At the final door, Jinen slows to stillness. The oil-lamp glow wavers deeper in the shrine, but he lets it stay there, distant and unimportant.
Jinen
Mirror me. Quiet the shoulders, settle the breath, let the feet learn the floor.
He sets one foot half a hand's width ahead, weight balanced, then shows the pause between breaths. The lesson is small, but exact.
Cactusthorn
His stance is narrower than it first appears.
Cactusthorn matches the pose. The shrine answers with only a faint hiss of cloth and the softest shift on stone.
Jinen
Good. A thief who can vanish without haste is harder to catch than one who runs.
Jinen's expression loosens into tired relief. For a moment, both men stand by the door like students in a quiet hall, breathing in the same measured rhythm.
✓ Quest Accepted
Master breath control and footwork
✓ Quest Accepted
Enter the final door with Jinen
“Work with jinen and learn the breath work. Then use your stealth and enter the final door confronting the abbott.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Stealth, rolled -2)
Cactusthorn copies the pattern, drawing in air low and slow, then letting it go without a sound. Jinen nods once, and the thief slides past him toward the door with measured steps.
Cactusthorn
The floor gives less than it looks like it should.
His wrapped finger brushes the stone frame as he passes, leaving a pale smudge on dark dust. Jinen catches it, but says nothing.
The final door opens to Cactusthorn's touch, and the lamp glow spills over his mask. The chamber beyond is still, waiting.
Jinen follows him through the threshold, one hand hovering near the wall for balance. The first breath of the inner room smells of ash and old oil.
Jinen
You move like a man who already counts the exit. Teach me whether that habit serves us both.
Inside, Cactusthorn has the lesson, and the door is behind them. Jinen's eyes narrow at the thief's easy certainty, even as the corridor seals their path back.
Quest Complete
Master breath control and footwork
Quest Complete
Enter the final door with Jinen