The Hideout settles into a low, domestic hush. Vent fans drone overhead while Elias works at the tiny kitchen station, metal clinking softly against the counter.
Thadeus sits back on the worn couch with the letter spread open in his hands, the paper flattened under his thumb as he rereads the same lines.
Marla stays bent over her laptop, the blue glow washing her face as she scrolls through the security footage frame by frame.
Elizabeth Bathory
You are very serious when you read secret warnings, you know that?
Elizabeth leans in beside Thadeus, close enough to crowd his space without touching him, her smile bright with mischief.
Thadeus Jovanović
The letter mentions a time and a location, but not why.
Elias
Food is almost ready. If nobody is following us, I would like one quiet meal tonight.
Marla Brewer
The camera guy kept looking past the lens. He was nervous, like somebody else was supposed to be there.
Elizabeth Bathory
Then maybe we should start with the part where Thadeus explains why he was blushing in a parking garage.
✓ Quest Accepted
Find out Victor Hale's true purpose
+ New Item Acquired
Mysterious Letter
“Thadeus looks back to Elias, "We're safe for the evening, good friend. You'll be able to enjoy peace and quiet tonight." Elias releases a sigh of relief, and smile sneaking across his face. Thadeus returns his attention to the letter. "So the letter is instructing me to go to this club tomorrow night at 9:00 PM. I've never even heard of this place. Elizabeth, do you think this has any ties to the Revenant? I thought after closing the Corridor, their existence was erased from memory.”
SUCCESS (Superb Diplomacy, rolled -2)
Thadeus turns from the couch and gives Elias the kind of reassurance that settles a room. Elias exhales, shoulders easing as a small smile finally breaks through his worry.
Elias
Thank you. I needed to hear that.
Thadeus folds the letter back open and points out the time and club name. Marla stops scrolling and looks up, while Elizabeth's teasing expression sharpens into attention.
Thadeus Jovanović
The letter sends me to a club tomorrow night at 9:00 PM. I have never heard of it. Elizabeth, do you think this has any tie to the Revenant?
Elizabeth Bathory
Maybe. The name feels wrong in the way old scars do. If something was built around them, that would be the sort of detail people forget when the story gets cleaned up.
Elias sets a plate down a little harder than he means to, and the faint clatter carries across the bunker. The silence after it is thin, because the letter's signature suddenly matters more than the threat itself.
Marla Brewer
Wait. If everybody forgot the Revenant, then whoever wrote this either remembers, or wants us to remember for them.
Thadeus catches the edge of the paper with one thumb. The cramped bunker feels smaller with that possibility in the room, and every eye stays on the envelope as if it might answer first.
“Thadeus notices a detail he overlooked before. On the other side of the letter, there's a faint message, "Come alone and unarmed." Thadeus is intrigued, thinking "This group is a different level of dangerous. Maybe they have something to do with the Revenant." Thadeus looks over to Elizabeth, "I think we need to head home and get some rest. We have a lot to prepare for tomorrow." Elizabeth nods, a mischevious smile sneaking on her face again. Thadeus waves to Marla and Elias, telling them to have a good evening and they'll discuss more tomorrow. Thadeus and Elizabeth leave The Hideout and head for Thadeus's home.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Agility, rolled +0)
Thadeus flips the page and finds a second line pressed so faintly into the paper that it only catches when he tilts it toward the light. Come alone and unarmed.
Thadeus Jovanović
This group is a different level of dangerous. Maybe they have something to do with the Revenant.
He lowers the letter and looks to Elizabeth. The bunker is quiet enough to hear the soft tick of the car cooling in the corner of the Hideout.
Thadeus Jovanović
I think we need to head home and get some rest. We have a lot to prepare for tomorrow.
Elizabeth Bathory
Mmm. That sounded almost responsible.
Her smile turns sly again, but she gives him a single nod. Across the room, Marla closes the laptop a little slower than before, and Elias watches the paper like it might move on its own.
Thadeus Jovanović
Have a good evening. We will talk more tomorrow.
Thadeus and Elizabeth head out of The Hideout together, leaving the bunker lights behind. As the door shuts, the letter stays in Thadeus's mind like a thumbprint, and the first part of tomorrow already feels set in motion.