Every ledger slams shut at once. The black stone table splits along a hairline seam, and darkness opens beneath the register’s empty space.
Ordan
Maerith. You found Maerith’s name. Do not trust the singer, Valkir’s heir. She brought you here for Caelvar.
The voice rises from below, strained but clearly conscious. No face appears in the narrow darkness, only a faint chainlike chiming beneath the stone.
Ilyra
Lies from a buried tongue. Stand back, both of you. The seal must be closed before the Hall answers.
The Veiled Elven Singer reaches toward the table’s thorn-and-eye seal. Sella moves nearer to Verner, her rain-dark hair brushing her grey scarf.
Ordan
Caelvar already knows you found the register. He will come beneath the Hall, and she will give him the key.
Sella
Verner, listen carefully. The captive may be bait, but the singer is touching the only proof we have. Decide before that seal answers her.
✓ Quest Accepted
Escape the Hall’s trap
✓ Quest Accepted
Learn the captive’s connection to Maerith
“Can I free the captive before the Hall answers the seal?”
YES, BUT (Likely, rolled 53)
Before the singer’s fingers reach the seal, the black stone table convulses. Its split widens, and a chain of pale runes snaps apart in the darkness below.
Ordan
Now! The Hall has released one lock. Pull me clear before the seventh answer seals the rest!
The darkness heaves upward, spilling a gaunt elderly elf man into the chamber. Rusted chains hang broken from his wrists, and his ash-grey robes are marked with years of dust.
Ilyra
You have freed him, but the Hall heard the breaking. Caelvar will hear it too.
A bell tolls somewhere beneath the city, though no hand strikes it. The freed captive stumbles against the table, and the open register bursts into blue flame.
Ordan
I am Ordan, keeper of the payment rolls. Maerith lives, but Caelvar has sent her to erase every witness below.
Sella
Then the proof is burning, the Hall is answering, and our escape has become a race.
“*Verner turns to Stella* Who should we to trust?! *He asks her*”
SUCCESS (Superb Diplomacy, rolled +2)
Verner
Sella, who should we trust?
Sella meets Verner’s gaze beside the burning register. Her expression steadies, and she answers without glancing toward either the freed captive or the singer.
Sella
Trust Ordan about the payment rolls. He kept them, and Caelvar feared him enough to bury him. Trust the singer only about the Hall’s workings.
Sella
As for her purpose, I cannot swear it is clean. But the proof is real, and Ordan’s warning fits what we already know. We should hear both, then follow the evidence.
Ordan
Sella speaks plainly. I saw Caelvar’s payments with my own eyes, and I know where Maerith was sent.
Ilyra
And I will not deny my purpose. I brought Valkir’s heir here because only he could open the Hall and expose Caelvar’s hand.
The blue flame gutters across the register, preserving Caelvar’s seal in a bright line of ink. For this moment, Sella’s counsel gives Verner a clear measure: trust testimony where it can be checked, and no one beyond it.
Quest Complete
Learn the captive’s connection to Maerith
“*Verner follows Stella's instructions*”
SUCCESS (Good Willpower, rolled -1)
Verner steadies himself beside the black stone table and weighs each claim against what the Hall has already revealed: Caelvar’s seal, the payment rolls, and the captive’s knowledge.
Verner
The register confirms Ordan’s testimony. The singer’s knowledge confirms the Hall, not her motives.
He studies Ordan’s dust-caked robes, the preserved ink, and the singer’s reaching hand. The evidence separates their truths cleanly, though the effort leaves his composure taut.
Ordan
The payment rolls name the buyers and dates. I can lead you to the remaining records before the Hall burns them.
Ilyra
Then hear me as a guide, not an ally. Maerith was sent below the old magistrate’s vaults, where Caelvar hides what cannot be erased.
A faint tremor passes through Verner’s hand before he stills it. Sella notices the hesitation, but says nothing, allowing his judgment to stand.
Sella
Good. We have a keeper, a witness, and a guide. We trust each only where the evidence permits, then move before the fire takes the rest.
“Let's get out of here and find Martith!”
SUCCESS (Legendary Agility, rolled -2)
Verner
Let’s get out of here and find Maerith.
Verner takes the broken twin and leads them from the burning register. He slips through the Hall’s opening passage with Sella, Ordan, and the singer close behind.
Ordan
The old magistrate’s vaults lie beneath the eastern foundations. Maerith was sent there to erase the records and every witness tied to them.
The passage tilts sharply downward. Verner catches himself against carved stone, scraping his shoulder and tearing the already weakened seam of his red cloak, but he keeps the group moving.
Ilyra
There. The vault door is beyond the final arch. I can feel Maerith’s warding mark.
They emerge into the old magistrate’s vaults, where green fire burns in iron sconces above rows of sealed niches. A fresh silver sigil shines on the central door: Maerith’s mark.
Sella
We found her trail, Verner. And this time, it ends just beyond that door.
Quest Complete
Escape the Hall’s trap
Skill Upgrade: Diplomacy Superb→Legendary