A narrow stair descends beneath the sealed hall into a neglected archive. Dust veils ashwood maps, judgment ledgers, and relic records stacked beneath sagging shelves.
Midnight remains with Mara Venn, while the sellsword watches the stair and barred archive door. The local lord follows reluctantly, carrying an iron-bound chest.
Mara Venn
The mark is quiet now, but not healed. If Veyra reaches the ashwood gate first, she may wake it again.
the local lord
These records were sealed by my grandfather. My guards were never told this room existed, and they will remain ignorant.
He unlocks the chest and spreads brittle parchment across a table. The cracked scabbard gives faint blue light, revealing a map beneath the dust marked with three vanished roads.
the sellsword
There. The north approach is false. The true road bends beneath the old quarry, then rises beside the ashwood gate.
the local lord
If the judgment reaches that gate, my house will answer for every oath buried here.