By moonrise, Cyber and Mira reach the old oath-stones beyond the village lane. Three weathered pillars stand in a ring beneath bent yews, their runes silvered with frost.
The road falls silent behind them. Only the creak of branches and the faint clink of Cyber's oath-band disturb the cold.
Mira Ashwing
“There. The witness-stone. If the old words remain, they may tell us what Eamon was sworn to protect.”
Mira kneels beside the nearest pillar and brushes away moss. Beneath it, a narrow groove glows with the same pale light as the ring in Cyber's palm.
Mira Ashwing
“The stones remember more than names. They remember what was promised.”
The oath-band tightens with a cool pulse. Across the ring, a fourth mark appears in the frost, pointing toward a dark hollow beneath the largest yew.
✓ Quest Accepted
Identify the oath’s next witness
✓ Quest Accepted
Help Mira understand the pale fire
“Is the witness-stone warning Mira of danger?”
NO (Likely, rolled 85)
No. The witness-stone is not warning Mira of danger; its pale mark is only identifying the oath’s next witness, without changing the stillness around the ring.
“I ask Mira to inspect the pale mark for signs of the next witness.”
SUCCESS (Good Perception, rolled +2)
Cyber
Mira, inspect the pale mark for signs of the next witness.
Mira kneels beside the frost-marked hollow and holds her palm above the groove, careful not to touch it.
Mira Ashwing
The pale fire is not searching blindly. It follows the witness who can answer the fourth oath.
Therefore, the groove brightens beneath her hand. Fine lines gather into the shape of a feather, then point beneath the yew's roots.
Mira Ashwing
A witness marked by ash and feather. Someone tied to the old messengers.
Mira Ashwing
I understand it now. The fire reveals a path and a kind of witness, but not the witness's name. We must decide whether to follow it below.
Quest Complete
Help Mira understand the pale fire