Spanner Few arrives above the crumbling hospital, wing-riding gear rattling in the cold wind. Below, patched caravans crowd the cracked entrance while a failing generator coughs behind sandbags.
the caravan master
Both sides inside, now. We came for the old soldier's promise, and that promise is protection. Nobody touches the pharmacy.
The caravan master waves armed delegates through the doors, but his authority frays with every shouted objection. Dust sifts from the hospital facade as the generator stutters again.
the old soldier
Protection was never meant for medicine alone. You know what I swore to guard, Master.
the caravan master
I know exactly what you swore. Keep your voice down before this becomes a battle.
Two soldiers ignore the argument and study the generator cables. Another watches the sealed pharmacy door, fingers resting near a worn rifle, while neither side watches the other.
the old soldier
They came for what is behind that door. The promise is only the chain they expect me to wear.
✓ Quest Accepted
Reveal the true purpose of the old soldier's promise
“I sabotage the generator to force a pause”
FAILURE (Good Scavenging, rolled -1)
Spanner Few slips behind the sandbags while the delegates argue. The generator's casing vibrates beneath his hand, hot metal trembling with each uneven cough.
Spanner Few
The feed cable is newer than the others.
He works the newer cable loose and bends its exposed connection away from the terminal. The insulation tears, and a hard blue spark snaps across the gap.
The generator does not die. It surges instead, coughing smoke through its grille as an internal breaker slams shut. Every light in the entrance goes black.
the generator soldier
Back from it! Somebody's been inside the housing.
The soldiers halt mid-motion. In the sudden darkness, the pharmacy door remains sealed, but a red service lamp flickers on above it, exposing the damaged cable's bright copper.
the caravan master
Nobody moves. Find the tamperer, and keep that door closed until I know what just happened.
✓ Quest Accepted
Expose what the pharmacy door is concealing
“Can I use the wishsong to make myself invisible?”
NO, AND WORSE (VeryLikely, rolled 100)
Spanner Few
The Wishsong catches in my throat, refusing the shape I give it.
A thin note escapes anyway. Darkness folds around Spanner Few for one heartbeat, then peels away, leaving his silver hair and violet eyes stark beneath the red lamp.
The exposed cable spits blue light. The service lamp flares brighter, and a second outline appears on the pharmacy door, tall and crooked, though nothing stands before it.
the generator soldier
There! The door's showing someone. He's marked it somehow.
The soldier raises his rifle toward the empty space. Across the entrance, boots scrape and weapons come free as the delegates turn toward the impossible silhouette.
the old soldier
Lower those guns. That is not a man behind the door.
The crooked outline bends toward Spanner Few, copying his posture a breath too late. From behind the sealed pharmacy comes a dull knock, answered by another from inside the walls.
− Scene Quest Removed
Reveal the true purpose of the old soldier's promise
undefined / undefined
The second knock becomes a measured rhythm. Dust trembles from the ceiling, and every loose bottle behind the pharmacy door answers with faint, uneven chimes.
the generator soldier
That is coming from inside the walls. Move away from the door, all of you.
The crooked outline lifts one long arm, though its shadow remains fixed. The red lamp gutters, then throws the silhouette across every armed delegate at once.
the old soldier
No shots. The door is a seal, and fear is precisely what waits for someone to break it.
A hidden mechanism grinds beneath the floor. The pharmacy lock turns halfway with a heavy click, while the generator coughs and the entrance fills with the smell of hot dust.
the caravan master
Old soldier, you said nothing about a seal. Tell me what is behind that door, or I start clearing this room.
the crooked outline
The promise remembers its keeper.
“Use the wishsong to make everyone invisible and then open the door”
SUCCESS (Legendary Illusion, rolled +1)
Spanner Few releases the Wishsong as a breath of silver sound. It rolls through the entrance, softening every outline until armed delegates, soldiers, the caravan master, and the old soldier vanish from sight.
the caravan master
I cannot see my own hands. Nobody fire. Nobody move.
The crooked shadow remains on the pharmacy door, but the bodies casting it disappear. The red lamp dims, and the measured knocks cease.
the old soldier
The seal knows the blood before it knows the face. Open it, Wing Rider.
Spanner Few steps to the lock unseen. His fingers find the cold metal, and the half-turned mechanism yields beneath his touch with a deep internal clunk.
The pharmacy door opens inward. Shelves of dusty medicine emerge in the red glow, along with a narrow service stair descending beneath the hospital and a breath of cold, dry air.
the crooked outline
The promise remembers the keeper, and the keeper opens the way.
Quest Complete
Expose what the pharmacy door is concealing