Solona reaches the Hall of a Hundred Thrones as ironbound gates stand open to a city in panic. Empty stone seats loom beneath banners veiled in dust.
A dwarf rushes between the thrones, clutching a rune-carved vessel that glows with a dim, shifting light. Behind him, market bells hammer the air.
Eldruin Vaul
Eldruin Vaul, runesmith of the Ninth Delving. Warden, do not let that creature break this vessel!
Beyond the gates, a horned beast crashes through market stalls. Hunters loose arrows, then scatter as its hide flashes with stolen blue fire.
Eldruin Vaul
The soul within the vessel is bound to the beast. I must recover it, or every wound it suffers will become another calamity.
The vessel flares. Hairline cracks race across one rune, and the beast turns its burning gaze toward the hall.
Eldruin Vaul
Choose quickly, Grey Warden. Guard me while I seal the vessel, or stop the beast before it reaches these thrones.
✓ Quest Accepted
Secure the soul bound to the horned beast
“I guard Eldruin while he seals the cracked vessel.”
SUCCESS (Good Willpower, rolled +2)
Solona plants herself between Eldruin and the gates. The beast's charge meets the threat of her raised guard, and its blue fire skids across the stones instead of reaching him.
Eldruin Vaul
Hold it there, Warden. The binding answers your stand.
Behind Solona's guard, Eldruin presses two trembling fingers to the cracked rune. Silver script spills from the vessel and knots the escaping light.
The Horned Beast
They are not yours to cage.
The beast recoils from the threshold. Its stolen fire lashes the empty thrones, but Solona's position gives Eldruin the breath he needs.
Eldruin Vaul
By stone below and crown above, the soul is sealed.
The final crack closes. The vessel's glow settles into a steady blue pulse, and the soul bound to the beast is secured within its rune-carved prison.
The beast lowers its horns, trapped outside the gates but still awake and furious. Eldruin keeps both hands around the sealed vessel as its pulse answers the creature's growl.
Prevent the horned beast from reaching the throne hall
Quest Complete
Secure the soul bound to the horned beast
Attribute Upgrade: Willpower Good→Great