DethStryder descends the bell tower, blood tracing her arm beneath the torn sleeve. Below, the town's alarm fades into scattered shutters and cautious footsteps.
She reaches the jail corridor, where the iron crosspiece still holds. The elderly jailer remains braced before it, listening toward the dark street beyond.
the jailer
Quiet now. I hear no boots, but silence can be another kind of warning.
Inside the cell, the traveling bard kneels beside the collapsed messenger. Her russet hair has fallen loose, and one hand still shields the bloodstained token.
the traveling bard
You are hurt. Come closer, if you can. The messenger stirs, and the token has shown us something new.
DethStryder
The dark sigil was invisible from the tower, but now it stains the token's surface like soot beneath glass.
The messenger's eyes flutter open behind the bars. The faint sigil pulses once, and a cold draft slips through the corridor though every shutter is closed.
✓ Quest Accepted
Learn what the dark sigil reveals about Skivesha's temple
“Learn what the sigil reveals”
SUCCESS (Great Reasoning, rolled +4)
DethStryder crouches beside the bars and angles the token toward the cold draft. Her glowing tattoos reflect across its soot-dark surface as she studies the sigil.
DethStryder
The sigil is a map, not a mark.
The black stain unfolds into fine silver lines: the town well, the northern burial road, and a concealed chamber beneath the old shrine. A tiny red point burns beneath the temple of Skivesha.
the traveling bard
There. The hidden chamber is their listening post. The token has shown us where their messages enter the town.
The messenger raises a shaking hand toward the token. Its underside opens along a hairline seam, revealing a thin iron key etched with the same sigil.
the messenger
Take the key. It opens the shrine's lower door, and the ward will mistake you for one of theirs.
the jailer
Then the town has more than a warning. It has a way beneath the enemy's feet.
Secure the iron key
Quest Complete
Learn what the dark sigil reveals about Skivesha's temple