At the north gate, a mud-streaked pilgrim enters the plaza, a lean middle-aged man in a weather-darkened ocher robe. Gray hair clings to his brow, and a leather cord binds a cracked stone tablet against his chest.
The seal remains stable beneath its blue-white crystal. Yet the ancient sword pivots above the well, abandoning the buried threshold and pointing directly toward the newcomer.
Serrik Vale
Do not loose your arrows. I am Serrik Vale, a pilgrim of the Hollow Road, and I bring what was taken from beneath your city before dawn.
He lifts the tablet carefully. Its broken face bears a hooked rune matching the sword’s pattern, though its grooves are packed with black soil and pale, glittering dust.
the fugitive
I have never seen him, nor that stone. Captain, if the blade has turned, the tablet may belong to the inner ward.
the pursuer captain
Serrik Vale, stop where you stand. No one recognized you, and no pilgrim walks out of a buried chamber carrying proof without answering difficult questions.
The soldiers tighten their ring around the plaza, while the fugitive stays beside the well and the captain remains between Serrik and the seal. The sword’s point lowers toward the tablet, waiting.
✓ Quest Accepted
Determine what force Serrik’s tablet is attracting
“Can I sense what answers the tablet without touching it?”
NO (Likely, rolled 78)
The tablet’s hooked rune remains dull beneath its soil and glittering dust. Valra’s arcane heritage finds no answering current in the air between her and the stone.
The ancient sword continues pointing toward Serrik’s burden, but its runes do not open or translate. The completed seal below the well stays quiet and unbroken.
the fugitive
No resonance without contact. Then the tablet is not broadcasting its meaning. It is only carrying a mark the sword recognizes.
Serrik Vale
That is why I kept it wrapped until I reached the plaza. The stone has answered nothing since I found it.
the pursuer captain
You found it beneath the city, yet claim no knowledge of its purpose. Set it on the paving stones and step away.
Serrik’s fingers tighten around the leather cord, but he does not move. The soldiers keep their weapons trained, while the captain watches Valra for any sign the sword has chosen a course.
the fugitive
If the blade needs contact, then whoever touches that tablet may become part of its key.
“I ask Serrik to present the tablet”
SUCCESS (Good Willpower, rolled -1)
Valra
Serrik, present the tablet so we can examine it.
Valra’s request crosses the tense plaza. Serrik studies her beneath the sword’s pale point, then loosens the cord and lowers the cracked stone onto the paving stones.
Serrik Vale
There. I make no claim on it, and I will not touch the mark again.
The tablet rests within the completed ring’s outer channel, fully exposed. Soil flakes from its hooked rune, revealing a second groove beneath the dust, shaped like a narrow descending stroke.
the pursuer captain
You have complied, Serrik. Valra, examine it from where you stand. If the sword reacts, tell us before anyone moves.
As the tablet settles, the sword gives a sharp chime. A thread of cold leaps from its blade to Valra’s hand, numbing her palm and leaving a white frost-mark across her glove.
the fugitive
The cost is small, but deliberate. The blade has accepted her request as part of the key.
“I study the tablet’s descending groove”
SUCCESS (Good Perception, rolled +2)
Valra studies the descending groove without touching the tablet. The frost-mark on her glove brightens, and the groove answers with a thin line of blue light.
Valra
The stroke is not a direction. It is a measure of descent.
Her perception follows the mark through the cracked stone. The descending stroke records three thresholds, each deeper than the last, and ends at a small hooked notch.
the fugitive
Three thresholds beneath the inner ward. The notch must be the place where the sword’s path turns.
Serrik Vale
I saw only darkness below the chamber. No stairs, no door, only that mark cut into the stone.
The sword pivots once above the well. Its point aligns with the tablet’s descending stroke, while a second shimmer traces the completed seal and leaves it undisturbed.
the pursuer captain
Then the tablet confirms a route, not an opening. Fugitive, remain where you are. Valra, tell us what waits at the third threshold.
“I offer Serrik protection for his testimony”
SUCCESS (Good Reasoning, rolled +1)
Valra
Serrik, give your testimony, and I will protect you from capture while the tablet’s meaning is examined.
The offer settles across the plaza. Valra remains beside the glowing channel, placing herself between Serrik and the soldiers without touching the completed seal.
Serrik Vale
Then I will speak. I entered through a collapsed passage beneath the eastern cistern and found the tablet beyond the third threshold.
the pursuer captain
Protection is not authority, Valra. Yet your position shields him without disturbing the binding. Serrik may testify under your watch.
The captain lowers her spear and signals the soldiers, a mixed group of young adult men and women in dull iron armor to hold their ring. Serrik steps nearer, stopping outside the crystal-marked channel, while the sword keeps its point trained on the tablet.
Serrik Vale
At the third threshold, I heard something beneath the stone. It did not speak in words. It recognized the hooked mark, then withdrew when I carried the tablet away.
the fugitive
That confirms a living ward below the city. With Serrik protected and the tablet present, the sword can reveal the next turn without opening the prison.
Reach the living ward beneath the city
Quest Complete
Determine what force Serrik’s tablet is attracting
Attribute Upgrade: Willpower Good→Great
Quest Complete
Discover what beneath the city is answering the sword
Skill Upgrade: Magic Great→Superb