Maren leaves the shelter first and steps onto the road, gray cloak stirring in the night wind. She spreads her charcoal-marked map across the path, barring Bottu’s way toward the Ebony Catacombs.
Maren
I promised you a warning, so hear it before you travel farther. The rival seeker learned the Onyx Scale’s power from records I helped preserve.
She taps a blackened route on the map, then draws her finger toward the buried dead city. The marks show another trail converging on the catacombs from the west.
Maren
Those records did not promise restoration without consequence. They describe a living cost, paid by the bearer or by those bound to the returning power.
Maren’s guarded expression hardens. Behind her, the road descends into darkness, and somewhere beneath the distant ruins, old stone answers with a slow, subterranean thrum.
Maren
I do not know whether the rival seeks the Scale to save dragonkind, command it, or sacrifice others for it. I know he is close.
Maren
Hear the full account before the catacomb guardians force the issue. Then decide whether you still mean to carry the Onyx Scale’s burden.
“Fine. At least walk and talk with me so we aren’t wasting time.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled -1)
Bottu
Fine. At least walk and talk with me so we aren’t wasting time.
Maren
Agreed. Keep moving, and I will give you everything I know before we reach the catacombs.
Maren folds the charcoal-marked map and falls into step beside Bottu. Together they leave the shelter, following the descending road beneath a sky crowded with cold stars.
Maren
The rival seeker is called Ilyan. He travels west of us with companions, but he has avoided every settled road and left no clear camp behind.
Maren keeps her pace measured to Bottu’s smaller stride. Her satchel knocks softly against her hip, while the buried city’s distant thrum rises and fades beneath their footsteps.
Maren
Ilyan believes the Onyx Scale can command what returns through the relics. If he reaches it first, he may treat every living soul nearby as payment.
Maren
Ask what you need while we walk. I will answer plainly, and you can decide what burden you are willing to carry.
✓ Quest Accepted
Secure Maren's alliance against Ilyan
““What made you change allegiance?””
SUCCESS (Good Reasoning, rolled -1)
Bottu
What made you change allegiance?
Maren keeps walking, but her pace slows. The buried city’s thrum fades beneath their steps as she weighs the question, charcoal map pressed against her satchel.
Maren
I did not change allegiance for Ilyan. I changed it when the records showed me that restoration demands a living cost, and he accepted that cost could be anyone nearby.
She turns the folded map between both hands. The answer comes plainly, but the pause required to reach it costs them valuable time; the catacomb road lies darker ahead.
Maren
I once believed preserving knowledge served everyone. Then Ilyan used what we preserved to justify sacrifice. I chose the people who might still be saved over the cause he claimed to serve.
Maren
That is why I follow you now. You seek power for your people, but you still ask what it will cost them. I need to know whether that restraint survives the Onyx Scale.
Maren resumes her measured stride. The reason for her allegiance is no longer hidden, though her final uncertainty walks beside them toward the buried dead city.
Quest Complete
Secure Maren's alliance against Ilyan