The inn settles into a low, busy hush. Firelight licks over the hearth, where the beast’s carcass turns slowly on the spit, and the smell of smoke begins to chase the worst of the mud from the room.
Robby the Gobby works near the hearth while Semi keeps the roast steady. The Innkeep lingers by the table, coins still spread before him, watching the door more than the fire.
Seryth Kade
That ichor, it is wrong in the same way those contracts are wrong. Old magic leaves a shape. This leaves a debt.
The Innkeep
I only know it leaves a stink. If it keeps to the moor, I am content not to learn more.
Semi
Then let him talk, and let the meat cook. We have the proof. That is enough for one night.
Seryth’s gaze shifts to the fire, then to the blackened hide, as if he is measuring the shape of a memory against the shape of a wound. The Innkeep exhales at last, shoulders easing by a fraction. For a moment, the room holds still, warm and almost comfortable, waiting to see who speaks next.
✓ Quest Accepted
Win Seryth Kade’s trust
✓ Quest Accepted
Learn why the ichor is wrong
“I finish barbequing the beast and serving it to the three”
SUCCESS (Fair Crafting, rolled +0)
Robby turns the spit, then slides the roast free with steady hands. Fat hisses onto the coals, and he starts carving thin, smoky slices onto a wooden board.
He serves the first cuts to Semi, then the Innkeep, then Seryth, setting each portion out with care. The platter costs him the last clean cloth, now stained dark with grease.
Semi
Smells better than the moor ever did. You make a hunt worth remembering, Robby.
The Innkeep
Aye. That is honest work. Better than mourning a beast that came spoiling for trouble.
Seryth Kade
And better than ignoring a pattern until it becomes a curse. This meat is plain, but the thing that bled on it was not.
Seryth Kade
If you want to hear it, I can tell you what the contracts say about debts that travel in flesh.
The room quiets around the offer, warm with roast and smoke, while the ancient papers rest open beside Seryth's hand.
“Yeah sure go ahead I say as I take a bite of my meal”
FAILURE (Mediocre Persuasion, rolled -2)
Robby the Gobby
Yeah, sure. Go ahead.
Robby takes a bite of the hot meat, then keeps chewing while he glances toward Seryth, inviting him to speak.
Seryth Kade
Heh. Brave of you to ask while you are eating.
Seryth Kade
The contracts speak of obligations that cling to blood, to witness, to spoil. Not curses, exactly. More like debts that learn how to travel.
The Innkeep
That is a cheerful sort of nightmare.
Seryth Kade
This ichor does not behave like simple gore. It carries a rule with it. That is why I wanted your proof, and your account, not just the carcass.
Seryth nudges the open pages closer, but his eyes stay on Robby, weighing whether the goblin is listening or merely feeding.