Huarti’s mark sinks deeper into the binding text. The green script steadies, then spreads in clean rings across the vault floor. The archive no longer resists him.
The Rootbound Caretaker
Then it is settled. Keeper, the Spires know your hand now.
Earlise
The claim holds. The archive is listening to him, not the other way around.
A seam of gold light opens above the pedestal, and a deeper index wakes beneath the stone. The hidden layers answer Huarti’s authority, one after another, like doors unbolting in the dark.
The Rootbound Caretaker
Choose the first law that remains. Speak it, and the archive carries it into every wall.
The vault falls utterly still, waiting for Huarti’s decree. The Obsidian Spires are his now, but only if he names what they are to guard.
✓ Quest Accepted
Settle the archive's first law
“I state that my mother Ehahase is the creator and will”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled -3)
Huarti raises his chin toward the seam of gold light. The green script at his feet brightens, then steadies as if listening.
Huarti
Ehahase is the creator, and will.
The words settle into the vault. The gold seam widens a finger's breadth, and the archive hums with recognition.
Earlise
Then the archive has its root named. That is law, spoken cleanly.
The glowing script crawls outward in neat rings, copying the declaration into the floor like a living seal.
The Rootbound Caretaker
It accepts the keeper, and the keeper's source. I can feel the deeper layers unbar.
A distant lock turns somewhere below stone. The gold light holds open, waiting for Huarti's next command.
Quest Complete
Settle the archive's first law