The buried child’s handprint rises again. Roots split around it, and black water seeps through the gap, loosening the packed earth around whatever holds him below.
Beyond the trees, Mara Venn, a thirty-year-old woman with a lean build, dark cropped hair, and a pale scar across one shoulder, walks naked toward the lake. Her narrow face and olive skin are plainly visible.
She carries no towel or light. Her eyes remain fixed on the drowning one, and her bare feet leave dark impressions where the shore gives way to wet sand.
Mara Venn
Elias.
The unfamiliar childhood name passes over the water without becoming a summons. Mara does not answer the siren call, but continues toward the deepening shore.
the buried child
No. Not that name.
Beneath the roots, the buried child recoils. The opening widens by a finger’s breadth, while Mara steps closer to deep water and the black seepage circles the drowning one’s feet.
✓ Quest Accepted
Loosen the buried child from the roots
“drown her”
SUCCESS (Fair Willpower, rolled +1)
The black water rises around Mara Venn without a wave. It closes over her ankles, knees, and waist, while the drowning one’s pale eyes remain fixed on her.
She reaches the deepening shore, but the lake takes her balance. Water folds upward around her in a silent column, carrying her beneath the surface without struggle shown.
Mara Venn
Elias.
Her voice breaks into bubbles and vanishes. The column collapses, leaving only widening rings and one dark impression where her feet stood.
the buried child
You remembered enough to call the water.
Below the roots, the opening widens fully. Mud sloughs inward, revealing a narrow hollow lined with old lake stones and a child-sized brass locket.
the buried child
Now look at what was buried with you.
✓ Quest Accepted
Drown the woman