Director's note
in a motherly way
Zesh keeps Gonzalo’s sword arm locked behind him, her stance calm and absolute. The mercenary kneels beside his disarmed blade, while the hooded watcher remains bound against the hoist wall.
Zesh
Improvisation is for escapes, not prisoners. You had a cloak, a wall, and an armed man at your feet, yet no cuffs. Next time, prepare restraints before you need them.
Her lecture carries the familiar edge of hard-earned care. Myk trusts Zesh’s judgment as firmly as he trusts Elyra and Eli guarding the slag ribs and the claim-strip.
Gonzalo
She is right about one thing. The drainage route beneath the old tollhouse reaches Serath Vale’s court, but a court-appointed ranger watches the passage.
The Hooded Watcher
The ranger does not serve the Factor. He serves the court. That makes the route either an invitation, a trap, or the fastest road to Serath Vale.
Behind the slag ribs, the freed captives stay hidden under Eli’s watch while Elyra covers the approaches. Zesh keeps Gonzalo controlled, and the claim-strip never leaves her protection.
Zesh
So, Myk, decide what this passage is worth. We can question the watcher, study the tollhouse, or leave the court to wait for us.
✓ Quest Accepted
Determine whether the court-appointed ranger will admit Myk’s group
Director's note
she does so by grabbing her by the neck and lifting her up
“I have Zalise ask the watcher how we can approach the drainage passage safely.”
SUCCESS (Great Willpower, rolled +2)
Zalise Zephyr-Ashe
How do we approach the drainage passage safely? Give me the signs, the guards, and the mistake Serath expects us to make.
Zalise seizes the watcher by the throat of her cloak and lifts her against the wall, not choking her, but making escape impossible. Her voice stays level, almost motherly.
The Hooded Watcher
The first twelve paces are safe. Do not touch the left wall. A court mark there calls the ranger, and the passage seals behind intruders.
Marked Sorcery smears the watcher’s directions with phantom angles, making the left wall seem to change places. Myk’s Oathbound Negotiator steadies the exchange, preserving the exact promise hidden beneath her fear.
The Hooded Watcher
Walk single file beneath the drainage arch. Count seven iron rings, then turn toward the dry channel. The ranger watches the water route, not the dust.
Zalise Zephyr-Ashe
And if you are lying, Zesh will know before you reach the floor. We take the dry channel, and you remain here alive to answer for the rest.
The watcher nods. Zalise lowers her carefully but keeps one hand at her collar, while Zesh watches with the calm certainty that makes the threat credible.
The caster loses part of their memories, emotions, or physical senses as the cost of the spell.
“I have Zesh make it clear to Gonzalo its in his best intrest to guard the prisoners. Then you Zesh Zalise Eli Elyra and th watcher go through the dry channel”
SUCCESS (Great Willpower, rolled +0)
Zesh
You will guard the prisoners, Gonzalo. Keep them hidden, keep them alive, and do not touch the claim-strip. If you fail, I will defeat you before I let you endanger them.
Gonzalo
Understood. I guard the captives, and I keep my hands from the evidence. That is more valuable to me than a contract I cannot collect.
Gonzalo settles beside the slag ribs, watching the Freed Captives while Zesh takes the lead. Zalise, Eli, Elyra, and the hooded watcher follow Myk beneath the drainage arch.
The watcher counts the iron rings softly. Marked Sorcery blurs their number and steals the precise feel of the passage from Myk’s memory, but Oathbound Negotiator preserves her promised route.
Reads Pursuers separates the true dry channel from phantom angles, while the blackened sword draws toward the safest turn. Myk leads them past the water route without touching the court mark.
Zalise Zephyr-Ashe
Quietly done. The ranger is watching the wrong road, and Serath’s court has not heard us enter.
The party reaches the dry channel beneath the tollhouse. Behind them, Gonzalo remains with the hidden captives and custody evidence, bound by fear, bargain, and Zesh’s certainty.
The caster loses part of their memories, emotions, or physical senses as the cost of the spell.
“I force the watcher to tell me how to signal the ranger safely.”
SUCCESS (Good Intimidation, rolled +1)
Myk tightens the watcher’s cloak beneath her collar and raises the blackened sword beside her cheek. His quiet pressure leaves her no room to mistake the question.
Marked Sorcery throws phantom signal-flames across his sight, stealing the exact memory of their colors. Reads Pursuers strips away the false patterns and isolates the watcher’s truthful breathing.
Oathbound Negotiator catches the promise beneath her fear: if she gives the safe signal, she remains alive to answer for the route. The sword’s dark pull steadies Myk’s restraint.
The Hooded Watcher
Use three taps on the dry-channel pipe, then wait. The ranger answers with one scrape. Do not call twice, or the court seals the passage.
The phantom routes collapse around the instruction. Myk retains the rhythm, the pause, and the warning, though the sorcery leaves the watcher’s clasp indistinct beneath his fingers.
Zalise Zephyr-Ashe
Three taps, one scrape. Sensible. Even judges can count when the consequences are sharp enough.
The watcher remains bound against the wall, alive and compliant. Ahead, the dry channel waits beneath the tollhouse, and the ranger’s answer can now be summoned safely.
The caster loses part of their memories, emotions, or physical senses as the cost of the spell.
“I tap the pipe three times and wait”
SUCCESS (Superb Agility, rolled +1)
Myk
The pipe is within reach beneath the dry channel.
Myk retrieves the dry-channel pipe from its shallow niche and taps it three times. Marked Sorcery scatters phantom echoes through his hearing, but Reads Pursuers separates the true rhythm.
The blackened sword draws his attention toward the safest stretch of wall, while Oathbound Negotiator preserves the watcher’s exact warning and the measured pause.
Myk waits without touching the pipe again. Sorcery steals the precise color of the signal-flames from his memory, yet the promised cadence remains clear beneath the tollhouse.
The Court-Appointed Ranger
One scrape. The dry channel is acknowledged. Proceed, and leave the court mark untouched.
A single scrape answers from beyond the wall. The passage stays open, and no sealing ward follows as the ranger accepts the signal.
Zalise Zephyr-Ashe
A clean answer. Serath’s court knows we are here, and has chosen not to close its door.
Quest Complete
Determine whether the court-appointed ranger will admit Myk’s group
Attribute Upgrade: Willpower Great→Superb
New gift: Steady Courtcraft
+ New Item Acquired
Dry-channel pipe