The sealed passage remains behind Eliza in the circular chamber as she and the half-orc outcast climb toward the old bell platform. Blue light fades behind them.
They emerge among ancient supports beneath the festival boards. Ribbons hang from weathered beams, ladders lean against the stone, and flower baskets crowd the shadows.
No festival worker notices their arrival above. Through the floorboards, faint amber dust seeps upward in delicate threads, appearing and vanishing with a distant bell.
the half-orc outcast
That bell is not sounding in the square. Whatever hears it, or rings it, is beneath us.
The map unfolds in his scarred hands. Its green line climbs from the sealed passage to a point directly beneath the platform’s central support, where old stones bulge through the earth.
the half-orc outcast
The line ends here. The anchor’s maker may have left a second mark, hidden under the festival decorations.
Another muted bell trembles through the supports. Flower petals stir though the air is still, and amber dust gathers in a narrow ring beneath Eliza’s feet.
✓ Quest Accepted
Locate the source of the hidden bell
✓ Quest Accepted
Identify the maker of the corrupted anchor
“I inspect the central support for a hidden maker's mark.”
SUCCESS (Good Perception, rolled +0)
Eliza kneels within the amber ring and studies the central support through the floorboards, tracing its grain, seams, and buried stones with arcane sight.
Dust withdraws from a narrow crack at the support’s base. Beneath the soil, an angular maker’s mark emerges in dull amber, carved into the oldest stone.
The mark shows a listening ear enclosed by three hooked roots. Fine channels connect it to the platform’s support, drawing faint pulses upward whenever the distant bell trembles.
the half-orc outcast
There it is. Not a ward mark, but a signature. Whoever made the anchor tied this support directly to the buried listening path.
Eliza’s examination reveals a second inscription beneath the first: three small cuts arranged like a crown. The same pattern is etched into the map’s blank margin.
the half-orc outcast
The crown is a name, or the beginning of one. The maker left proof beneath the bells, trusting no one would look below the celebration.
The amber ring around Eliza’s feet fades, but the hidden mark remains clear. From above, festival music begins, and the central support answers with one silent pulse.