The iron gate groans as Derick Force slides the heavy bolt into place. Silence rushes into the chamber, heavy and thick with the smell of ozone and ancient dust.
Derick Force
The shadows are still scratching at the other side of the metal.
Kellan
They cannot follow us this far. The spire wards are still functioning, though barely.
Kellan
We must descend. The seal is failing in the lower vault. If we do not stabilize it now, the Spire will fall.
Joi nudges Derick's leg with her wet nose, her ears swiveling toward the dark, spiraling staircase that descends into the bowels of the monument.
The Hooded Figure gestures with a trembling hand toward the cold, damp stone stairs that wind downward into the depths of the structure.
+ Scene Quest Added
Stabilize the failing seal in the lower vault
“Check Joi and the hooded man for any injuries before you continue”
SUCCESS (Great Medicine, rolled +0)
Derick Force kneels, placing a firm, reassuring hand on Joi. He checks her paws and flanks, finding only superficial scrapes from the debris of the square.
Derick Force
She is steady. Now for the other one.
He turns to the Hooded Figure, whose breaths are shallow and ragged. Using a scrap of his own tunic, Derick Force binds the jagged wound at the Figure's side with practiced, efficient skill.
Kellan
You waste precious time on me. The stone needs you more than my blood does.
Derick Force
An untreated wound is a liability in a fight. Keep pressure on it and stay close to Joi.
Kellan
If we survive the descent, you will see why this spire is worth saving. Are you truly prepared to face what waits at the bottom?
“Laugh out loud then say, "Am i ready? Is anyone ever truly ready for what comes next? Don't you know, experience is never had untill after you need it! However, im sure Joi and i can handle it, you just focus on making that seal, and we got your back!"”
SUCCESS (Good Persuasion, rolled -1)
Derick Force
Am I ready? Is anyone ever truly ready for what comes next? Experience is never had until after you need it.
Derick Force
However, I am sure Joi and I can handle it. You just focus on that seal, and we have your back.
Kellan
Your confidence is a strange light in this dark place, swordsman. Perhaps it is exactly what the stone requires.
The Hooded Figure draws their cloak tighter, the obsidian stone pulsing with a dull, rhythmic violet glow that stains the surrounding stone walls.
Kellan
If he fails, the spire will swallow us all.
Joi let out a low, vibrating growl, her ears pinning back as the temperature in the chamber plummets, turning their breath into thick, swirling mist.
Kellan
It wakes. We must move before the shadows realize the gate is locked.
“Ask the hooded man, "so you mentioned that that stone can use my confidence and that im a good catalyst. What did you mean by that, and how does that work? Will it affect my ability to defend you while you make the seal? "”
SUCCESS (Good Persuasion, rolled +1)
Derick Force
You mentioned the stone needs my confidence and that I act as some sort of catalyst. What exactly do you mean by that, and how does it work? I need to know if this will affect my ability to defend you while you work on the seal.
Kellan
The stone is not merely an object of power, swordsman. It is a mirror. It draws resonance from the intent and stability of those nearest to it. Your conviction feeds its dormant anchor.
Kellan
He is stronger than the others. Perhaps the lineage of the Force family holds a deeper resonance than I dared hope.
The figure gestures toward the swirling violet light, which seems to brighten in response to Derick Force's steady questioning.
Kellan
It will not weaken you. In fact, should you falter, the stone will lose its tether to this reality, and the breach will widen. Stay focused on your duty, and the seal will draw enough strength to hold the darkness at bay.
Joi shifts her weight, her nails clicking against the cold floor as she stares intently into the deepening gloom of the lower staircase, sensing something heavy shifting in the dark.
“Say, "good, so its passive. As long as i stubbornly and relentlessly do my job, the stone will do its job. " Then follow Jois gaze, drawing your great sword and taking a defensive stance.”
SUCCESS (Fair Willpower, rolled +1)
Derick Force
Good, so it is passive. As long as I stubbornly and relentlessly do my job, the stone will do its job.
Derick Force
The shadows in the stairwell are moving with purpose.
Derick Force shifts his gaze from the Hooded Figure to the spiraling descent, his hand moving with practiced, fluid grace to the hilt of his great sword.
With a sharp hiss of metal against leather, he unsheathes his blade, the steel catching the pulsing violet light of the obsidian stone.
Kellan
Then stand your ground, swordsman. Something is clawing its way up from the foundation.
Joi drops into a low, tense crouch, her hackles raised as a rhythmic, scraping sound echoes up from the depths of the lower vault, growing louder with every passing second.
+ Scene Quest Added
Defeat the creature emerging from the vault
− Scene Quest Removed
Stabilize the failing seal in the lower vault
“Send Joi to the hooded man to guard him. You sprint down the stairs to meet the creature and attempt to push and strike it back down where it came from”
SUCCESS (Legendary Melee Combat, rolled -1)
Derick Force whistles a sharp, low note to Joi. The red dog immediately trots to the side of the Hooded Figure, teeth bared at the encroaching shadows.
Kellan
The dog is a better shield than my own armor.
Derick Force
The vapor moves with a weight that defies the draft of the stairwell.
Derick Force descends in a blur of movement, his great sword drawn in a singular, fluid motion. He meets the swirling mass at the base of the stairs, slamming the flat of his blade into the thickest part of the darkness with enough force to send a shockwave up the stone steps.
The creature recoils, a high pitched hiss echoing as the darkness is physically shoved backward, retreating down the lightless corridor.
Kellan
Do not let it regroup, Derick Force. The seal is just ahead.
“Keep up the pressure, don't give it a second to regroup”
SUCCESS (Legendary Melee Combat, rolled -2)
Derick Force
The vapor is less a spirit and more a rot, hungry for a hold on the stone.
Derick Force lunges, his boots finding traction on the slick stone as he charges into the heart of the retreating black mass.
With a roar of effort, he swings the great sword in a wide, punishing arc. The steel cleaves through the vapor, scattering the darkness like ink dropped into a rushing stream.
Kellan
Strike true. It tries to anchor itself to the masonry. Do not let it settle.
Joi darts forward, snapping her jaws at the fraying edges of the shadow. Her presence seems to burn the edges of the mist, forcing it to constrict further away from the chamber door.
The darkness surges one last time, a wall of freezing air attempting to sweep them off the landing, before it shatters into harmless wisps against the pressure of Derick Force’s relentless advance.
Quest Complete
Defeat the creature emerging from the vault
New Gift: Vault-Born Vigilance