The Hall of Welcome still smells faintly of smoke and hot iron. In the lower hearth, the temperamental pot gives a stubborn hiss, as if offended by being noticed at all. Kynes and Bren stand near it, trying to judge whether it is cursed, spoiled, or merely rude.
Then the front entrance swings wide. Cold daylight spills across the floor, and Slaan strides in with bright, searching eyes, taking in the hall’s new honesty in one quick sweep.
Slaan
Well. This is cleaner than I expected. No hungry pressure, no little tricks in the walls. Someone finally taught the place manners.
She spots the pot, tilts her head, and grins like the problem has become interesting instead of alarming. Her fingers twitch once, already reaching for a spell she has not yet decided to cast.
Slaan
Is that thing grumbling at you, or are you grumbling at it? Either way, I can help. If it wants to be difficult, I am very good at being worse.
Bren shifts beside Kynes, watching Slaan with wary relief. The room feels lighter for her presence, as if the Hall recognizes a mind sharp enough to speak its language without taking over.
✓ Quest Accepted
Decide whether to let Slaan help with the temperamental pot
“I point to the other room with nhal. "Your girlfriend is that way "”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled +1)
Kynes lifts a hand and points past the hearth, toward the other room where Nhal is waiting. The gesture is small, deliberate, and final enough to carry the joke without forcing it.
Kynes
Your girlfriend is that way.
Slaan blinks, then lets out a short laugh that softens her whole posture. Her eyes flick from Kynes to the hallway, amused more than offended.
Slaan
If she is, she has excellent taste in trouble. I will try not to break anything before she sees me.
Bren’s shoulders ease a fraction. The custody line in the floor stays faint and honest, while the pot continues its rude little hiss.
Bren
Go on, then. If you two are going to meet properly, better to do it before the pot decides it hates all of us.
Slaan angles toward the other room, grinning as if invited by the hall itself. Kynes’s point has done its work, and the choice now hangs in the air, whether to let that restless curiosity settle into the house or keep it at the threshold.
“I telekineticlly move the pot to where it needs to go.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Arcana, rolled -2)
Kynes lifts his staff and traces a tight arc in the air. The temperamental pot shivers, then slides off its rude spot by the hearth as if an unseen hand has taken it by the handle.
It settles where the warmth is steadier, farther from the draft and the argument of the smoke. A thread of white steam breathes out, calmer than before.
Bren
That is better. Much better.
Slaan
Oh, that was elegant. Very little fuss, which I respect.
The effort costs Kynes a sharp sting behind the eyes, and the hall answers with a faint crackle in the custody line underfoot.
Bren glances from the pot to Slaan, then back to Kynes, her expression easing into guarded approval.
Bren
If she stays, she should know the house before she starts helping it.
Slaan stops at the doorway, smiling toward the hearth, waiting on Kynes's choice.
Quest Complete
Decide whether to let Slaan help with the temperamental pot
New Gift: Culinary Arcane Harmonizer