Two weeks of uneasy quiet pass in Phandelver. Then the town square tightens like a drawn cord as a figure in shifting violet silks steps into the open, House Xar colors catching every scrap of light.
They hold out a scroll sealed with a lattice mark, not drawing steel, not hiding the threat in their posture. The crowd keeps its distance.
The Xar Envoy
I seek Kynes. The one who stole the archive's memory. Come claim your courtesy, or I will carry this insult home myself.
Kynes
House Xar has found the town.
Bren shifts near the edge of the square, ready and tense, while the envoy's silk ripples like spilled ink in a wind that does not touch anyone else.
The Xar Envoy
Do not mistake my patience for weakness. Read the seal, answer the summons, and spare your little refuge a louder lesson.
✓ Quest Accepted
Answer the House Xar envoy’s summons
✓ Quest Accepted
Keep Phandelver’s peace against House Xar interference
““Oh! A summons.” I take the scroll, inspect the seal very seriously, turn it upside down, inspect it again, and hand it back. “No.” I start walking away, stop, turn back. “Actually, terribly sorry. You traveled all this way.” I take the scroll again. “Would you like me to say no formally?””
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled -1)
Kynes takes the scroll with two fingers, studying the lattice seal as if it might confess something useful. He flips it once, then again, and the envoy’s polite mask tightens at the edges.
Kynes
No.
He turns away, takes three measured steps, then stops. The square holds its breath.
Kynes
Actually, terribly sorry. You traveled all this way.
Kynes takes the scroll back, looks at it a final time, and hands it toward the envoy with the calm of a man returning spoiled bread.
Kynes
Would you like me to say no formally?
The Xar Envoy
Your courtesy is thin, but noted. Very well, let the refusal be heard clearly. House Xar does not forget a public slight.
Bren
She watches Kynes’s restraint and lets out a slow breath, her shoulders easing by a fraction.
The envoy lowers the scroll, chin lifting in cool offense, while Bren’s hand leaves her weapon. The crowd does not relax, but the pressure in the square changes, from threat to warning.
Quest Complete
Answer the House Xar envoy’s summons