The black raven drops from the cedar canopy beside the gallery mouth, wings whispering against the roots. The wounded traveler remains behind the boundary, guarded by the quiet lead sage.
Rook
The courier changed course. The route cipher is moving toward an old stone hollow east of the marked line, and the transfer comes soon.
Mara studies the copied map while the scarred elk paws the soil. A missing section aligns with a sealed waystone beneath the courier’s expected path.
Mara Venn
The waystone may conceal the courier’s approach. We must reach the hollow before the cipher changes hands.
At the threshold, Mara repeats the ledger’s return note while the lead sage guides the Speaking Stone’s resonance. The pale seal loosens, admitting Axat from the chamber without disturbing the records.
Axat, Mara, the lead sage, and the scarred elk follow the black raven east through cedar shadow. They reach the old stone hollow before moonrise, while the wounded traveler remains protected at the gallery mouth.
The Lead Sage
The missing map section matches the sealed waystone below us. The courier should pass here, but the stone may hide another route or warning.
✓ Quest Accepted
Secure the route cipher intact
“I ask the elk what feeling it has”
SUCCESS (Great Perception, rolled +4)
Axat
Veyr, what feeling do you have about this hollow and the courier’s approach?
The scarred elk lowers his antlers and tests the wind. Axat’s Great Perception catches the faint disturbance beneath the stone, while Draconic Heritage clarifies its layered trail-sense.
Veyr
The hollow feels watched, but not by the courier. His scent carries unease and haste. He is approaching from below, through stone, and fears the open path.
Veyr stamps beside the waystone. A hairline seam answers with a muted breath, revealing a concealed crawlway beneath the hollow and a dry recess suited for an ambush.
Mara Venn
That gives us the advantage. We can hide below the waystone and let the courier pass into our reach without exposing the refuge.
The sealed threshold still holds Axat at the gallery’s boundary, but the Speaking Stone carries his words clearly. The masked watcher, the lead sage, and Veyr prepare the hidden recess while the black raven watches above.