Vesuvius leaves the village without a word, the Flame Crown cradled in his grasp. The hell hound follows through the night, its fire dimmed to a steady ember.
Behind them, the hobbit elder remains at the broken shrine, watching until darkness hides the hill. No guard follows, and no voice calls Vesuvius back.
By moonrise, the road descends into a ravine where the Death Dancers Hall waits beneath the earth. Black pillars frame its entrance, and suspended bone chimes whisper without wind.
Ashkar
The dead remember every crown brought beneath this roof.
Within the moonlit crypt, a stone coffin stands at the center. The Black Obsidian Broadsword rests upon it, dark as cooled midnight, while a masked custodian keeps silent watch.
the masked custodian
I know that fire. The Flame Crown has returned after an age of silence.
the masked custodian
Approach, exile. The sword may be claimed, but first the Crown must show what it remembers.
✓ Quest Accepted
Claim the Black Obsidian Broadsword
“i kneel before the crypt with the sword on it and place the crown on my head knowing that if not chosen then i will be destined for eternal damnation”
SUCCESS (Great Willpower, rolled +1)
Vesuvius kneels before the coffin, his burnt wings folding into the crypt’s shadows. The Black Obsidian Broadsword lies silent atop the stone.
He raises the Flame Crown and settles it upon his head. Orange fire circles his brow, threading through the crack in his black halo.
the masked custodian
So you submit your spirit to the Crown’s remembrance, knowing its judgment may outlast every age.
The crypt vanishes beneath a flood of golden vision. Vesuvius stands beneath a starless heaven while immense thrones burn beyond the horizon, their occupants hidden.
the Flame Crown
Exile, your suffering is recorded. Your defiance is witnessed. Damnation waits, but it is not your sentence.
The crown locks into place with a deep chime. Its fire bends inward, marking Vesuvius as accepted, while the coffin’s sword awakens with a black sheen.
the masked custodian
The Crown has chosen to bear your judgment. Rise when you are ready, Vesuvius. The sword now recognizes its claimant.
“i grab the sword and it radiates as the red runes on the blade come alive with a near blinding red light and then the black obsidian sword is covered in flame”
SUCCESS (Good Strength, rolled +2)
Vesuvius reaches across the coffin and grips the Black Obsidian Broadsword. The instant his hand closes around its hilt, the crypt falls utterly silent.
Red runes awaken along the blade, flaring with near-blinding radiance. Their light floods the carved chamber and turns every bone chime crimson.
He lifts the sword free. Black obsidian vanishes beneath roaring flame, yet the fire bends obediently around his hand and leaves the stone coffin untouched.
the masked custodian
The blade accepts your grasp, exile. Its fire is not borrowed from the Crown. It is older, and far less forgiving.
Ashkar
A worthy fang for the hand that defied heaven. Even the dead have felt its awakening.
The Flame Crown answers with a deep orange pulse, while the sword’s red runes arrange themselves into sigils of judgment across the burning blade.
the Flame Crown
Bearer accepted. Weapon claimed. Let those who cast you down behold what rises from their sentence.
Quest Complete
Claim the Black Obsidian Broadsword
Attribute Upgrade: Willpower Great→Superb
+ New Item Acquired
Black Obsidian Broadsword