Dawn rims the chapel doorway behind you both, but inside, the Black Chapel stays dim and cold. Lord Vane crosses the stone floor toward the altar, and every bell toll makes the mark in Gutty Greenspot’s side flare like a hooked ember.
The altar ahead is old black marble, split by a pale seam of inlaid silver. Dust and incense cling to it in layers, as if the stone has been fed prayers for centuries.
Lord Vane
Stand near the altar, Gutty. The chapel answers better when the marked are close.
Gutty steps where he indicates, and the pain tightens, then steadies. The glow under her skin lines up with the altar seam, as if both belong to the same design.
Lord Vane
That seal is not a curse laid on accident. It is a claim, a ward, and a summons all at once.
Gutty Greenspot
The altar and the mark are linked.
Lord Vane lifts one gloved hand toward the silver seam, not touching it yet. In the hush between bell tolls, the chapel seems to wait for Gutty’s next move.
✓ Quest Accepted
Learn whether the mark is a curse or a blessing
✓ Quest Accepted
Perform your dance for Lord Vane
“Gutty approaches the altar and starts performing her dance, despite the stinging. She can handle it. "So... This is a curse, then? From the token you handed me?"”
SUCCESS (Legendary Belly Dancing, rolled -2)
Gutty leans into the altar’s cold reach and lets the pain sharpen her timing. She begins to dance anyway, small hips turning, hands tracing the silver seam’s shape in the air as if greeting it.
Gutty Greenspot
So... this is a curse, then? From the token you handed me?
The movement catches, and the chapel seems to listen. Her steps stay true, but the mark stings hard enough to make her breath hitch, a faint burn spotting through the side of her dress.
Lord Vane
No, not a curse alone. It is older than that, and more deliberate. The token woke it, but it was always waiting for a bearer.
Lord Vane lowers his raised hand and studies her with a grave softness, the bell’s echo sliding through the vault. The silver seam gives a thin answering gleam.
Lord Vane
You were marked by design, Gutty Greenspot. That can mean blessing, claim, or both, depending on what the chapel decides you are.
Gutty finishes the turn without breaking rhythm, but the final flare of pain makes her charm cost blood-heat and breath. Lord Vane waits in silence, as if expecting her next question or her next step.
Quest Complete
Perform your dance for Lord Vane