Jalesa arrives beneath silver-leafed branches as an enchanted grove convulses. Broken tables spin through the trees, spectral fists batter the air, and burning tankards streak like falling stars.
Near the grove’s center, an adult elf man in a torn green emissary’s coat crouches behind an overturned table. His white braid lashes across a narrow, ash-marked face as he shields a bloodstained family crest.
Caelir Vaun
Be silent, relic. You will not name that house here.
The crest answers in a childlike chorus, its metal surface glowing between his hands. Each syllable rolls through the roots, and pale veins of magic creep beneath the soil.
Caelir Vaun
Stranger, keep back! The spellstorm has no allegiance, and the old trees are already waking.
A spectral fist smashes the table beside him, scattering sparks. One burning tankard tumbles toward Jalesa while the exposed roots groan below, answering the crest’s forbidden proclamation.
Caelir Vaun
If the grove hears the final name, every oath-bound branch will remember me.
✓ Quest Accepted
Protect the grove from magical fallout
✓ Quest Accepted
Preserve the emissary's secret
Director's note
Jalesa doesn’t know this man or doesn’t remember if she does just trying to save him out of kindness not knowing he knows her
“Jalesa grabs The Elven Emissary and drags him away with her running for their lives”
FAILURE (Good Strength, rolled -1)
Jalesa lunges through the sparks, seizes the elven emissary beneath one arm, and hauls backward, their boots tearing at the silver-rooted earth.
Caelir Vaun
Do not touch the crest! Leave me, stranger!
The elven emissary’s weight shifts like a stone sunk in a riverbed. Jalesa drags him only a few paces before a root coils around his ankle and locks him fast.
Their grip slips as the overturned table twists between them and the grove’s center. The crest tears free of the elven emissary’s hands, flashing white against the churned soil.
Caelir Vaun
No. No, it has heard enough.
The childlike chorus pours from the fallen crest, louder now. Nearby branches bend inward, sealing the clear path while the elven emissary remains trapped at Jalesa’s side.
Caelir Vaun
If you mean to save me, free my ankle before the roots choose where I belong.
Director's note
Jalesa is extremely strong like most people don’t think a woman like her is that strong but she truly is
“Jalesa quickly pulls out her Dagger cutting at the roots before quickly gathering the man’s crest from the ground picking up the man in her arms then runs quickly away from the chaos till they reach safety”
FAILURE (Mediocre Melee Weapons, rolled +0)
Jalesa draws their dagger and hacks at the root cinched around the elven emissary’s ankle. The blade bites shallowly, and the living wood contracts, wrenching his leg tighter.
Caelir Vaun
Not there. Strike where it drinks from the soil!
Jalesa’s next cut tears a glowing seam through the root. It recoils just enough for them to wrench the elven emissary free, though the failed cut leaves the severed coil thrashing behind.
They snatch the fallen crest from the churned earth. Its childlike chorus stops at once, leaving only a hot pulse against their palm.
Jalesa gathers the elven emissary into their arms and runs. Their surprising strength carries his full weight through flying sparks, but bending branches force them into a narrow passage.
Caelir Vaun
There, beneath the split root. It leads beyond the grove’s hearing!
Jalesa reaches the passage’s shadow, not safety yet. Behind them, the grove seals the open ground, while the cracked root reveals a dark, descending route free of the spellstorm.
+ New Item Acquired
Bloodstained Family Crest
“Jalesa holds the man close going to the deepest part of the narrow root-walled passage till the chias outside is over”
SUCCESS (Fair Agility, rolled +1)
Jalesa carries the elven emissary deeper beneath the split root. The passage tightens around them, its walls silver and damp, but their steady strength bears him easily into the dark.
Caelir Vaun
You carry me as though I weigh nothing. Who are you, stranger?
Jalesa settles him against a broad root at the passage’s deepest bend, keeping the glowing crest close while the grove’s thunder fades into muffled tremors.
Caelir Vaun
The branches cannot hear us here. Keep the crest covered, and do not speak its chorus.
Outside, spectral blows shudder through the earth, then weaken. Dust drifts from the root ceiling as the narrow refuge holds, undisturbed around them.
Jalesa
The storm is fading.
Caelir Vaun
You saved my life without knowing my name. When the grove quiets fully, I will answer what questions I can.
Quest Complete
Preserve the emissary's secret
Skill Upgrade: Melee Weapons Mediocre→Fair
“"Okay but my name is Jalesa and your are" Jalesa Speaks while keeping eyes on the entrance making sure they're safe while listening to gear of the chaos has passed”
FAILURE (Fair Perception, rolled -1)
“"Okay but my name is Jalesa and your are" Jalesa Speaks while keeping eyes on the entrance making sure they're safe while listening to gear of the chaos has passed”
SUCCESS (Fair Perception, rolled +1)
Jalesa
My name is Jalesa. And yours?
Jalesa keeps their eyes fixed on the split-root entrance while listening. Beyond it, the grove’s crashing uproar dwindles to distant groans, then to the soft settling of leaves.
Caelir Vaun
You listen like a ranger, Jalesa. I am Caelir Vaun, emissary of House Vaun.
Caelir tests his freed ankle and remains seated against the root. The crest’s glow dims beneath Jalesa’s covering hand, its pulse no longer answering the muffled grove.
Caelir Vaun
The chaos has passed for now. No branches move beyond the entrance, and no oath-bound voice follows us beneath the earth.
Jalesa
The passage is quiet, and the entrance remains clear.
Quest Complete
Protect the grove from magical fallout
Attribute Upgrade: Agility Fair→Good