The frost at the hollow mouth crumbles again, just as before. The Nomad Envoy steps into view with the scroll held tight, her eyes fixed past the bound scouts and onto Huarti.
Nomad Envoy
The bargain is ready. But I need to know what becomes of Veyra.
Huarti stands over the opened seal while the hollow breathes out cold around his feet. Beyond the scouts, Hollow Matron Veyra hangs in his spell, finally cornered by the path she tried to guard.
Hollow Matron Veyra
If you mean to end me, do it plainly. If you mean to bind me, say that too.
The choice closes like a door. Huarti answers the question the hollow has been asking since the first ward cracked, and the matron is taken out of the hollow's power, no longer a threat to the brood or the path.
Nomad Envoy
So that is the price. The hollow keeps its new master, and the matron is gone.
The scouts go still. The envoy lowers the scroll a fraction, reading the silence as agreement, while the broken seal and the cold passage behind Huarti remain open, waiting for his terms.
“I ask if they will ally now”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled -2)
The envoy does not speak at once. She tightens her grip on the scroll, then lowers her chin in a careful, public kind of honesty.
Nomad Envoy
If we kneel, we do not want chains. We want a pact that keeps our people alive.
The scouts trade quick looks, then one of them shifts their bound hands against the red thread, as if testing whether fear still owns them.
The Bound Scouts
We will stand with the hollow, if that means we are not left to the dark.
Hollow Matron Veyra
The hollow survives by choosing the strongest tide. So this is how it turns.
The envoy steps half a pace closer and offers the scroll across the broken seal, not as tribute, but as terms.
Nomad Envoy
Then take us in. Let the nomads be allies, not prey.
Quest Complete
Claim the allegiance of the nomads
New Gift: Nomad Pact-Bond