Mara opens the secured records and separates a thin bundle of copied pages from the main archive. Tessa remains beside her, while Ilyan watches the barracks doorway and Avaris stands quietly at Pando’s shoulder.
Mara
These pages cannot remain with the whole record. No single authority should possess every route, name, and safeguard. If one holder is coerced, the archive becomes another chain.
She places the small bundle before Pando, then leaves the larger records covered beneath her hand. Captain Vey studies both portions without reaching for either.
Captain Vey
I can name neutral witnesses outside the monastery and suggest routes that do not pass through official checkpoints. I will not decide who carries what.
Tessa
Then we divide more than paper. One person holds a route, another holds proof, and no one can use either part to command the others.
Ilyan
I can memorize the lower paths and carry no written copy. If I am detained, the records remain incomplete and the route remains mine to withhold.
Mara
That is the safeguard I wanted: consent at every transfer, witnesses who are not subordinate to one another, and a clear choice to stop. Pando and the companions decide the final arrangement.
✓ Quest Accepted
Place the records within a shared safeguard that no authority can control
“"We need to make sure nothing like this will never happen again, us curse bearer suffer more when we never needed to."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled +1)
Pando
We need safeguards so curse-bearers never suffer like this again when no one needed to make them suffer.
The room stills around Pando’s words. Mara uncovers the copied pages, Tessa squares her shoulders, and Captain Vey listens without reaching for authority.
Mara
Then we make consent a condition, not a courtesy. No examination, mark, transfer, or command proceeds without the bearer’s informed agreement and an independent witness.
Captain Vey
I will record that principle and place copies with neutral witnesses outside the monastery. Any authority who violates it answers to more than a single office.
Tessa
We also divide the routes, names, and safeguards. No one person can gather enough control to turn protection into possession.
Ilyan
I will teach only what someone freely asks to learn, and I will keep the paths unwritten. If a bearer says stop, the teaching stops.
Mara writes the safeguards into the bundle’s first page. Captain Vey agrees to witness them, and the arrangement becomes shared protection rather than another chain.
Quest Complete
Place the records within a shared safeguard that no authority can control
“"Before we make a plan I do want to speak to Mara and Ilyan in private."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled -1)
Pando
Before we make a plan, I want to speak with Mara and Ilyan in private.
Captain Vey studies Pando for a quiet moment, then gestures toward the adjoining records room. Tessa steps back, and Avaris remains beside Pando without following.
Captain Vey
Granted. Mara and Ilyan, speak freely with him. I will keep everyone else outside and prevent interruption.
Mara gathers the thin bundle of copied pages, and Ilyan rises from the borrowed chair. They follow Pando into the adjoining room as Captain Vey closes the door behind them.
Mara
We are private now. I will answer plainly, and I will not treat your questions as permission to decide for you.
Ilyan
Ask what you need. I owe you the truth, but no answer should become another command over any bearer.
The room settles into guarded quiet. Mara keeps the copied pages within reach, while Ilyan watches Pando with wary trust, ready to discuss what the public plan must not overlook.
“"I wanted to know what curses you both bear, we all were labeled as successful experiments but it's not like we had much time to talk about it before."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled +1)
Pando keeps his voice low, and neither companion mistakes the question for an order. Mara sets the copied pages aside; Ilyan faces him fully in the quiet room.
Pando
I wanted to know what curses you both bear. We were all labeled successful experiments, but we did not have much time to talk before.
Mara
Mine preserves patterns. I can remember a ward, a route, or a working after seeing it once. Merrow called that success, then used my memory to reproduce procedures without my consent.
Ilyan
Mine answers pressure. Fear, pain, and hostile commands make my body reinforce itself before I choose to respond. It kept me alive, but the experiments taught it to expect obedience.
Mara folds her hands over the pages, while Ilyan watches Pando’s face. Neither description sounds like a gift freely received, and both carry the shape of deliberate testing.
Mara
The curse is not constant. It wakes when I accept a pattern or permit someone to use my memory. Refusal is possible, but the old conditioning makes refusal costly.
Ilyan
My marks are gone, but the response remains. I can learn to direct it. What I need is warning, time, and people who will stop when I say stop.
The private account gives Pando a clear comparison: Mara carries an archive that can be exploited, while Ilyan carries a defense trained to mistake coercion for survival. Both remain awake to their own choices.
“"So our curses were truly going to be used for bad purposes."”
Pando
So our curses were truly going to be used for bad purposes.
Mara
Yes. Merrow called the harm necessary, then measured our suffering as proof that the work succeeded.
Ilyan
They wanted curses that could be directed against people who refused authority. Survival was useful only when it produced obedience.
Mara lowers her gaze to the copied pages. Ilyan’s shoulders remain tense, but neither retreats from the plain conclusion now standing between them.
