The heartroot settles into a steady golden glow. Warm light washes over the hollow, the broken tether, and the Root-Stalker lying motionless nearby.
Greenleaves kneels before Amber Fiada Greenleaves and wraps the injured palm with crushed herbs and a clean strip of cloth. Her fingers are practiced, careful, and firm.
Greenleaves
Hold still. A wound closes better when it is not argued with.
Greenleaves
That mark was older than the creature. It belonged to a promise made beneath Quiet, when the roots still remembered every oath spoken over them.
Merrin rests one hand near the shattered tether, listening to the slow movement of sap and magic below. The hollow answers with a soft, living hum.
Merrin
The roots are calm. They know the promise has been broken, but they do not sound afraid.
Greenleaves
Rest now, child. There is time to understand what was promised, and what price was meant to be paid.
“Amber ask Greenleaves : " Grandmother tells my about the secret you hold about my parents. I barely remembrer my mother and I know she not dead but who is she and where she lives?"”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled -1)
Amber Fiada Greenleaves
Grandmother, you told me there was a secret about my parents. I barely remember my mother. I know she is not dead. Who is she, and where does she live?
Greenleaves's hands go still around the bandage. Beneath the hollow, the ancient pulse answers once, faintly, through the roots.
Greenleaves
Her name is Maelin. She lives in Old Town, beneath the eastern hospice, where she keeps the root-sick from dying alone.
Greenleaves
She left Quiet when you were small because the mark beneath this village began calling for her. Your father followed her trail, and neither of them could return without leading that call to you.
Greenleaves meets Amber's gaze at last. The guarded line of her shoulders breaks, and the truth settles between them without disguise.
Greenleaves
I promised your mother I would keep you hidden until you could choose what to do with the promise she carries. I should have trusted you with this sooner.
Greenleaves
She is alive, Amber. She has asked about you every year. If you go to Old Town, tell her I have finally kept my promise by telling you the truth.
✓ Quest Accepted
Uncover the ancient promise's meaning and price
✓ Quest Accepted
Find what lies beneath Quiet
“I study the rootway beneath the heartroot for a safe path into Quiet's depths.”
SUCCESS (Great Survival, rolled +1)
Amber turns from Greenleaves to the opened rootway and crouches at its edge. She studies the roots, the damp soil, and the faint golden pulse beneath them.
The passage is narrow, but stable. Its living walls bear no fresh breaks, and the old roots form natural handholds along a sloping descent.
Amber Fiada Greenleaves
The safest path follows the pale roots, not the deepest hollow.
Amber traces the route with two fingers, finding firm ground beneath the moss and a dry ledge where the passage bends toward Quiet's buried foundations.
Greenleaves
You found a way through. The roots will bear you safely to the old underways.
The ancient pulse answers from below, stronger now that its path is clear. Greenleaves steps aside from the rootway, leaving the descent open rather than choosing for Amber.
Greenleaves
I will follow if you go down, but I will not hide the cost again. Do you want to see what waits beneath Quiet?
“I ask Greenleaves to explain the cost first”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +0)
Amber Fiada Greenleaves
Explain the cost first.
Greenleaves lowers her raised hand. The golden pulse travels beneath the hollow, steady as a buried heartbeat, while she turns fully toward Amber.
Greenleaves
The promise was mine. I swore to keep the heartroot hidden and Quiet protected from what sleeps beneath it. In return, the roots carried the village's burdens through me.
Greenleaves
That carrying has a price. Each time the buried pulse wakes, it takes a memory I would otherwise keep. First, I lost the sound of your father's laugh. Then your mother's face became difficult to hold.
Greenleaves presses her fingers against her temple, but does not look away. The confession leaves the rootway open and the truth between them uncovered.
Greenleaves
I hid you from the promise because I thought ignorance would spare you. It only made the price mine to pay alone. If I descend again, the roots may claim what remains of my memories of you.
Behind Greenleaves, the pulse glimmers along the descending roots. Merrin remains silent beyond the edge of the moment, giving the truth room to settle.
Greenleaves
Now you know what the promise means, and what it costs. If you still enter, I will walk beside you, carrying no secret between us.
Quest Complete
Uncover the ancient promise's meaning and price
Skill Upgrade: Survival Great→Superb