Thadeus drops through the opening and lands hard in a torchlit stone room. The air is dry, dusty, and warm with soot.
In the center sits a lone wooden chair, draped with a purple robe and cloak. The room feels hidden, almost staged.
A woman with short red hair turns to face him. She studies him without moving, as if she has been expecting this exact fall.
Storm
You made it down. I am Storm.
She saunters closer, slow and measured, stopping just short of arm’s reach. Her eyes flick once to the robe, then back to Thadeus.
Storm
The others went below. If you want your answers, you will have to choose fast.
Thadeus Jovanović
The robe looks like a sign, not a costume.
✓ Quest Accepted
Learn where Elizabeth is below the cathedral
“Thadeus steps back and concentrates, turning Peacebringer in his wooden sword, glowing blue. Storm looks at Thadeus, intrigued. "Ooh, that's quite the gift you have there. Want to see mine?" Before he can answers, Storm walks closer to him, suggestively waving her hips with every step. "Why don't you let me take care of you, baby?" Storm beckons to Thadeus. Thadeus's eyes go wide, "This is a trick, I have to find Elizabeth."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +0)
Thadeus snaps the blue-glowing sword into view, keeping it low between them. Storm’s smile thins as she slows, reading the change in him.
Storm
That is a prettier answer than most.
Thadeus Jovanović
This is a trick. I have to find Elizabeth.
He turns past Storm instead of toward her, and the torchlight catches a narrow passage behind the chair. Dust spills from the opening above as the room shifts around the broken floor.
Storm watches him pass, amused but no longer blocking the way. Through the gap below, Thadeus hears movement farther down, and Elizabeth’s voice is nowhere in reach.
Storm
If you keep moving, you will need me to tell you where she went.
Thadeus keeps the sword ready and angles toward the darker route, with Storm behind him and the hidden room pulling open ahead.
“Thadeus stops moving. "You need to tell me where Elizabeth first, before we go anywhere." Storm continues to tempt Thadeus further, "Why do you need to find this woman, when you could have me?" Storm slides her hands down from her chest down to her thighs, her eyes trying to pull Thadeus in closer. Thadeus continues to resist, as Storm moves closer to Thadeus still”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled -2)
Thadeus stops short, sword low and steady, and the chamber quiets around his voice. Storm’s advance stalls, her hands lowering as if she has already decided he is listening.
Thadeus Jovanović
You need to tell me where Elizabeth is first, before we go anywhere.
Storm
Why do you need to find this woman, when you could have me?
She slides closer through the torchlight, but the pressure in Thadeus’s stance holds. The room gives way before her insistence, and the path she was guarding opens into a lower route lined with old stone steps.
Storm
Below. The others are below, and she is not alone.
A loose pebble clicks off the edge of the broken floor behind him, dropping into darkness. The cost lands in the moment, not in blood, but in a sharp scrape across Thadeus’s knuckles where the sword hilt bites hard.
Storm
Now decide if you want her, or the answers waiting under the cathedral.
Quest Complete
Learn where Elizabeth is below the cathedral
New Gift: Cathedral Crypt Navigator
“Storm now fully closes the gap on Thadeus, pinning him to the wall, her hips pressed against his. Storm licks her lips, waiting for Thadeus to break, but his mind holds steady, thinking of Elizabeth”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +2)
Storm closes in and pins Thadeus to the wall, her weight boxing him against cold stone. He goes still instead of yielding, the sword held low, breath even.
Thadeus Jovanović
Elizabeth.
The thought holds him steady. Storm searches his face for a crack and finds none, only a fixed, faraway focus.
Storm
There it is. Not fear, not anger. Her name.
Her lips curl, but the answer she wanted is not panic. Somewhere above them, dust keeps sifting through the broken floor into the dark.
Storm
Good. Then listen carefully. Elizabeth is below the cathedral, and the people down there already know her.
“In a flash, a burst of energy shoots through the floor. Thadeus watches Elizabeth land next to Storm, Elizabeth eyes going red with rage. Before Storm can step back, Elizabeth launches a straight punch directly into Storm midsection, causing her to cry out and fall on her knees. Elizabeth turns to Thadeus, "You okay, my love." Thadeus smiles, "You're starting to save me more than I have you." Storm, unable to move, stays plants on the ground, holding her stomach while still on her knees.”