Mara
Your curse was meant to become a weapon, mine a means of reproducing their methods, and Ilyan’s a way to force compliance through fear.
Ilyan
But they failed to own the result. We are still here, and we can decide what these curses mean now.
The pages remain untouched between them. In the quiet room, the curses become evidence of an attempted system, not permission for anyone to repeat it.
“I summon a blood dagger and hold it in the middle of use, "Then let's all make a blood-pact to not let anyone control us anymore and live life how we choose."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled -2)
Pando summons a blood-forged dagger and holds it between them, its dark edge catching the room’s muted light. Mara and Ilyan watch without retreating.
Pando
Then let's all make a blood-pact to not let anyone control us anymore and live life how we choose.
The proposal lands with enough force to change the room. Pando’s wrist tightens around the dagger, and the strain makes the grip briefly unsteady.
Mara
Yes, but not a command hidden inside a promise. No blood will bind our choices, and any of us may refuse without punishment.
Ilyan
I agree. We will resist anyone who tries to own us, and we will stop if one of us says stop.
Mara offers her palm, then Ilyan offers his. Pando lets a measured bead of blood touch each hand, and their spoken terms settle as a witnessed pact rather than a controlling spell.
Mara
It is done. The cost is trust, Pando. You have asked us to stand with you, so we will expect you to honor the same freedom you demand from others.
+ New Item Acquired
Blood-forged dagger
“I draw a little blood from all of us and make a seal solidifying our new resolves and as for protection”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +0)
Pando draws a second, shallow line across each consenting palm, including his own. He gathers the four small offerings above the table and shapes them into an angular seal.
The blood-forged mark closes into a red-black ring, then settles across their joined hands without tightening or pulling. Pando’s wrist strains under the careful channeling, but the seal holds.
Mara
It protects the promise without owning us. I can feel the difference.
Ilyan
And it answers only when one of us chooses to defend another. No command hides inside it.
The seal divides into three fine lines, one resting over each participant’s palm before sinking beneath the skin as a warm, steady safeguard. It records consent, not obedience.
Mara
Then this is our protection: warning, resistance, and the right to withdraw. If anyone tries to control us, the seal will remind us of our own choice.
The completed mark fades to a faint red-black trace. The room remains quiet, but the pact now carries a protective structure that will alert them to coercion without directing any hand.
“I dismiss the dagger, "Good, we should get back the them and make a plan"”
SUCCESS (Legendary Reasoning, rolled +2)
Pando
Good. We should get back to them and make a plan.
Pando dismisses the blood-forged dagger, its dark shape folding into shadow. The faint pact-mark remains warm beneath his palm as he opens the records-room door.
Captain Vey waits outside with Tessa and Avaris, while Ilyan and Mara follow Pando into the barracks room. No one interrupts as the private discussion ends.
Captain Vey
Then let us plan with everyone present. Mara’s records, your pact, and the monastery’s response all need a place in that plan.
Mara
The first decision is where we divide the remaining knowledge. The second is who can witness the safeguards without gaining power over them.
Tessa
And we need a route that keeps Mara and Ilyan safe while we decide what to do about the monastery’s command network.
The group gathers around the table. Captain Vey clears space for the copied pages, while Avaris stands beside Pando and the pact’s warm trace answers beneath their hands.
“"We can trust Sister Elian with the knowledge, i trust her to keep it safe, as for a witness..." I stop and think back to when I killed Neris.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Reasoning, rolled -2)
Pando
We can trust Sister Elian with the knowledge. I trust her to keep it safe. As for a witness...
Pando stops with his hand above the copied pages. His attention turns from the table to the memory of Neris, and the room waits without pressing him.
Pando
Neris surrendered, gave us Mara’s trail, and still died by my decision. A witness cannot be chosen for convenience or obedience.
Captain Vey
Elian can hold the knowledge, and I can send her a sealed request. We will leave the witness undecided until you name someone who stands outside every chain involved.
Mara
That is the right hesitation. A witness must be able to hear refusal, record consent, and remain unable to command the bearer.
The plan gains a keeper in Sister Elian, but no witness yet. Pando has secured the first safeguard; the remaining choice now carries the unresolved weight of Neris’s death.
Tessa
We can take the time to choose carefully. No one here needs another decision made just because an authority wants the table settled.
✓ Quest Accepted
Secure an independent witness for the safeguards
“"I need to step outside for a sec." I leave the table and make my way outside”
SUCCESS (Legendary Agility, rolled +3)
Pando
I need to step outside for a moment.
Pando leaves the table and crosses the barracks without disturbing the discussion. Avaris watches him go, while Tessa shifts aside and Captain Vey lets the pause stand.
He steps into the clear morning air and reaches the outer yard in a few silent strides. The door closes behind him, leaving the records and their unresolved witness question inside.
Avaris
I will remain close, but I will not intrude. The bond is quiet, and no immediate threat is moving toward you.
