At dawn, the longship reaches Argentis beneath pale cliffs. Warded stone arches open onto the council chamber, where the gathered factions wait in wary silence, having felt the relic’s pulse cross the water.
The Longship Crew remains behind on the deck, clustered around the oars and rigging. Clavin enters beside Vespera, his gray-furred hands locked around the relic as though loosening them might wake its shadow.
Clavin claws
Nobody touches it. Not until the Council hears what it showed us, and what it nearly asked us to become.
The councilors sit beneath layered wards carved into the arches. Their robes and insignia mark competing factions, yet every gaze fixes on the sealed relic and the claws guarding it.
Argentis Council
Then speak plainly. What did the relic reveal about its broken oath, and why did the crew’s fear answer it so readily?
The relic gives one muted pulse. For an instant, the chamber wards dim, and the old pressure of the Container Space brushes every stone before withdrawing beneath Clavin’s grip.
Clavin claws
Its oath was never to keep Argentis safe from truth. It was to expose whoever would trade truth for safety. The question is whether you prepare for war, or choose another path before fear chooses for you.
No councilor answers. Beyond the arches, the crew waits aboard the ship; within them, every faction measures the relic, the wards, and Vespera’s silence as the meeting truly begins.
✓ Quest Accepted
Reveal which promised defense or alliance rests on concealed intolerance
✓ Quest Accepted
Secure the Council’s commitment to protect Argentis’s freedom
“I propose cooperation without surrendering Argentis’s freedom”
SUCCESS (Superb Willpower, rolled +0)
Vespera
I propose cooperation without surrendering Argentis’s freedom. Let our wards, knowledge, and strength meet by consent, not command.
Vespera’s Oath-Bound nature tightens around the promise, forbidding her words from becoming submission. The Seer’s Crystal Lattice catches the council’s divided intentions and aligns them with her focused will.
Her Chosen One gift gives the proposal weight beyond a lone envoy’s plea, while her Arcane Heritage makes the ancient wards answer in a low, consenting resonance. The relic remains still.
Argentis Council
Then cooperation shall be founded as an agreement between equals. Argentis will share what it chooses, and no outside power will claim its freedom as payment.
One by one, the councilors lower their guarded hands from the ward-stones. The chamber’s defenses reshape from barriers into balanced circles, leaving Argentis sovereign at their center.
Clavin claws
That is more than a truce. It gives them a reason to stand beside us without kneeling to anyone.
The relic’s muted pulse settles into harmony with the council’s wards. Cooperation is accepted, Argentis’s freedom remains intact, and the council chamber exhales beneath the dawn.
Quest Complete
Secure the Council’s commitment to protect Argentis’s freedom
“I ask which alliance the relic exposed”
SUCCESS (Good Reasoning, rolled +2)
Vespera
Which alliance did the relic expose? Name the power Argentis was preparing to trust.
The Oath-Bound promise tightens around Vespera’s question, hindering any careless accusation. The Seer’s Crystal Lattice steadies her perception, while her Chosen One gift draws every councilor toward a truthful answer.
Amethyst crystals flare within the silver mesh. Her Arcane Heritage answers the ancient wards, and their resonance separates remembered negotiations from concealed intent without letting suspicion become certainty.
Argentis Council
The alliance was with the Order of the Radiant Sun. Several factions sought its protection against demons and magic beasts, offering authority over our borders in return.
The admission passes through the chamber like cold wind. The ward-circles reveal faint golden traces beneath their balanced pattern, old negotiations preserved in the stone.
Clavin claws
So the relic exposed more than fear. It found the bargain that would have called Caelus inside.
The relic remains still, its silence confirming the answer without endorsing it. Argentis’s freedom now has a named threat, and every councilor must reckon with the choice they nearly concealed.
Quest Complete
Reveal which promised defense or alliance rests on concealed intolerance
Attribute Upgrade: Willpower Superb→Legendary