The heavy door bursts open into a circular control chamber, and the hum of the star apparatus hits like a chest press. The blue-robed figure turns from the console, with Victor Hale and Vinnie frozen at the rim like displayed bodies.
Thadeus Jovanović
This is the hub. The route, the records, the prisoners, all of it runs through here.
The Blue-Robed Figure
You made it farther than the others.
The Blue-Robed Figure
One pull here, and the whole lower circle decides who goes to a room, who gets erased, and who gets sent up as proof.
Victor’s head lifts a fraction, as if the words sting through whatever is holding him still. Vinnie’s jaw twitches, but neither man can step away from the machine.
Elizabeth Bathory
Then stop hiding behind them and show us the inner sanctum.
The blue-robed figure taps the console, and a ring of barred panels along the chamber wall begins to unlock with hard metallic clicks, revealing a sealed route deeper inside.
The star apparatus keeps pulsing, and the chamber finally answers the question. This room is the switchboard for the cathedral's hidden system, and the next passage opens because Thadeus and Elizabeth have forced it to.
✓ Quest Accepted
Identify the blue-robed figure
“Evil laughter can be heard above the broken star control apparatus. Thadeus and Elizabeth look up to see Donny Ramirez, his business attire replaced with a dark blue hoodless robe and glowing purple crown, floats down from above, landing in front of blue robed man. "Thank the Stars you are here, Thadeus. I was hoping you'd see what our community has worked on." Thadeus looks on stoically, focusing his energy into morphing Peacebringer into a glowing blue tower shield.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +0)
Above the chamber, laughter spills through the machinery hum, sharp and familiar. Thadeus and Elizabeth both look up as a figure descends from the shadowed height, robes hanging loose over polished shoes and a glowing purple crown.
Donny Ramirez
Thank the Stars you are here, Thadeus. I was hoping you'd see what our community has worked on.
He lands lightly in front of the blue-robed figure, and the trap-like calm in the room hardens. Victor Hale stays pinned at the rim of the circle, while Vinnie watches the newcomer with tight, unreadable focus.
Thadeus Jovanović
Donny.
Thadeus draws Peacebringer inward and shapes it, the blue glow running up his arms as the weapon broadens into a tower shield. The light catches on the broken-star apparatus and throws a cold edge across the control console.
The Blue-Robed Figure
Then you already know the room is yours to survive, if you can read it.
Donny turns his crown toward the chamber wall, then lets the hoodless robe fall open enough to show the same clean, tailored lines Thadeus remembers from every other encounter. The blue-robed figure goes still, and the locked panels continue to click open along the far wall.
The identity is no longer hidden, the inner circle is in front of him, and the new passage yawns open while the machine keeps pulsing.
Quest Complete
Identify the blue-robed figure