The common room snaps into silence. A heavily armored captain pushes through the inn door, black plates creaking, his gaze fixed on the glow under Lorrin's cloak.
He lifts two fingers. Three mercenaries fan out around the table, cutting off the aisles. The bard freezes mid-breath. The swordsman shifts, measuring exits.
The Captain
That map is Syndicate property. Set it on the table, and no one bleeds tonight.
Before the room can tip into violence, a woman at the hearth rises with a tankard in hand. She wears a trader's coat and a dagger at her belt, and she looks more annoyed than afraid.
Vespera
Captain, you are late. If this is the same Black Hill business, then your quarry is already spoiled. You should hear the whole song before you threaten the singer.
Lorrin Elcryss
The newcomer knows the route, or the Syndicate.
The captain's jaw tightens at her tone. One of his men glances between the trader and the glowing map, suddenly less sure. The swordsman edges half a step closer to Lorrin, waiting to see who blinks first.
✓ Quest Accepted
Learn the swordsman's motive
✓ Quest Accepted
Listen to the rest of the song
“Nod to the bard to finish the song while the captain is distracted.”
SUCCESS (Good Willpower, rolled +0)
Lorrin gives the bard a small, sharp nod, just enough to be seen through the crowding bodies and bad light.
The Bard
He sees it. Keep going.
The bard inhales, steadies, and sings on. The map beneath Lorrin’s cloak flares brighter, spilling pale runes across the table edge and into the captain’s hard stare.
Vespera
There. Now everyone in here knows the path. So either talk, Captain, or start lying louder.
The Swordsman
If the Syndicate means to claim the hill, then say why. I did not come here to die for a secret I was never told.
The captain turns that question like a blade. His men tighten their ring, but the trader’s challenge has split their certainty. The swordsman’s stance shifts beside Lorrin, no longer guarding the captain, but the gap between them.
The Captain
Fine. The grave below Black Hill was opened once before. We are here to make sure it stays shut.
“I let the captain talk while I watch the trader”
SUCCESS (Good Perception, rolled -1)
Lorrin keeps his silence, letting the captain fill the room, while his eyes stay on the trader by the hearth. He catches the briefest flicker in her face when the grave is named, a look too quick for anyone else to claim.
Vespera
So it is that hill. And they brought the boy into this room with it.
Her hand drifts to the dagger at her belt, not drawing it, just touching the hilt as if weighing old memories against present company.
The Captain
We sealed it once. Then someone from our own ranks started asking questions, passing routes, selling names. That is why this must stay buried.
The swordsman beside Lorrin goes still at that, and the map’s glow pulses faintly under the cloak, answering the captain’s words like a wound opening and closing.
Vespera
You hear that? Not a holy oath. Not grief. Fear of a leak.
Lorrin’s read on her settles into place. She is not just enjoying the leverage. She knows the grave, and she knows exactly what the captain is afraid of losing.
“Does the trader know the grave's secret?”
YES, BUT (VeryLikely, rolled 82)
The trader holds Lorrin's gaze, her expression hardening as she confirms the truth of the grave's secret. She knows the location well, but her eyes dart toward the mercenaries, signaling that the knowledge is a burden she is not yet ready to share aloud.
“Does the trader know the grave's location?”
YES, AND MORE (VeryLikely, rolled 14)
Vespera
I know more than just the path, ranger. I know what lies beneath the soil, and why the Syndicate is so desperate to keep the dead from waking.
Vespera
My name is Vespera, and if you intend to walk that road, you will need someone who understands the curse as well as the map.
“I ask Vespera what the grave curse does”
SUCCESS (Good Reasoning, rolled +1)
Lorrin Elcryss
What does the grave curse do?
Vespera
It stirs the dead that were laid there to rest. First in dreams, then in blood, then in the bones themselves.
Vespera
If the rite is broken, the grave remembers every hand that touched it. That is why the Syndicate fears a leak.
The Swordsman
So the map was never the whole danger... it was the wake-up call.
The Captain
Enough. You talk as if you have seen it.
Vespera
I have. More than once. And your men have not earned the right to keep it buried.
The map under Lorrin’s cloak gives a faint, answering pulse, as if the words have found the right wound.
“Does Vespera know how to break the curse?”
NO, BUT (Likely, rolled 70)
Vespera shakes her head slowly, her expression darkening as she admits she lacks the knowledge to undo the ancient binding. She knows only the weight of the curse, not the secret to lifting it.
“I ask the swordsman why he wants the grave hidden”
SUCCESS (Good Reasoning, rolled +4)
Lorrin’s question lands in the hush like a coin dropped on stone. The swordsman’s jaw tightens, but he does not reach for steel.
The Swordsman
Because if that grave stays hidden, more people die thinking it is only old dirt and cracked bone.
The Swordsman
The Syndicate wanted the secret buried, not the dead. That is the difference.
The Swordsman
I have seen what wakes when the hill is disturbed. I want the hidden place understood before the wrong hands open it.
Vespera lifts her head a fraction, surprise flickering at the plainness of his answer. The map beneath Lorrin’s cloak gives a faint, answering pulse.
The Swordsman
If you want the rest, I can tell you what was taken from the grave, and why the captain is afraid of his own people.
Around them, the room stays still, waiting on Lorrin’s next move.
Quest Complete
Learn the swordsman's motive
Attribute Upgrade: Reasoning Good→Great
“I ask what was taken from the grave”
SUCCESS (Great Reasoning, rolled +2)
Lorrin Elcryss
What was taken from the grave?
The Swordsman
Not gold. Not relics. A coffin seal, iron-black and marked with old vows.
The Swordsman
It was pried loose before the burial earth fully settled. That is why the dead keep stirring.
Vespera
A seal taken from a grave is not theft, it is an invitation.
The Swordsman
And the captain knows who ordered it gone.
The Captain
Mind your tongue. You do not know what you are naming in this room.
The map under Lorrin’s cloak gives another brief, restless pulse, as if answering the word seal. The room holds its breath, waiting to see whether the captain breaks first.
“I press the swordsman for the captain's order”
SUCCESS (Good Willpower, rolled +1)
Lorrin Elcryss
Who gave the order?
The swordsman does not look at the captain. He looks at the table, then at Vespera, then back to Lorrin, as if choosing which lie will cost least.
The Swordsman
Captain Merrow. He said the seal had to be taken before any song reached the hill.
The Captain
You were told to keep your mouth shut, not point it at me.
At the name, the captain stiffens. The map under Lorrin’s cloak gives one sharp, green pulse, bright enough to draw a few eyes across the room.
Vespera
So the order comes from inside the nest. That makes this simpler, and worse.
The swordsman shifts closer to Lorrin’s side, no longer guarding the captain’s silence. The room’s attention settles on the captain like a drawn blade.
“Is the captain hiding the grave's true purpose?”
YES, AND MORE (VeryLikely, rolled 9)
The Captain
You think it is just a grave, but you are blind to the hunger it holds. It is not a tomb, it is a vessel, and Merrow intends to use it to anchor his own power to this land.
Vespera
He is not just hiding the location, he is hiding the ritual that will consume us all.
The Captain's eyes dart toward the exit, his composure fracturing as he realizes the weight of his own confession.