Bren leads Kynes into a lamplit side chamber while Veyr remains behind at Elira’s chandlery, guarding the sealed vessel. The Hall’s violet pulse fades beneath the closed door.
She draws the sealed, unmarked parchment from inside her coat and lays it beneath the brass lamp. Rainwater glitters briefly on its folded edges.
Bren
This is the courier’s parchment, love. I kept it sealed while we dealt with Vey, but the paper has been warming since we crossed the Hall’s threshold.
As Kynes’s magic warms the wax, fine black lettering rises beneath the blank surface. The hidden script records Larloch’s exact bargain: one future service, rendered when the Shadow King calls.
Bren
There is more than the promise. It names the mark, the casting hand, and the obligation’s persistence. Vey was searching for proof, not merely a vessel.
The parchment’s edges darken without flame. A thread of shadow curls from the seal toward Kynes’s casting hand, then recoils, leaving the document perilous to carry or destroy.
Bren
It gives you leverage, love, because the terms can expose what Vey feared. But keeping it may tell Larloch exactly where we are.
“I pick the parchment up and read it thoroughly”
SUCCESS (Legendary Reasoning, rolled -2)
Kynes reaches across the brass-lit table and lifts the parchment from where Bren laid it. The paper is warm, its unmarked face yielding beneath his fingers.
He unfolds it carefully. Black lettering fills every crease, describing Larloch’s bargain, the casting-hand mark, and one future service owed when the Shadow King calls.
Kynes
The obligation is specific, but its service remains undefined.
Kynes reads the script twice, tracing its clauses without touching the shadow-thread. It confirms the mark is a persistent tether and signature, not a command over his will.
Bren
You have it all now, love. The wording confirms what Vey feared, but it gives no hint what Larloch will eventually demand.
The close reading consumes several quiet minutes. By the end, Kynes knows the parchment’s terms precisely, though the future service remains deliberately beyond the document’s reach.
Bren
Keep it intact. Whatever comes next, this is evidence of the bargain, and we should not surrender that advantage.
+ New Item Acquired
Bargain Parchment
“"nope, after the archive, I'm done with magical paperwork." I ignite the paper with pyrokinisis. " One favor is what he gets." I show Bren the make. " That's what the mark means. I was lamenting on my casting hand because it's always my casting hand." I smirk " what will make it perfect is if Mara barges in with the problem of the day." Trying to suppresse a laugh”
SUCCESS (Legendary Arcana, rolled -3)
Kynes
The obligation is specific, but its service remains undefined. One favor is what he gets.
Pyrokinetic flame blossoms across Kynes’s casting hand and leaps into the parchment. The black script catches without smoke, folding into white ash between his fingers.
The bargain burns completely, but the mark answers with a sharp flare. Black light crawls up Kynes’s wrist, briefly projecting Larloch’s words across the brass-lit wall.
Kynes
That is what the mark means. I was lamenting on my casting hand because it is always my casting hand.
The projection collapses as quickly as it appeared. The parchment is gone, but the casting-hand mark remains warm, its tether undiminished by the destruction.
Bren
You burned the evidence, love, but not the bargain. At least now no magistrate can use that paper to pretend he owns its meaning.
Kynes
What would make this perfect is Mara barging in with the problem of the day.
Kynes smirks, suppressing a laugh. Beyond the chamber, footsteps pause in the Hall, and Bren turns toward the door with one brow raised.
✓ Quest Accepted
Discover what lies beyond the marked inner door
“I open the door”
Kynes opens the chamber door. Mara stands beyond it, a young adult dark elf woman in a travel-stained charcoal cloak, white hair braided tightly, violet eyes fixed on the room.
Bren
There she is, love. You called for the problem of the day, and apparently the Hall heard you.
Mara
I heard my name through the door. If this is an invitation, I accept it. If it is prophecy, I object to the timing.
Mara steps inside and closes the door behind her. The Hall’s distant pulse remains muted, while lamplight catches the silver clasp at her throat.
Mara
The attendants are waiting for you in the gathering hall. They say the violet marks have changed since you entered this chamber.
Bren
So much for an honest bed and a quiet evening.
Mara
Whatever you are examining, finish quickly. The Hall wants an answer, and it has begun asking everyone for one.
“I go to the gathering hall with Mara and Bren. " I was just saying, I wonder if Mara was around." Still trying to stop a laugh”
SUCCESS (Legendary Agility, rolled +0)
Kynes
I was just saying, I wonder if Mara was around.
Kynes keeps the laugh behind his teeth and moves smoothly into the corridor. Mara and Bren fall into step beside him as they leave the chamber together.
Mara
A remarkably subtle summons. I shall try not to feel flattered by it.
Bren
You were hoping she would arrive with trouble, love. Be careful what the Hall provides.
They cross the Hall’s lamplit passage without delay. Attendants make room, their attention drawn toward the gathering hall where violet light pulses beneath the inner doors.
Mara
There. The marks have brightened again. Whatever answer the Hall wants, it recognizes your approach.
The three reach the gathering hall together. Its broad doors stand open, revealing branching violet symbols across the floor and waiting attendants gathered beneath the high rafters.
Director's note
the hall of welcome is just a building now. The archive and all connections to the archive have been dismantled for over a year now.
“"huh, that's weird"”
Kynes
Huh, that’s weird.
The words carry beneath the rafters. The branching violet symbols pause mid-pulse, then shift across the floor with quiet, deliberate precision.
Mara
Yes. That is generally the accepted technical assessment of unexplained magic.
The marks gather into a broad circle around Kynes, Bren, and Mara without touching their boots. At its center, one smaller symbol brightens like a question awaiting an answer.
Bren
It heard you, love. Or it heard the uncertainty. Either way, it seems less interested in frightening us than in being understood.
Mara
A building with opinions is inconvenient. A building with patience may be worse.
The attendants remain safely beyond the glowing circle, watching in respectful silence. The violet pulse settles into a steady rhythm, and the hall’s open doors stay welcoming.