The courier staggers over the threshold, hood slipping free to reveal a face bleached by strain. In one trembling motion, they thrust a heavy wax-sealed scroll toward Blaze volts.
The Courier
Take it. The wards were the only thing keeping the shadow-stalkers back.
Clara plants herself at the open doorway, peering hard into the corridor. The amber runes have faded to embers, and a cool draft threads through the chamber like a warning.
Blaze volts
The seal bears an old imperial crest.
The Courier
They are hunting for what this message names. If they reach you first, they will not ask twice.
Clara turns back, concern replacing her earlier playfulness. The scroll lies in Blaze volts’s hands, heavy enough to feel deliberate, and the corridor beyond stays empty for one brittle, dangerous breath.
✓ Quest Accepted
Learn why the courier seeks sanctuary
+ New Item Acquired
Wax-sealed scroll
“Does the courier know how many shadow-stalkers are pursuing them?”
YES (Likely, rolled 53)
The Courier
There are three of them, my prince. They move like smoke and strike with the silence of the grave, and they have not stopped tracking me since the border.
Blaze volts
Three hunters for a single scroll, and they have tracked this courier across the entire empire.
Princess clara
Three is a manageable number, but we need to know if they are waiting for reinforcements or if they are acting alone.
“I then shut and reseal the door”
SUCCESS (Legendary Agility, rolled -3)
Blaze volts closes the chamber door with careful speed, the courier’s breath catching as the corridor vanishes from sight.
Their hand lifts to the frame, and the dim embers of the ward answer, crawling back into a bright amber seal across the seams.
Princess clara
Good. If they are still outside, let them meet stone and spell instead of flesh.
The cool draft dies at once, trapped beyond the barrier. The room feels smaller, safer, and far too quiet.
The Courier
Thank you. I can breathe again... but the message is the dangerous thing, not me.
The courier tightens around the scroll, watching Blaze volts with raw relief and fresh dread.
Princess clara
Then tell us who wants it, and why you risked the empire to bring it here.
“I ask who is hunting the scroll”
SUCCESS (Mediocre Diplomacy, rolled -1)
Blaze volts
Who is hunting the scroll?
The Courier
A ring of shadow-stalkers, hired in secret. I know their masks more than their names.
The Courier
I saw them first at the border, then again on the road. They never showed a banner, only patience.
Princess clara
That is not a comforting answer, but it is a useful one. Were they after you, or only the message?
The Courier
Only the message, I think. I took sanctuary because they want the seal broken before sunrise.
The Courier
If I fail here, the wrong hands read it. If I speak, perhaps these two keep me alive long enough to matter.
Princess clara
Then stay with us a little longer and tell the rest. What is hidden in that scroll?
Quest Complete
Learn who is testing the warded door
New Gift: Hard-Won Insight