The hidden carvings under Nameless’s palm match the old sect work exactly, the same angled joins he has seen before. He says nothing. He moves anyway, crossing the mossy footholds with quiet, practiced balance while the black water gulps below.
The Young Prodigy follows, carrying the unconscious Hidden Prince as close as he can, eyes flicking once to the wall, then back to Nameless. Suspicion sharpens in his face, but he keeps climbing.
One by one, they clear the chasm. The last foothold holds, then the far ledge answers under Nameless’s weight with a hard, dry scrape.
Nameless finds the concealed press in the wall. His fingers know the stone before his eyes do. He pushes.
Deep inside the grotto, a heavy mechanism groans. Behind them, the mossy footholds sink back into the rock, sealing the route cleanly. The path is gone.
The Young Prodigy
That mechanism... that is sect craft.
The Young Prodigy stares at Nameless now, not with relief, but with a new, measured caution. Ahead, the grotto darkens into another narrow passage, and the silence after the grinding stone feels watched.
“i turn before we continue i say not to ask questions i may be helping you may that doesn't mean we are close enough to revel each others secrets to one another”
SUCCESS (Superb Willpower, rolled +1)
Nameless turns from the sealed wall and lets the silence settle first. The grotto water keeps hissing somewhere below, but he does not hurry to fill the air.
nameless
Do not ask questions. I may be helping you, but that does not make us close enough to trade secrets.
The Young Prodigy
So that is your line. Fine.
The Young Prodigy
He knows these stones too well.
The Young Prodigy shifts his grip on the unconscious Hidden Prince, keeping the body steady while he studies Nameless with fresh caution.
The Young Prodigy
You move like a man who has walked sect ground before. Yet you wear no sect colors.
The old tracker powder glints faintly near the far passage, a pale smear in the dark that neither of them steps on.
The Young Prodigy
If you are tied to the people hunting us, say it now. I would rather hear an ugly truth than trust a pretty lie.
“why should i even a person such as i do not wish to hurt those young especially if they are a prince only bad comes from that instead helping one such prince is a good way to earn a favor in the future”
SUCCESS (Superb Willpower, rolled -2)
nameless
Why should I? Men like me do not want to hurt the young, especially a prince. Helping one is a good way to earn a favor later.
The Young Prodigy
He speaks like someone weighing debts, not lies.
The Young Prodigy’s shoulders ease by a fraction, though his eyes stay sharp. He readjusts the Hidden Prince against his chest and answers without looking away from Nameless.
The Young Prodigy
That is the first honest thing you have said since we met.
The Young Prodigy
A favor later is still a favor. Fine. You want me to believe you, then keep proving you do not mean us harm.
The tracker powder glitters faintly near the passage while the black water below keeps rushing out of sight. The Young Prodigy gives Nameless a shallow nod, guarded but less brittle than before.
The Young Prodigy
If you know these stones, tell me one more thing before we move. What else in this grotto should I be afraid of?