The wind slackens in the rocky hollow, and the quarry road lies quiet beyond the broken arch. Dust still sifts from the tower, but here the stone wall breaks the gusts into a soft hush.
Bren sinks onto a flat stone and eases her shoulders. She draws the map from her bracer, smoothing it across her knee with careful fingers.
Bren
For once, let the world stay still a moment.
She traces a route with one fingertip, then looks up at Kynes, her expression gentler than before.
Bren
When we dig up the house behind that tower, what do you think you find? A secret, a weapon, a name?
Kynes
The key in Kynes's hand is no longer a key. The road ahead is real.
Bren folds the map partway, leaving one corner open between them, as if inviting an answer and a shared next step.
“"house xar was but the dog on the leash." Smirking to himself." Either way, we'll find out who holds the leash."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +2)
Kynes
House Xar was just the dog on a leash.
Kynes lets the words hang there, a thin blade of contempt without raising his voice. His mouth tilts in the shadow of a smirk, and the transformed sword rests steady across his knees.
Bren
Then someone else is holding the leash.
Bren’s eyes narrow on the quarry road, not in fear, but in thought. She turns the map a little, letting its corner tap against her bracer.
Bren
That fits the mark we found. Xar did not cut those locks alone.
She lifts the map between them, exposing a charcoal sketch of a seal tucked under old folds. A small crest, half worn away, sits beside it, sharp enough to read in the dust-bright light.
Bren
I know that crest. One of the hill houses. Not Xar.
Bren looks back to Kynes, her face easing into a dry, private sort of amusement.
Bren
We can follow that thread at the cairn. If you still want to.
“Drawing in the magic in the area to replenish what was used from their escape. " Let's go lass."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Arcana, rolled -2)
Kynes draws a slow breath and lets the terrace answer him. The leftover charge in the broken stone, the arch, the old warding marks, all of it rises in a thin, silver hush and slides into his staff.
The air around his hands clears. Dust still drifts, but the strain in his posture eases as the magic settles back into him.
Kynes
Let's go, lass.
Bren
Good. I was hoping you would say that.
Bren folds the map once, then twice, tucking the marked corner where she can reach it fast.
Bren
The quarry road is open from here. The cairn sits beyond the bend.
She rises first and tilts her chin toward the broken arch, ready to move when Kynes does.
“Start down the path”
SUCCESS (Fair Agility, rolled +0)