The mist hangs low over the northern road as the mud gives way under Slaan’s boots. Ahead, the violet pulse in the earth answers Nhal’s glowing map fragment, and a seam in the ground begins to show itself.
Nhal
It is here. The path is under the road.
Mara steps in close, eyes fixed on the trembling soil. The hidden route slopes down like a throat, half-swallowed by wet clay and roots.
Slaan
The glow is strongest along the left edge. That is where the break begins.
Slaan peels back a sheet of mud with careful fingers. Beneath it, old stone appears, cut with faint runes that flicker in time with the pulse below.
Mara
No storm did this. Something is working under the road.
The trio follows the opening as it widens, and cold air breathes up from the dark. The buried way is real, and it leads straight into the disturbed ground’s source.
✓ Quest Accepted
Reach the buried path’s source
“" don't you all have more normal issues, like goblins and trolls." I pause " or undead? Or is it always the ground tossing a temper tantrum because some old fart fucked some spells up." I ask”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled +2)
The question hangs in the cold air as the three of them linger at the widening seam. Mud slicks the road edge, and the violet pulse below gives the stone a tired, living throb.
Slaan
Don’t you all have more normal problems, like goblins or trolls? Or undead? Or is it always the ground throwing a tantrum because some old mage botched a spell?
Mara huffs a short laugh despite herself, her shoulders loosening as she glances from Slaan to the dark opening.
Mara
Normal problems are easier. They stay above ground, where you can hit them.
Nhal
Below ground, things remember. Sometimes they remember badly.
The seam answers with a slow breath of cold air, and the stone-lined descent settles into a clear, stable mouth beneath the road instead of giving way.
Mara
If you’re asking whether this is common, no. If you’re asking whether I trust your instincts, yes. Lead on, and we learn what made this road twitch.
“"uh huh" I say irritated”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +2)
Slaan lets the irritated sound sit in her throat, then gives the opening a flat little nod. The cold breath from below lifts the ends of her robe as she studies the stone steps, unimpressed and ready to move.
Mara
There it is. That look means you have an opinion.
Nhal
It is a sharp one.
Mara’s mouth quirks, but her eyes stay on Slaan, warm with attention rather than offense. Nhal holds the map fragment higher, its marked route faintly visible in the violet sheen.
Mara
Say it, then. I would rather hear your irritation than guess at it in the dark.
Slaan
The map route drops straight under the road, no side branch yet.
The road edge has stopped shifting. Below, the entrance waits stone-still, the pulse under it steady instead of hungry, as if the earth has decided to let them pass or turn back.
Nhal
We can stand here, or we can learn why the ground was hiding this shape.
“I descend into the buried path. "oh I'm going to find out what it is and bonk the hell out of it." I share.”
SUCCESS (Fair Athletics, rolled +2)
Slaan steps past the lip of mud and stone, and the buried stair takes her weight without protest. Cold air rolls up around her boots as she drops into the passage, the violet glow below catching on her robe hem.
Slaan
I’m going to find out what this is, and bonk the hell out of it.
Her voice echoes once, then the stair swallows it. She reaches the lower landing in a clean, sure landing, and the hidden way opens before her instead of caving in.
The path beneath the road is real, stone-lined and steady, with damp walls breathing a calm, even pulse. A narrow route runs ahead into darkness, marked by the same careful rune-work that led them here.
Nhal
Slaan made it down. The route holds, and the shape beneath the road is older than mud.
Mara
Good. Then we are not wasting time at the edge anymore.
Nhal lowers the map fragment toward the stair, its marked line matching the passage exactly. Ahead, the corridor bends toward whatever placed this hidden work under Phandelver, and the next choice waits in the dark.
Quest Complete
Reach the buried path’s source
New Gift: Buried Path Attunement