The black radiance condenses beneath the crack, thick as ink trapped in glass. Stone buckles upward, and the inn’s floorboards burst apart around a widening rupture.
The unconscious charlatan priest slides toward the opening, his crimson robes catching on splintered boards. Villagers shove toward the doors, abandoning tables and scattered lanterns.
the villagers
The floor is breaking! Get outside! Leave the priest! Leave the elf!
Something enormous presses from below. A ridge of dark stone rises through the breach, shedding cold vapour, while unseen weight groans against the inn’s foundations.
the charlatan priest
It wakes beneath her light. The vessel must not falter.
Santrini’s moon-bright sword burns in her hand, its silver radiance spreading across the ruptured floor. The upward pressure slows, but the blade cannot seal the breach.
the villagers
Elf, do something! It is coming through!
✓ Quest Accepted
Contain the breach long enough for the villagers to escape
“I step back as the tendrils pull the priest down, consuming him.”
SUCCESS (Good Agility, rolled -1)
Santrini steps back from the ruptured floor as black tendrils uncoil through the splintered boards. They seize the charlatan priest’s crimson robes and drag him toward the breach.
The priest claws at the floor, but the tendrils pull him beneath the rising stone. His final cry vanishes into the cold vapour, and the rupture closes over him without blood or echo.
Santrini clears the tendrils’ reach, though a jagged board catches her palm. Her summoned sword flickers, and fresh blood beads beneath the hilt where its magic grips her.
Santrini
The priest is gone. The darkness remains beneath the inn.
the villagers
The priest is taken! The elf drove it back, but she cannot hold it forever!
The ridge of dark stone settles below the floor’s broken rim. Silver light still bars the breach, but deep below, something vast shifts with a patient, grinding weight.
the villagers
Outside, all of you! Clear the inn before the whole foundation falls!
“I cast find a familiar spell. Bringing a raven forth onto my arm. I then cast a light spell into the chasm and descend into it.”
SUCCESS (Good Magic, rolled +0)
Santrini raises her blood-marked hand and traces the familiar’s sigil. Violet sparks gather, then fold into a raven perched upon her forearm, its feathers black with blue sheen.
The raven fixes one bright eye on the chasm. Santrini breathes a second spell into the darkness, and a small white orb descends beneath her outstretched hand.
the raven
The cold below has a voice.
The light reveals ancient stone steps spiraling beneath the inn, slick with silver frost. Their edges bear elven characters older than any village memory.
the villagers
She is going down there? Elf, leave the buried thing below and save yourself!
Santrini steps onto the revealed stair. Her moon-bright sword dims to a guarded glow, while the raven grips her sleeve and the familiar bond drains a sharp pulse of strength from her.
She descends into the chasm, carrying the raven and the floating light with her. Above, the villagers retreat into the open air as the ruined inn groans, and below, vast stone chambers receive her in cold silence.
Prevent the awakening evil from reaching the village
Quest Complete
Discover what lies beneath the inn
Attribute Upgrade: Agility Good→Great
Quest Complete
Contain the breach long enough for the villagers to escape
Attribute Upgrade: Agility Great→Superb