salt-stiffened clothing. The the smuggler captain’s crew stays near the cove, watching the blood creep closer to their discarded weapons.
the smuggler captain
No one came back unchanged. The last name was a child of the inland villages. The shrine took the rest of the record.
✓ Quest Accepted
Get the pilgrims beyond the shrine's reach
✓ Quest Accepted
Retrieve the erased pilgrim records
“Mehrunes turned to the pilgrams and pointed harshly. "Begone, lest you wish to be part of the vicera. "”
SUCCESS (Superb Intimidation, rolled +0)
Mehrunes Daegon
Begone, lest you wish to become part of the viscera.
Mehrunes turns sharply toward the three pilgrims—three lean young adult humans, two women and a man, with wind-reddened faces and faded blue-gray travel cloaks— and points away from the shrine. Her command cuts through the scraping and the salt wind.
the pilgrims
Yes. Yes, we are going.
The pilgrims stumble from the black sand toward the cove, keeping their eyes fixed on the blue-lit stair. They pass beyond the blood’s creeping trail and reach safer ground.
the employer
Go with them, and do not look back. Captain, your account continues.
the smuggler captain
You drive away the only witnesses who know what waits below.
The pilgrims disappear along the shore. Behind them, the exposed stair breathes cold blue light, while the blood reaches the first discarded weapon.
Quest Complete
Get the pilgrims beyond the shrine's reach