The violet map flares brighter, and the archive answers. The projected silhouette tightens, no longer a horror, but a waiting shape pinned behind invisible bars. Kynes feels the staff hum in his palm, matching the old rhythm under the floor.
Walter
At last. You hear me clearly, surface mage. Will you keep the lock, or break it?
Bren
Kynes, do not trust it blindly. If that seal fails, whatever is below may not stay below.
The symbols on the wall rearrange themselves into two stark paths. One traces the same binding pattern as the tower's old seals. The other splits open like a descending wound, leading deeper into the dark.
Walter
Bind me, and the breach remains barred. Release me, and I may turn upon what holds me here.
Cold air drifts up through the floor cracks as the choice settles into the room. If Kynes binds the Warden, he preserves the tower's last seal. If he releases it, he opens the path below and risks the void flooding upward.
+ Story Quest Added
Descend into the hidden shaft
+ Scene Quest Added
Parley with the entity
“Is this thing an evil entity?”
YES (VeryLikely, rolled 78)
Kynes
The resonance is not just a lock. It is a cage for something that hungers for the world above.
Walter
You sense the truth, mage. My nature is the void, and my existence is the end of all you hold dear.
“" then why would I unbind you. Even if you grant me all that I covet, I , a meer mortal. You would just either wait out my life span or engineer my demise...savvy." I cock my head slightly" so what says you?"”
SUCCESS (Good Willpower, rolled +0)
Walter
Because binding is not obedience. It is a bargain. I keep the seal, and you keep your world intact.
Walter
Unbind me, and I do not promise mercy. I promise honesty. A prison weakens with every century, mage.
The violet sigil steadies. The dark aura draws back from the stone, as if the chamber itself is listening.
Bren
He is still choosing his words. That worries me more than shouting would.
Kynes tilts his head, staff held low, and the projection holds its shape instead of lunging or cracking.
Walter
Savvy, yes. Mortal, yes. And mortal things are brief, but they are not always small.
Bren
Then speak plainly. If you want release, what do you offer him that this tower cannot?
Quest Complete
Parley with the entity