The front door bursts inward. Splinters skid across the boards as a robed man steps through the wreckage, unhurried, and the shop’s hum dies at once. The floor sigil flares white beneath Atsela and Hendrick, bright enough to wash the shelves in silver.
Hendrick goes rigid, one hand half-raised toward the lute, his face draining of color. He stares at the newcomer as if he has seen a ghost walk out of ink.
Kaelen
You keep poor locks, Hendrick. And you make very loud mistakes.
Kaelen’s ink-stained fingers lift, not in threat but in ownership, and his cold gaze flicks once to Atsela, measuring her, then back to Hendrick. The containment circle keeps burning, hard and clean, as if it has found its rightful hinge.
Hendrick
Kaelen. I did not call you.
Kaelen
No. You only woke what was mine. Step away from the seal, both of you. I would rather collect it intact.
The room holds in a brittle stillness, with the shattered door behind Kaelen and the white-lit circle between all three of them.
✓ Quest Accepted
Escape the shop
✓ Quest Accepted
Learn why Kaelen came
“Has Kaelen come to take the Lute?”
YES (VeryLikely, rolled 32)
Atsela
He is not looking at the sigil or the shop. His eyes are locked entirely on the lute.
Kaelen
The instrument is a masterwork of containment, Hendrick. It would be a shame to let a novice break the strings before I can claim it.