SUCCESS (Superb Strength, rolled -2)
Elizabeth drops through the opening like a falling hammer, boots skidding on stone as the landing explodes with dust. Storm’s grin vanishes the moment the impact lands.
Elizabeth drives a straight punch into Storm’s stomach. Storm cries out, folds hard, and goes down on her knees.
Storm stays there, one hand clutching her midsection, the other palm planted on the floor as she tries and fails to rise. Her breathing is tight and shallow.
Elizabeth Bathory
You okay, my love?
Thadeus Jovanović
You’re starting to save me more than I have you.
Below them, the hidden stair yawns open. Dust keeps sifting past the broken floor, and Storm remains pinned in place, unable to stand.
“Thadeus looks at Elizabeth, her eyes returning to the natural color, "Hold that creature still," pointing to Storm, who is still unable to get up from her knees. Elizabeth runs behind Storm and pulls Storm's hands behind her back. Thadeus now looks at Storm, "Tell us what you're doing in the cathedral"”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled +1)
Elizabeth circles behind Storm and clamps both of her wrists together at the small of her back. Storm hisses, but she stays folded on her knees, pinned and breathless.
Thadeus Jovanović
Tell us what you are doing in the cathedral.
Storm
Waiting. Listening. Making sure the right people come down here.
Storm lifts her chin toward the dark stair opening, then glances at Elizabeth’s grip on her arms. Dust keeps spilling from above, and the broken floor gap trembles with every distant movement.
Storm
You are not the first to reach this landing. You are just the first to ask nicely.
The lower stair yawns wider in the torchlight, and the space below feels less like a passage now and more like an answer. Storm’s breathing steadies, but she does not stop watching the opening.
Storm
If you want Elizabeth alive, you should listen before the walls decide to.
✓ Quest Accepted
Get Storm to explain what is below the cathedral
“Thadeus face twists to anger. "I need this creature to fear me." Thadeus raises Peacebringer to Storm's chest. "Enough with the mind games, temptress. What will we find below the cathedral?" Storm feels a hint of fear rise in her.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +0)
Thadeus lifts Peacebringer to Storm’s chest, and the blue glow pins the torchlight back. Storm’s eyes flick to the weapon, her breath catching hard as Elizabeth keeps both wrists locked behind her.
Thadeus Jovanović
Enough with the mind games, temptress. What will we find below the cathedral?
Storm swallows, fear breaking through her grin at last. Her shoulders tense under Elizabeth’s grip, and she glances toward the dark stair like it might answer for her.
Storm
The circle. The real one. Not the church front they show people.
Storm
Below, they meet where the rooms can be sealed. Below, they keep the names, the books, and the ones who matter.
A hard thud rolls up from the opening beneath them, followed by a click of shifting stone. The broken floor gap widens by a finger’s width, and dust slides over the edge.
Storm
If you want her, move now. They know you’re here, and the way down is starting to close.
Quest Complete
Get Storm to explain what is below the cathedral
“Thadeus looks at Elizabeth, "I think we've got what need for now. You can let her go." Thadeus directs back to Storm, "If you so much as follow us, I'll..." Storm interrupts, "You'll kill me? Honey, no man wants to harm me. Your girlfriend sure throws a strong punch, though." Elizabeth scoffs, "Come near us again, find out what else I can do." This seems to stun Storm briefly, "Okay, you have my word. Could you please help me stand?" Elizabeth laughs, "No, I think you're pretty right where you are, since that's what you care about." Thadeus and Elizabeth take the spirit staircase down, leaving Storm on the stone floor to her own fate.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +2)
Thadeus lowers the weapon a fraction and lets Storm stay where she is. Elizabeth eases her grip, but she does not step far from the kneeling woman.
Thadeus Jovanović
I think we've got what we need for now. You can let her go.
Thadeus Jovanović
If you so much as follow us, I will come back for you.
Storm
You will kill me? Honey, no man wants to harm me. Your girlfriend sure throws a strong punch, though.
Elizabeth Bathory
Come near us again, and find out what else I can do.
Storm
Okay, you have my word. Could you please help me stand?
Elizabeth gives a short laugh and leaves Storm on the stone floor. Then Thadeus and Elizabeth turn to the spirit staircase, and the narrow passage waits below them while dust keeps slipping from the broken edge.