The portcullis shudders under the grind, but it does not lift. Beyond the bars, filing cabinets and a ledger-stacked desk sit in a cold circle of light.
Thadeus angles Peacebringer toward the stone wall. The blue glow catches the star-shaped lock, and the mechanism looks less like decoration now, more like a seal on a whole room of secrets.
Thadeus Jovanović
That lock is tied to the records room.
Elizabeth Bathory
Names, books, prisoners, this is the hub. Whatever they hide, they catalog it here.
A dry click answers from inside the wall. The star shifts a fraction, and one cabinet drawer beyond the gate slides open by itself, spilling a stack of folders onto the floor.
Elizabeth Bathory
They know we are here. Help me force it before they lock down the rest.
✓ Quest Accepted
Force the records room open
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Thadeus drives Peacebringer into the seam above the lock, and the stone answers with a hard, choking groan. The star spins, not open, but deeper into the wall, while somewhere beyond the bars a metal cabinet slams shut.
Thadeus Jovanović
It is trying to seal the room.
Elizabeth grabs the portcullis with both hands and leans her weight into it, boots skidding on the scored floor. The bars tremble, then hold, while a thin ribbon of light snaps on in the records room and washes over the spilled folders.
Elizabeth Bathory
Now, Thadeus. Before it locks.
A new sound cuts through the hum, footsteps, fast and deliberate, coming from the dark hall behind them. Not from below. From their side of the tunnel.
“Concentrating his energy back into Peacebringer, instead of changing the weapon, he takes its current sword form and expands it. The blade of Peacebringer is growing while in the seam, causing it to buckle, then Crack, then break. With all of her might, Elizabeth places her hands under the iron gate, and launches them upwards, where they lock in place above, the records room now open to Thadeus and Elizabeth.”
SUCCESS (Superb Strength, rolled -1)
Peacebringer swells in the seam, its blue edge forcing the stone apart until the lock cracks with a dry snap. The portcullis jumps in Elizabeth’s grip.
Thadeus Jovanović
Thadeus drives harder, keeping the blade in place as the metal gives way.
The bars groan, then lift as Elizabeth shoves from below with both hands, her boots skidding through dust and folder pages.
Elizabeth Bathory
There. Keep it steady.
With one final heave, the gate rises high enough to catch above them, locking back with a heavy clank. The records room stands open, lit and waiting.
Thadeus Jovanović
The seal is broken.
Behind them, the fast footsteps hit the corridor mouth and stop short. Ahead, the desk, cabinets, and scattered folders are finally within reach.
Quest Complete
Force the records room open