The audience chamber falls silent as Glenn Magpie arrives. Before the throne lie a scorched scale and a bloodied family crest, while an elderly man in ash-streaked brown robes grips the altar’s edge.
The Village Elder
At the village boundary, Majesty. I saw the dragon’s shadow cross the wheat fields. The cursed line is marked, and one of its blood will die before dawn.
The crowned king, a middle-aged man with warm brown skin and a square, scarred face,, a broad-shouldered man with silver at his temples and a dark blue mantle, studies the relics without touching them. Behind him, courtiers murmur and soldiers shift uneasily.
The Crowned King
You call for soldiers on a sighting and a bloodstained emblem. Certainty first. Name the beast, prove the mark, and tell me why your village still stands.
Court
Send scouts, not regiments. Let the old tale be tested before the crown bleeds for it.
The Village Elder
There is no time for testing! Listen to the doors. Pursuit followed us, and the marked one is already inside this chamber.
Every gaze turns toward the bronze chamber doors. Beyond them comes a faint scrape, then a single heavy breath, while the scorched scale gives off a thread of cold blue smoke.
✓ Quest Accepted
Secure the village elder as a living witness
✓ Quest Accepted
Identify the dragon stalking the village
“What is this cursed line you speak of and how does it relate to the dragon elder?”
FAILURE (Good Diplomacy, rolled -2)
Glenn Magpie
What is this cursed line you speak of, and how does it relate to the dragon?
The Village Elder
It is a blood-sign, Majesty, carried through one family and awakened when the dragon’s shadow crosses it. But do not mistake that for kinship. I cannot name the marked one while the doors are listening.
The elder’s fingers tighten on the altar. The scorched scale exhales blue smoke again, and a thin luminous line briefly appears across the bloodied crest.
The Crowned King
You claim the dragon awakens the curse, yet you cannot identify its bearer. That is not an answer.
The Village Elder
No. It is a warning, not an answer. Read the line against the scale, and it will show which blood the dragon has chosen to pursue.
Around the chamber, the Court falls silent. The glowing mark fades from the crest, leaving a faint blue trail that points toward the bronze doors.
Glenn Magpie
The scale and crest can be tested together.
“The line leads through the doors *Glenn wishes to study where the line leads*”
SUCCESS (Legendary Magic, rolled +1)
Glenn Magpie studies the luminous trail without touching it. His runic tattoos answer in silence, and the line clarifies into a thread of blue fire that passes through the bronze doors.
The doors groan open beneath no visible hand. Beyond them, the thread crosses the entrance gallery, descends the northern stair, and ends at the palace’s sealed undercroft.
The Village Elder
The undercroft? Then the old blood was carried beneath the throne, not brought here by chance.
The blue thread remains steady, its far end pulsing below the palace stones. It does not waver toward the village, the court, or the open sky.
The Crowned King
You have found its destination. What lies beneath my throne that could draw Veyrath’s pursuit?
The Court shifts as one, boots whispering over stone. The crest’s blood-dark surface dims, while the scale turns toward the stair like a compass needle.
The Village Elder
A buried witness, Majesty. If the line has chosen the undercroft, then the marked blood is waiting below.
“You, Elder, are to follow me if the king gives permission I wish to have him witness what i see buried underneath.”
SUCCESS (Good Diplomacy, rolled -1)
Glenn Magpie
Majesty, grant me leave to descend. I ask the elder to follow and witness what lies buried beneath your throne.
The Crowned King
Granted. The elder goes with you, and you will answer for every seal disturbed below. I will owe you no second indulgence if this proves deception.
The permission settles over the chamber like a drawn blade. Several courtiers recoil from the stair, while the blue thread pulses beneath the flagstones.
The Village Elder
I will witness it, Majesty. If the buried blood speaks, my eyes will not look away.
The elder leaves the altar and joins Glenn at the stair, clutching the bloodied crest. Behind them, the Court gathers at a wary distance, forbidden to follow.
The Crowned King
Bring me truth, not a spectacle. The elder’s testimony will stand beside yours when this chamber judges what you find.
The bronze doors remain open behind Glenn and the village elder. Ahead, the northern stair descends into darkness, and the blue fire leads them below the throne.
Quest Complete
Secure the village elder as a living witness
Skill Upgrade: Diplomacy Good→Great