Before the ward defenses fully settle, figures emerge along the eastern road beneath a white cloth. An unfamiliar ancient sigil darkens its center.
Maerith Voss signals sharply. Her guards surround the small human delegation, while Serath remains beside Ulkesh and the restored walls burn with violet channels.
the human war-captain
Prince of the high guard, we come beneath truce. I carry a relic taken from a battlefield shrine, and it answers your ward.
The human war-captain raises a broken elven seal. The blackened thread at Ulkesh’s hand pulses with violet heat, and the nearest ward-stones answer in sequence.
Light spills from the fractured relic, projecting a brief image beyond the human lines: tall orc banners moving beneath a storm-dark sky.
Maerith Voss
Hold formation. No human crosses the ward line, and no one touches that seal until the prince gives judgment.
Serath Vael
The relic is calling the ford, not merely displaying an enemy. Whatever waits beyond those banners has found the same ancient road.
✓ Quest Accepted
Determine what the ancient relic is calling to the ford
✓ Quest Accepted
Secure the ford against the orc host
“Can the relic reveal what lies beyond the orc banners?”
YES, BUT (Likely, rolled 58)
The broken seal brightens above the ward line. Its projected storm thickens, revealing an orc host gathered around a black stone gate buried beneath the cliffs.
the human war-captain
There. The banners guard a road older than our war. Their chieftain holds a crown of antlered iron, and the gate bears Vaelor’s mark.
The image turns, showing pale figures kneeling before the orcs, not as captives but as ward-keepers. Then the relic cracks with a sharp chime.
A thread of violet fire leaps from the relic into the nearest ward-stone. That stone splits, its ancient light fading, and the eastern defenses lose one link.
Maerith Voss
The revelation cost us a ward-stone. The ford remains defended, but the eastern circle is no longer whole.
Serath Vael
The orcs are not merely approaching the gate. They are keeping something sealed, and the relic has told them that this ford has awakened.
the human war-captain
Now you know what waits beyond the banners, Prince. Decide whether your ward is a warning, or an invitation.
“I accept the war-captain’s relic under truce”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +2)
Ulkesh steps to the ward line and extends his hand. Maerith’s guards hold position as the human war-captain advances alone beneath the white cloth.
Maerith Voss
The truce stands. No blade rises while the relic passes between you.
the human war-captain
By the old terms, I surrender it into your keeping, Prince of the high guard.
The war-captain places the broken elven seal in Ulkesh’s hand. Its violet fire settles at once, and the nearest ward-stones cease their strained resonance.
Serath Vael
It recognizes your authority. The relic is yours now, but its summons remains active within the eastern road.
The projected orc banners collapse into a dark spark within the relic. Beyond the cliffs, a distant horn answers, deep enough to tremble through the restored walls.
the human war-captain
Then you hold the key and the warning together. The orcs will know the ford has taken possession of Vaelor’s call.
+ New Item Acquired
Broken elven seal
“I bargain with the war-captain for the orcs’ route”
SUCCESS (Great Diplomacy, rolled +1)
Ulkesh Valen
Give me the orcs’ route to Vaelor’s gate, and your delegation leaves beneath my protection. Withhold it, and the road remains closed to you.
The broken seal grows warm between Ulkesh’s fingers. Violet lines spread across its surface, forming a jagged path from the eastern cliffs to the buried black gate.
the human war-captain
You bargain as though the ford already commands the old road. Very well. I will give you the route, if your ward shelters my people from the war beyond it.
The war-captain kneels and draws a route in the mud with two fingers: east along the ravine, beneath the shattered watchtower, then through a stone arch hidden by thornwood.
the human war-captain
Follow the ravine until the cliffs narrow. Pass beneath the watchtower, turn where the white roots break the stone, and do not cross the first black threshold. The orc sentries guard the second.
Serath Vael
He has traded the road for sanctuary. The terms are clear, and the relic confirms every mark.
The broken seal closes its light around the drawn path, preserving the route within its fractured face. The eastern ward-stones answer with a steady violet pulse.
Maerith Voss
The route is secured, Prince. I will keep the ford sealed while you decide whether the orcs meet an envoy, a claimant, or an enemy.
“I send an envoy beneath the truce banner”
SUCCESS (Great Diplomacy, rolled -1)
Ulkesh raises the truce banner above the restored wall and indicates the eastern ravine. The human delegation falls silent as the command passes through the guarded ford.
Maerith Voss
The banner will be honored. I will provide two unarmed guards to the ward line, and no farther.
the human war-captain
I will carry your answer to the orc sentries. My people remain beneath your protection while I speak.
The war-captain takes the white cloth and binds it to a spear. With empty hands visible, he leaves the ford beneath its sheltering mark and follows the preserved route east.
Serath Vael
A human bears Vaelor’s summons toward those who guard its gate. They will hear authority in the banner, and danger in the relic.
Violet ward-light parts before the envoy, revealing the ravine’s entrance and the distant shattered watchtower. The eastern defenses remain steady as the delegation waits.
the human war-captain
At the thornwood arch, I will name the ford’s new keeper and request passage for his chosen envoy. The orcs will receive your banner.
Quest Complete
Determine what the ancient relic is calling to the ford
Skill Upgrade: Diplomacy Great→Superb