From the yard, Pando gains an unasked-for advantage: a narrow postern beside the barracks stores stands unbarred, opening toward a back lane that avoids the main gate and its usual scrutiny.
Morning wind carries ash and bread from the waking town. Behind him, voices continue in the records room, muffled but steady, while the postern remains available as a discreet route back or away.
“I use the bond to talk to Avaris, "If I hadn't killed Neris, we would have the perfect witness but she isn't and option anymore."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled +3)
The bond answers across the quiet yard, carrying Pando’s words without disturbing the barracks discussion. Avaris remains close, attentive but careful not to intrude.
Pando
If I had not killed Neris, we would have had the perfect witness. But Neris is not an option anymore.
Avaris
You are right. Neris could have explained the system, admitted her part in it, and confirmed the safeguards without belonging to Captain Vey’s chain or Sister Elian’s.
The bond carries no absolution and no condemnation. It holds the fact plainly: Pando removed a witness who might have made the new protections harder to dismiss.
Avaris
But your admission is itself useful. Speak it before the others, and let the missing witness remain part of the record rather than hiding the cost of your decision.
Avaris
The bond can preserve this exchange as a voluntary testimony of accountability. I can repeat your exact admission to the witnesses, without altering it or speaking for you.
Avaris offers the advantage without claiming authority: a living, independent record of Pando acknowledging what Neris could no longer testify to. Behind him, the postern remains open.
“"Avaris, do you think we'll be able to find someone?"”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled -1)
Pando
Avaris, do you think we'll be able to find someone?
The bond carries Pando’s question into the quiet yard. Avaris turns toward the barracks, her attention moving through the records and routes without disturbing his thoughts.
Avaris
Yes. We can find someone, and I know where to begin. Mara’s copied pages name Sella Varn, a retired ash-road midwife who witnessed bearer transfers before Merrow’s authority reached the outer villages.
Avaris gives the name and its source clearly. The memory resolves into a village marked beside the old shepherd road, outside the monastery’s command network and within reach of Captain Vey’s routes.
Avaris
Sella Varn lives in Bracken Hollow. She is not bound to the monastery, and her testimony concerns the transfers directly. If she still keeps her door open, she can witness the safeguards without becoming their keeper.
The answer settles into the bond as verified direction rather than hope: Sella Varn in Bracken Hollow is the person they can seek, and the route is known.
“"Is the village hostile to curse bearers?"”
SUCCESS (Legendary Reasoning, rolled +0)
Pando
Is Bracken Hollow hostile to curse bearers?
Avaris
No. Bracken Hollow is wary, but it is not hostile. Sella Varn witnessed bearers being transferred through the village and helped some of them avoid monastery custody.
Avaris keeps her voice measured, distinguishing the village’s caution from the monastery’s command. Her knowledge comes from Mara’s copied pages and Sella’s recorded work, not from a promise of universal welcome.
Avaris
Some villagers may fear what they do not understand, especially if authority has warned them about curses. But Sella’s household is known as a place where bearers were treated as people first, not seized as property.
The answer gives Pando a plain assessment: Bracken Hollow is cautious rather than hostile, and Sella’s protection offers a credible point of entry. The village itself is not guaranteed to agree as one.
Avaris
If we approach openly and name Sella, we are more likely to receive shelter than pursuit. We should still let her speak for the village’s customs before bringing Mara or Ilyan into the open.
Behind Pando, the barracks door remains open, with Tessa, Mara, Ilyan, Captain Vey, and the waiting records gathered inside. The route to Bracken Hollow now carries a known risk and a named ally.
“I open my wing, "Tell them I'll talk to Sella, but I'll need your eye so I can see the map to know were to go."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Reasoning, rolled +1)
Pando opens his shadow wing in the barracks yard, its dark span lifting against the morning light. The open door frames Tessa, Mara, Ilyan, and Captain Vey as they turn toward him.
Pando
Tell them I’ll talk to Sella, but I’ll need your eye so I can see the map and know where to go.
Avaris
I will lend you my sight. Keep the marked route map open, and I will show you Bracken Hollow’s approach without taking control of your choices.
Avaris steps beside Pando and lays two fingers lightly against his temple. Her vision joins his, revealing the marked route map in clear detail: the shepherd road, Bracken Hollow, and Sella Varn’s household beyond the village edge.
Avaris
There. Follow the old shepherd road north, then take the eastern path at the split cedar. Sella’s house stands beside the communal well, marked by a white lintel.
The route settles into Pando’s sight as a complete, readable path. Inside the barracks, Captain Vey gathers the records while Tessa watches his opened wing, ready for the plan to continue.
Tessa
Then we know where we are going. Tell us what Sella can witness, and we will decide who travels with you.
“I fly up and use Avaris sight to guide me to the village and land on the outskirts of it”
SUCCESS (Legendary Agility, rolled +0)