The tracks climb through stony northern hills beneath a paling sky. Erin follows close behind Verner, while Waterdeep and Captain Maelin’s archive lie far behind them with Joren Pell guarding the secured records.
Broken walls emerge around the ridge, their stones silvered by frost. Pale mortar dust lies across the approach, matching the fleck caught beneath the stolen watch seal.
Erin
The riders came here, and the injured horse entered the ruins. If the wayhouse keeper is alive, they may have been driven below.
Near the collapsed entrance, hoofprints vanish beneath fallen masonry. Beside them, a half-buried stair descends into darkness, its worn stones marked by recent mud.
Erin
The road above is exposed. Whoever removed the marker wanted pursuit drawn toward this place, but the real path may lie beneath it.
A faint scrape echoes from below, followed by the soft clink of tack. The ruined wayhouse holds its silence around that sound, while the horse’s trail continues down the buried stair.
Erin
I hear movement beneath us. Tell me whether we descend together or search the broken walls first.
“I descend the buried stair with Erin”
SUCCESS (Legendary Agility, rolled -1)
Verner descends the buried stair with Erin, placing each boot carefully on the mud-marked stones. The faint clink below grows clearer, joined by the horse’s restrained breathing.
Erin
The passage holds. No fresh collapse, no ward-light. Stay close, and we will meet whoever is below together.
The stair opens into a low chamber beneath the ruins. A lame bay horse stands tethered beside broken pillars, while a middle-aged man in a torn watch cloak lies bound near the far wall.
The Wayhouse Keeper
If you bear Maelin’s order, show it quickly. The riders took my marker and left me here when I refused to name the witness.
Behind him, a narrow tunnel slopes north beneath the foundations. Damp tracks lead into it, and a dropped watch badge rests in the dust beside the keeper’s bindings.
Erin
The witness was moved through that tunnel. We found the keeper alive, and the trail remains open.
Protect the surviving witness from the hunters
Free the wayhouse keeper
Quest Complete
Reach the ruined wayhouse
Attribute Upgrade: Perception Great→Superb