The hall doors burst inward. Mara Venn stumbles across the threshold, one hand pressed to her side, then collapses against a pillar as the guards wheel toward her.
A bloodstained message tube hangs from her belt, its wax seal bearing the crest linked to the lost sword. The sellsword remains beside Midnight, while the local lord and his guards stay behind the throne.
Mara Venn
The road... I reached the old—
The spectral blade pulses blue within Midnight’s scabbard. Mara flinches, and the unfinished words die beneath a ringing note that trembles through the stone hall.
the sellsword
Do not force the tale from her. The relic bars the road’s name, or whatever waits at its end.
the local lord
Courier, whose seal is that? Give me the tube, and you may yet receive a healer.
Mara Venn
It is meant for the bearer. The sword chose her. I was told to find Midnight before the hunters did.
✓ Quest Accepted
Keep Mara Venn alive
“I move to support Mara and press a clean hand to her wound.”
FAILURE (Good Health, rolled -3)
Midnight crosses to Mara and catches her before she slips from the pillar. She presses a clean hand firmly to the wound, steadying the courier’s trembling weight.
The cloth darkens, but the wound gives no warmth beneath Midnight’s palm. Instead, a thread of blue light creeps from Mara’s side into the relic’s scabbard.
Mara Venn
No... not there. The blade’s mark is inside me. Your touch is waking it.
Mara’s knees buckle. Midnight keeps her from falling, but the attempt to staunch the wound fails as the spectral blade draws the bloodstained tube sharply against its belt.
the sellsword
Take the message tube, quickly. The relic is answering its seal, not the wound. Pressing harder will only bind them together.
The tube’s wax seal splits with a brittle crack. A narrow silver line extends from it to Midnight’s scabbard, while Mara gasps and grips the pillar.
Mara Venn
The road is hidden in the letter. If it opens fully, the hunters will know exactly where the sword has gone.
“I move to support Mara and press a clean hand to her wound.”
SUCCESS (Good Health, rolled +1)
The silver line tightens between the opened tube and Midnight’s scabbard. Blue light washes over Mara’s face, revealing faint branching marks beneath her skin.
Mara Venn
Then hear me, bearer. The letter names the road only when the blade accepts its blood.
the sellsword
Let the relic finish answering. Lord, keep your guards from that tube unless you wish to summon the hunters yourself.
Behind the throne, the local lord raises one hand, restraining the guards. His gaze fixes on the silver thread, and fear replaces his anger.
the local lord
If the hunters follow the seal, they will reach my lands first. Courier, tell us what waits at the road’s end.
Mara Venn
A gate beneath the ashwood. The lost sword was carried there, and something wearing a man’s voice guards it.
The message tube unfolds by itself. Ink crawls across the parchment in a fresh silver hand, while the scabbard gives a warning chime against Midnight’s hip.
“I ask the lord to secure the hall”
SUCCESS (Good Persuasion, rolled +3)
Midnight
My lord, secure this hall. Bar the doors, post guards at every entrance, and let no one touch the courier or the relic.
the local lord
You heard her. Bar the doors, seal the shutters, and station trusted men at every passage. No guard enters without my word.
The guards obey at once. Crossbars drop into place, shutters slam closed, and warding salt is scattered across the thresholds while the hall settles into guarded silence.
the sellsword
A wise command, bearer. If hunters are near, they will find stone and silence instead of an unguarded courier.
The local lord removes a heavy iron key from his belt and places it on the throne’s lowest step, surrendering control of the sealed hall to Midnight’s judgment.
Mara Venn
The wards will hide the seal’s trail for one night. That gives us time to read the road before the hunters can follow it.
The parchment’s silver ink steadies beneath the relic’s glow. A clear mark appears beside the ashwood gate, showing a concealed approach from the north wall.
Prevent the hunters from finding the lost sword
Quest Complete
Keep Mara Venn alive
Attribute Upgrade: Health Good→Great