Anessa steps ahead of Myk despite her wound and draws a blackened order seal from beneath her coat. Behind them, Zalise, Elyra, and Eli remain with the refugees, while Zesh holds the western flank.
Anessa
This seal can summon the chapel’s commander, but only if its bearer appears abandoned and vulnerable. I go in alone, little brother. You stay close enough to stop them, not close enough to ruin the lie.
She toys with a strand of Myk’s hair as though they stand beside their childhood training yard, yet her injured hand trembles around the seal. For the first time, her confidence looks borrowed.
Anessa
If I dislike your answer, I may kill you both before the commander arrives. Zesh will kill me if I turn, and I know it. That is why I need you to trust me now.
Anessa raises the seal toward the chapel doors. Myk’s warning look crosses the ash toward every hidden watcher: if Nadira is harmed, his people answer with war.
Anessa
There, that face. Still trying to look terrifying while I play with your hair. Come on, little brother. Let me be vulnerable once, and do not make me regret asking.
She turns toward the sealed chapel and waits for Myk’s response, the order seal exposed in her palm. Zalise watches from the refugee line, while Zesh watches Anessa.
✓ Quest Accepted
Confront the chapel commander
“Anessa plan is reckless and I can't let her do this not after we just reunited I take advantage of her weaken state and knock her out. I then place her body in a safe location. After I walk through chapel doors ready to do anything to keep my family safe”
SUCCESS (Great Strength, rolled -1)
Myk catches Anessa’s wrist and turns with her balance, using the strand of hair she toys with to pull her wounded side off line. The blackened sword stays sheathed, its weight grounding the motion.
Marked Sorcery splits the chapel approach into phantom angles, but Reads Pursuers finds the genuine shift in her footing. Myk strikes once, precisely, and Anessa goes limp against him.
Anessa
You always were unfair when you stopped playing, little brother.
The effort tears a scrape across Myk’s knuckles and wrenches his shoulder, but he carries Anessa behind a fallen chapel buttress, shields her from sight, and checks her breathing.
He rises and gives Zesh and Zalise a hard look toward the refugee line: if Nadira is harmed, every ally here goes to war. Their positions hold.
Myk opens the chapel doors and walks inside alone, the blackened sword ready at his side. Ash seals the world behind him as he enters to protect his family.
“I confront the chapel commander With zesh by My side and Zalise ready to storm in if needed”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +0)
Myk enters the chapel with Zesh at his side, blackened sword bare. Zalise waits just beyond the doors, poised to storm in if the witnesses are threatened.
At the altar stands a broad-shouldered elderly woman in dark chapel mail, her silver hair braided tight and one eye clouded by an old scar. A bone key hangs at her throat.
Myk
I am here for the commander. Nadira and the witnesses remain under my protection. Harm them, and my people go to war with this chapel.
The Chapel Commander
I am Mara Vey, commander of this refuge. I know the order’s seal, and I know what follows its bearer. Lower your sword, and I will guarantee the witnesses’ safety.
Marked Sorcery fills the nave with false whispers, but Oathbound Negotiator preserves Myk’s demand exactly. Protective Leadership carries it beyond the doors, while the blackened sword steadies his will.
Zesh
Say the guarantee plainly, commander. If Nadira is touched, I will break this chapel before I let Myk’s trust become a funeral.
The Chapel Commander
Plainly, then. The witnesses have custody here, Nadira is untouchable, and the order has no authority within these walls. I open the sanctuary to you.
Quest Complete
Confront the chapel commander
Attribute Upgrade: Strength Great→Superb