At dusk, Santrini reaches the village inn as frightened patrons press against its walls. A charlatan priest, a gaunt middle-aged man in tarnished crimson robes, stands atop a table, one hand raised.
the charlatan priest
Behold! The demigod has returned, and its chosen vessel stands among you!
Black veins of light spread beneath his boots, threading through the floorboards like roots beneath winter soil. Tankards tremble, and several villagers point toward Santrini.
the villagers
You brought this upon us! Priest, explain yourself! What is beneath the inn?
the charlatan priest
Do not blame the herald! Blame the one marked by moonlight. She carries the sign of awakening.
Santrini
The light is moving against the grain of the wood.
A vast knock sounds from below, once, then again. Dust sifts from the rafters, the hearthfire gutters blue, and every voice in the inn falls silent.
✓ Quest Accepted
Keep the awakening evil from breaking into the inn
✓ Quest Accepted
Discover what lies beneath the inn
“I use my arcane power to manifest a sword in my hand. "The moonlight carries me and my courage." "Your heretical words bring nothing but fear to this village."”
SUCCESS (Good Magic, rolled +1)
Silver-violet radiance gathers around Santrini’s empty hand. It lengthens into a slender elven sword, its moon-bright edge humming as the blade settles perfectly into her grasp.
Santrini
The moonlight carries me and my courage.
Santrini
Your heretical words bring nothing but fear to this village.
the charlatan priest
Her blade confirms it! The marked vessel unveils the weapon of awakening before us.
The black radiance recoils from the sword’s presence, pulling tight between the floorboards. The hearthfire flashes silver, and the villagers’ accusations falter into uneasy silence.
the villagers
Then what is she, priest? Why does the darkness answer her?
the charlatan priest
Because the ancient power knows its vessel. Stand aside, elf, and let the buried demigod rise.
“Your false god does not scare me. Mystra will guide my hand.”
SUCCESS (Fair Willpower, rolled -1)
Santrini
Your false god does not scare me. Mystra will guide my hand.
Santrini’s moon-bright sword answers with a clear, ringing note. Silver radiance pours along its edge, and the black veins retreat from the boards beneath her feet.
the charlatan priest
Silence! You invoke a name that cannot shield you from what sleeps below.
The blade’s light strikes the priest’s crimson robes. Their tarnished symbols flare, then split with a sharp crack. The priest staggers, dropping to one knee as the table groans beneath him.
the villagers
The darkness is fleeing her! The priest’s signs are breaking!
A burst of cold passes through the inn, extinguishing every candle and leaving only Santrini’s sword to illuminate the frightened faces. The cost arrives as a thin line of blood beneath her palm, where the summoned hilt bites her skin.
the charlatan priest
You have turned its gaze aside, elf, but now it knows you as its enemy.
“I strike down the priest. "Do not let the threats of the heretic fool you." I tell the patrons of the tavern.”
SUCCESS (Good Melee Weapons, rolled +0)
Santrini moves through the blue darkness with controlled grace. Her moon-bright blade arcs once, striking the charlatan priest and casting him from the groaning table onto the floor.
Santrini
Do not let the threats of the heretic fool you.
The priest’s broken symbols gutter out. He lies stunned beside the table, his crimson robes dark against the floorboards, while the black radiance shrinks beneath the inn.
the villagers
She struck him down, but the darkness obeyed her! Is this deliverance, or another kind of doom?
Several patrons lower their raised hands and edge away from the priest. Others turn toward Santrini, their faces silvered by the swordlight, fear yielding to uncertain attention.
the charlatan priest
Fools... her warning serves the buried power. It has chosen its champion.
Below the floor, something answers with a deep, muffled pulse. The remaining black veins withdraw into a single crack beneath the priest, leaving the inn silent around Santrini.