Kynes remains alone inside the custody vault, holding the opened register beneath its oilcloth. Dust lies undisturbed across the shelves and stone table.
The pages contain ordinary records: names, dates, and brief statements of acceptance, refusal, or closure, each marked by a different hand.
Kynes
The register records choices, not inheritance.
Near the middle, one entry ends abruptly. The final line records a closure, but the mark beside it is unwitnessed, with a blank space reserved for confirmation.
The preceding statement names a custodian who refused continuation. No successor is listed, and no later hand explains whether the closure was accepted or contested.
Nothing stirs in the vault. The shelves remain still, the sealed records untouched, and the blank space waits beneath the unfinished mark.
✓ Quest Accepted
Establish whether the unwitnessed closure was accepted or contested
“I use a necromancy spell to touch the spirit who wrote the entry to being him back so I can question the writer.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Arcana, rolled -1)
Kynes lays two fingers on the unfinished entry and draws necromantic power through the ink. The vault grows colder, but the shelves and sealed records remain undisturbed.
A pale figure gathers above the page, formed from the writer’s preserved memory rather than flesh. The unwitnessed mark brightens as the spirit takes shape.
the unfinished entry's spirit
I hear the summons. I am Edran Vale, and I wrote the closure beneath this mark.
Kynes
The spirit is anchored to the entry, not the vault.
Edran Vale's spirit
The custodian refused continuation because the chain had begun demanding obedience. She chose closure freely, and I recorded her choice.
Edran Vale's spirit
The blank space was meant for a witness who could confirm that refusal without inheriting the burden. No successor was intended.
The spirit steadies beside the register, ready to answer further questions. Its presence leaves the physical page unchanged, preserving the evidence exactly as Kynes found it.
Quest Complete
Establish whether the unwitnessed closure was accepted or contested
“" I thank you for your response, may you rest" I tell the spirt”
Kynes
I thank you for your response. May you rest.
Edran Vale’s spirit inclines its pale head. The unfinished mark softens beneath Kynes’s fingers, and the vault’s cold begins to recede.
Edran Vale's spirit
Your thanks are witnessed, Kynes. I have no further burden to place upon you.
The spirit’s outline thins into the ink, returning to the preserved entry without disturbing the page. Its final expression is one of quiet relief.
Edran Vale's spirit
Let the closure remain what it was: a choice freely made, and not an invitation for another chain.
The last words fade, and the unwitnessed mark settles into still ink. The register remains open before Kynes, its evidence intact and its blank confirmation space undisturbed.
✓ Quest Accepted
Leave the custody vault
“I gather my evidence let sea of shadows envelope me and pass back through the vault door”
SUCCESS (Legendary Agility, rolled +0)
Kynes gathers the opened register, Ilyd’s loose page, and the foreman’s ledger, keeping each record together without disturbing the sealed shelves.
He folds the oilcloth around the register and secures the evidence against his side. The custody vault remains quiet, its ordinary dust and stone undisturbed.
Kynes
The evidence records refusal, not inheritance.
A sea of shadows rises around Kynes, enveloping his ashen form, white hair, and the gathered records in cold, soundless darkness.
He passes through the sealed vault door without opening it. The stone yields to his shadowed passage, and he emerges safely in the records passage beyond.
Bren
You are back. And you brought the register. That is enough for now, unless the vault gave you another reason to stay.
The shadows withdraw from Kynes, leaving the evidence secure in his grasp. Bren remains at the threshold, watching the records rather than reaching for them.
Quest Complete
Leave the custody vault
+ New Item Acquired
Custody register
+ New Item Acquired
Ilyd's loose page
“" I had to witness an ancestor, also I wasn't sure how you react to phasing through matter. You tell me my void step is like a heavy drag on you. I don't know how you will react to going through a solid." I pause " how's the kids?"”
Kynes
I had to witness an ancestor. I was not sure how you would react to my phasing through solid matter. Your void step feels like a heavy drag on you, and I did not know what this would do.
Bren studies him in the records passage, her gaze moving over the gathered register and ledger before returning to his face. The vault remains quiet behind him.
Bren
It was heavier than your usual step, but it did not harm me. I felt the stone resist, then yield. I would have told you if the passage became unsafe.
Kynes
I pause. How are the kids?
Bren
Well, as far as I know. The Hall has kept them occupied, and Slaan has apparently decided that supervision is an arcane discipline. No one has set anything on fire.
A faint warmth reaches Bren’s expression as she glances toward the stair. Behind her, the others remain at their posts, and the restrained prisoners stay silent beneath watch.
Bren
You witnessed what you needed, brought back the evidence, and came through safely. We can explain the rest together, when you are ready.