Nogandar crouches upon the high, jagged ledge. Below, the Archive Keeper is a still shadow against the stone, abandoned in a magically induced slumber.
Nogandar
The bait is set. Let us see if the Queen's puppets truly care for their captive or merely his secrets.
The Spider-Masked Cultist
Look. The scholar lies broken in the dust. The Queen demands the knowledge within his mind, not his corpse.
The Spider-Masked Cultist
Careful, Kaelthas. The air tastes of burning ozone. Something killed the scouts here.
Nogandar
They are within reach. I will let them drag the fool closer to their den, then I shall dismantle them both.
The cultist named Kaelthas grips the Archive Keeper by his robes, dragging him toward the cavern's dark maw, his eyes darting nervously toward the shadows where Nogandar waits.
+ Scene Quest Added
Rescue the Archive Keeper
“I cast an old discrete tracking spell on them so i can follow out of sight”
SUCCESS (Legendary Arcana, rolled +0)
Nogandar
The scent of their fear is intoxicating, but I must remain patient. Tracking magic is a whisper that outlasts the wind.
Nogandar traces an ancient rune in the air. A faint, violet shimmer clings to the hem of the cultist's robes like a leech, unseen by the mortal eye.
Kaelthas
Stop shivering, you fool. We are nearly inside the shroud of the cavern. The Queen will reward us for bringing this sack of parchment alive.
The Spider-Masked Cultist
I feel watched, Kaelthas. The shadows here are too thick, too heavy. Something gargantuan moves in the dark.
Nogandar
Run then. Lead me to the heart of your hive, and I will tear the spider's influence out by the roots.
The pair vanishes into the cavern maw, their boots grinding against loose slate. The tracking spell pulses softly, a guiding star in the gloom.
+ Story Quest Added
Infiltrate the spider queen's hive
“I folow them from afar”
SUCCESS (Great Stealth, rolled +0)
Nogandar
They think they are safe in the throat of the beast. They do not realize the beast is already hunting them.
Nogandar moves like a landslide of silent stone, his massive frame shifting effortlessly through the jagged vertical crags above the cavern entrance.
Kaelthas
Keep moving. The air here tastes like ozone and rot. We are being hunted, I can smell the ancient dust on the wind.
The Spider-Masked Cultist
If it follows us into the inner sanctum, the Queen's weavers will make a trophy of its hide.
Nogandar
Let them boast. I am the shadow that does not retreat.
Nogandar drops from the ceiling, landing with a calculated, heavy thud just inches behind the trailing cultist, his claws gouging deep grooves into the stone floor.
“I use gargoyal paralizing gaze on all 3”
SUCCESS (Legendary Arcana, rolled -1)
Nogandar
The foolish spiders believe their webs offer sanctuary. They will find only my gaze.
Nogandar arches his neck, his eyes beginning to burn with a sickly, ethereal violet luminescence that cuts through the cavern shadows.
Nogandar
Your Queen offers no shelter from the vengeance of Pooril.
Kaelthas
What is that light? My limbs... they are turning to lead!
The Spider-Masked Cultist
I cannot move. I cannot even blink. Death has found me in the dark.
The two cultists and the unconscious Archive Keeper freeze mid stride, their muscles locked in a rigid, magical paralysis as Nogandar steps fully into the dim light.
Quest Complete
Rescue the Archive Keeper
New Gift: Archive Lore Mastery