Dusk stains the inn windows violet as Cyber crosses the threshold. Warm firelight catches on his black metal and bright purple glow.
Around the hearth, an ordinary citizen lowers his empty mug. His ghost story has reached its final breath.
The Storyteller
And when the seventh bell tolls, the dead will return to the hearth where they swore their last oath.
The fire gutters. A pale, dead figure appears beside it, smoke curling through its silent form.
The Storyteller
My name is Eamon. I made that oath, and I will keep it.
Eamon steps forward. Every patron freezes as the dead figure turns toward the room, its hollow gaze passing over every face.
The Storyteller
Tell me, spirit. Who must answer for the promise?
✓ Quest Accepted
Contain Eamon's haunting
✓ Quest Accepted
Discover who must answer for Eamon's oath
“I step toward Eamon and ask what oath binds him here.”
SUCCESS (Good Willpower, rolled +0)
Cyber steps away from the threshold. The floorboards creak beneath his weight, and the inn's silence tightens around the sound.
Cyber
Eamon, what oath binds you here?
The question reaches the hearth. Smoke streams toward Cyber instead of rising, cold against his face.
Eamon
I swore to return when the seventh bell called, and name the one who left me unremembered.
The answer settles the oath's shape. Eamon is bound to expose a forgotten betrayer, not to punish the whole inn.
The Storyteller
No. That is not the tale I was told. Why did you ask him that, stranger?
His accusation carries across the taproom. Several patrons edge away from Cyber, while Eamon turns toward the storyteller.
Eamon
You know the missing name. Speak it, or let this hearth become my grave.
“Is the storyteller the forgotten betrayer?”
YES (Likely, rolled 28)
The storyteller's face loses its practiced certainty, and a faded oath-mark surfaces beneath the collar of their robe, matching the sigil burned into Eamon's shroud. The discovery makes the forgotten name plain: the storyteller is the betrayer Eamon seeks.
The Storyteller
I did not forget you by accident, Eamon. I buried your name because I was afraid of what remembering it would demand.
“I usher the patrons out through the back door”
SUCCESS (Fair Persuasion, rolled +0)
Cyber steps between the patrons and the hearth, guiding them toward the inn's back door with steady gestures.
Therefore, the patrons obey. Benches scrape and frightened whispers swell as they file into the narrow passage.
The Storyteller
Go, all of you. Leave the hearth to the dead and those who owe them.
The back door opens, and the last patrons spill into the dusk. Cyber gets them out, but the dragging benches and hurried feet make enough noise to carry through the village.
The cost lands at once. Beyond the threshold, villagers turn toward the inn, alerted by the commotion, while the empty room gives Eamon's cold smoke more space to spread.
Eamon
You have cleared the living from my hearing. Now, storyteller, speak the name you buried.
Quest Complete
Discover who must answer for Eamon's oath
Attribute Upgrade: Willpower Good→Great
“I confront Eamon with the storyteller's confession”
SUCCESS (Great Willpower, rolled -2)
Cyber
Eamon, the storyteller confessed. They buried your name out of fear, and they are the one your oath accused.
Therefore, Cyber's words cross the cold smoke and reach the dead figure without distortion. Eamon's raised hand slowly closes over the sigil on his shroud.
Eamon
At last, the promise has a witness. The name was not lost. It was hidden.
But the confession draws the haunting inward with violent force. Smoke lashes across Cyber's throat, leaving his voice raw and a bright purple light flickering in his chest.
Eamon
Then hear the oath's ending, Cyber. Will you stand while the betrayer speaks my name?
The cold vapor coils back into the hearth instead of spreading through the inn. The fire catches around it, holding Eamon's shape in a ring of pale flame.
Outside, the villagers fall silent. Inside, the dead figure remains contained within the hearth, waiting for Cyber's answer.
Quest Complete
Contain Eamon's haunting
Attribute Upgrade: Willpower Great→Superb