Logan kneels beneath the cot and opens the folded scrap without disturbing its creases. The paper bears Merek Thane’s angular mark, a partial room reference, and an unfinished instruction.
Logan Scarborough
It reads, “Room seven, after the second bell. Deliver the witness to the official who bears...” The rest was torn away.
He holds the scrap beside the hospice ledger. The abbreviated mark, ink color, and cramped strokes correspond with Thane’s entries, while the room reference points deeper into the hospice.
Tomoka
That instruction was written for someone expected to understand the hospice without a full address. The missing words may identify who came after Thane.
Halven Rusk
I know that phrasing. Thane used it when the other official arrived. He called the person...”
Halven stops, his fingers tightening around his faded robe. His clouded eye shifts toward the open corridor, where guild shelter awaits, while Logan keeps the scrap raised.
Halven Rusk
If I finish that sentence, Voss will know exactly what I heard. But the room reference is real. I can tell you who came after Thane.
✓ Quest Accepted
Secure the hospice instruction scrap
undefined / undefined
A deep bell sounds beneath the hospice, though no bell tower stands nearby. Dust spills from the ceiling, and the open corridor shudders around them.
Halven Rusk
That is the lower ward. It has been sealed since the night of the murder. No one should be ringing it.
The scrap in Logan’s hand darkens along its torn edge, the ink briefly shining blue. From deeper within the hospice comes a muffled locking mechanism.
Logan Scarborough
The writing is reacting to something below us. I can ward the doorway, but I cannot tell whether the effect is magical or merely a trap.
Tomoka
Then we do not move Halven through an unstable corridor. I will mark this room and call the guild shelter party inside.
A thread of pale blue light crawls beneath the floorboards, tracing a path from the locked chest toward the unseen lower ward. Halven backs from it, breathing sharply.
Halven Rusk
The other official used that light. He said it would make the room forget what happened. I can show you where the stairs begin.