Bottu climbs from the Crimson Mine beneath a bruised evening sky, the Ruby Heart secured beneath his robe. His shoulder aches whenever the ascent forces him to brace against the rock.
The trail revealed by the Heart leads far southeast across ash-dark ridges and fading grass. No companion follows him; Seraphine remains behind at Histol’s northern waystation, while Bottu travels alone.
Beyond the ridges, the land sinks into a vast crater. Acidic vapors drift above drowned elven ruins, and poisonous vines twist through broken towers like serpents seeking the light.
The Verdant Wound stretches before him, its waters murky and its soil eaten into jagged shelves. Green fumes cling low across the ground, hissing wherever they touch exposed stone.
Bottu
The Ruby Heart, Sapphire Fang, and Pearl Claw are all still with me.
Bottu stops at the crater’s edge. Beneath his robe, the three relics answer one another, while somewhere within the drowned ruins a slower green pulse stirs beneath the poisonous growth.
✓ Quest Accepted
Discover the route to the Emerald Eye
“Weary from the shoulder pain, I was not willing to tackle this so quickly. Rest would do me some good, besides, it means I could likely see Tiamat in my dreams once more now.”
SUCCESS (Fair Health, rolled +2)
Bottu chooses a sheltered shelf above the crater, away from the green vapors. He unrolls his bedroll, settles carefully, and keeps the three relics secured beneath his robe.
As darkness gathers, the Verdant Wound exhales poisonous mist below. Bottu rests his uninjured side against the stone, letting the ache in his shoulder ease with time and stillness.
Bottu
The shoulder needs rest before I descend.
Sleep takes him without struggle. The crater’s distant green pulse fades beneath the steady rhythm of his breathing, and the red, blue, and pale lights under his robe grow quiet.
In dreams, red clouds unfurl above a boundless dark. Tiamat’s colossal silhouette forms beyond them, five heads turning toward Bottu as though his rest has carried his call across realities.
Tiamat
Rest, little seeker. The green fragment waits below, but even ambition must preserve the vessel that carries it.
““A pleasure to see you again. I’m sure you’ve sensed it already but I’ve managed to gather half your relics.””
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +0)
Bottu
A pleasure to see you again. I’m sure you’ve sensed it already, but I’ve managed to gather half your relics.
The dreamscape stills. Tiamat’s five heads incline at different angles, and the dark around her vast red-scaled form ripples as though reality itself has heard Bottu’s claim.
Tiamat
I sensed the Pearl Claw first, then the Sapphire Fang and Ruby Heart. Half my scattered power now answers your presence.
The green head exhales a veil of poison that dissolves into the dream, while the blue head crackles and the white head sheds frost across the dark.
Tiamat
You speak of this as an achievement, little seeker. It is one. But each fragment also makes you more visible to those who would seize them from you.
Her central head lowers, smoke curling from its nostrils. The dream remains open, and Tiamat’s attention settles fully upon Bottu.
“I’ve found it very odd none have tried to stop me yet. Each location was seemingly abandoned. No one on the roads has tried to halt me either.”
SUCCESS (Good Reasoning, rolled +1)
Bottu
I find it odd that no one has tried to stop me. The relic sites seemed abandoned, and no one on the roads challenged me either.
The dreamscape ripples beneath Tiamat’s colossal red form. Her five heads turn toward the distant green pulse below, then toward the red and blue lights answering from Bottu’s robe.
Tiamat
Odd indeed. You have mistaken absence for safety, little seeker. The roads were open because the watchers did not need to stand before you.
The black head drips a thin thread of dreamlike acid into the darkness, while the blue head crackles above it. Far below, the green pulse answers once, slow and deliberate.
Tiamat
Every fragment calls to ambition, faith, and dragon blood. Those who seek them may have been waiting to see who gathered the first three.
Tiamat
You were not unopposed. You were observed, measured, and permitted to reveal yourself by claiming what others feared to touch.
The red head lowers until smoke rolls across the dream. Tiamat offers no name for the watchers, but the green pulse beneath the ruins now feels less like a summons than an acknowledgment.
✓ Quest Accepted
Discover who has been watching Bottu
““So you sense someone is keeping track of me? Interesting. I will keep that in mind. Thank you for your wisdom Tiamat. It’s always a pleasure and an honor getting to speak to you like this.””
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled -1)
Bottu
So you sense someone is keeping track of me? Interesting. I will keep that in mind. Thank you for your wisdom, Tiamat. It is always a pleasure and an honor to speak with you.
The dreamscape quiets around Bottu’s words. Tiamat’s colossal red form remains coiled across the darkness, her five heads watching him with distinct, thoughtful attention.
Tiamat
Then keep it in mind, little seeker. Wisdom is wasted on those who hear only what confirms their desire.
The central head inclines, smoke curling from its nostrils, while the green head’s poisonous mist thins into the surrounding dark. Tiamat accepts Bottu’s gratitude without surrendering her caution.
Tiamat
Go, then. Descend when your shoulder has healed, and remember that being watched is not the same as being understood.
The dream loosens gently. Tiamat’s five heads fade into red cloud and distant thunder, leaving Bottu with her warning and the green pulse waiting beneath the Verdant Wound.