The Ash-Wrapped Sentinel
The pulsing of the stone is a heartbeat. It leads us to the source of the rot.
The Ash-Wrapped Sentinel stops before a jagged fissure in the cavern wall, their tattered hem sweeping the dust. They raise a withered hand, pointing toward the gloom where the cold intensifies.
The Ash-Wrapped Sentinel
Listen. The rhythm of the earth is changing. It fears your approach.
Derick Force
The vibration is humming directly through my boots.
Joi presses against Derick Force, her fur standing on end as she stares into the darkness. A heavy thumping echoes from the deep, shaking loose pebbles from the ceiling.
The Ash-Wrapped Sentinel
We must move. The shadows will not wait for our hesitation.
+ Scene Quest Added
Survive the threat emerging from the deep
“You start your push forward, calling Joi to your side, and having the hooded man and the sentinel guarded in the center, and Garth defending the back”
SUCCESS (Superb Animal Handling, rolled +0)
Derick Force
The rhythm is uneven. Something is trapped behind that wall, and it is straining against the stone.
Derick Force signals to Joi with a sharp, two-fingered whistle. She snaps to his side, her amber eyes scanning the periphery with practiced vigilance.
Derick Force
Garth, hold the rear. Keep the perimeter clear. We move in formation.
Garth
Already there, Derick. I will ensure nothing sneaks up on our heels.
The Ash-Wrapped Sentinel
You march with such confidence, swordsman. Do not let the pride of your blade blind you to the hunger of this place.
Derick Force advances, shielding the Sentinel in the center of their diamond formation. As he draws closer to the fissure, the floor gives way to a hidden, spiraling ramp leading deeper than any map suggested.
“You examine your surroundings as you go down the ramp, searching for anything i resting or dangerous”
SUCCESS (Legendary Perception, rolled -1)
Derick Force descends the ramp, his boots crunching on ancient, calcified debris. His keen eyes cut through the gloom, settling on a series of shallow, circular grooves etched into the walls.
Derick Force
These are not natural erosions. They are tally marks, centuries old.
Garth
The air grows heavy here. My lungs feel like they are dragging lead.
The Ash-Wrapped Sentinel
Do not touch the stone. The history of this place is stained into the minerals themselves. Look, near the base.
Derick Force halts, the tip of his great sword hovering over a small, metallic lever partially fused with the ramp wall. It is a masterwork of mechanism, hidden in plain sight.
Joi
Joi gives a low, vibrating growl, her hackles rising as she senses a mechanical click echoing from the floorboards below.
“"What is it Joi? " You ask, kneeling next to her”
SUCCESS (Superb Animal Handling, rolled +2)
Derick Force
What is it, Joi?
Derick Force kneels beside his companion, his heavy armor clinking softly as he places a soothing hand on her neck. Joi leans hard into his palm, her gaze fixed intently on the floor beneath the lever.
Derick Force
The floor tiles have a slight mismatch. They are vibrating.
Derick scrapes away a layer of calcified silt with the edge of his blade. Beneath the dust, he finds a hidden pressure plate, precisely calibrated to the lever's position.
Garth
Derick, wait. If that plate triggers, the ramp might collapse entirely. I can see stress fractures in the mortar.
The Ash-Wrapped Sentinel
The boy sees the truth of the machine. The seal is not merely a door. It is a weight that requires both the hand and the breath of the earth to remain closed.
+ Scene Quest Added
Prevent the collapse of the ramp
− Scene Quest Removed
Survive the threat emerging from the deep
“"So how do we proceed from here, ashen one? Do we pull this lever without stepping on the pressure plate? "”
SUCCESS (Good Reasoning, rolled +0)
Derick Force
The lever is stiff with age, but the mechanics remain deceptively simple.
The Ash-Wrapped Sentinel
The lever unlocks the path, but the plate governs the floor beneath. You must hold the mechanism in place while you bypass the stone.
Derick Force grips the rusted brass, his muscles corded as he exerts a steady, controlled pressure to engage the internal gears.
With a resonant, grinding groan that echoes through the cavern, the pressure plate sinks flush into the floor, deactivating the trap.
Garth
Well done, Derick. I would have likely lost a foot if you hadn't spotted that sequence.
Joi whines softly, her ears pricked forward toward the newly opened passage, as a sudden draft of freezing air carries the scent of ancient, stagnant water.
Quest Complete
Prevent the collapse of the ramp