Mara steps in close to the pedestal, trembling but intent, one hand lifted toward the locket in Kynes's grip. The silver script beneath the seam burns brighter, and the floor sigil answers with a low red pulse.
Mara
Don't just hold it. The seal needs more than blood to close it.
Mara
If he understands this now, there may still be time.
Bren shifts beside Kynes, blade angled low, her wary stare fixed on Mara's shaking hands. Behind them, the dead lie still while the chamber's red glow gathers at the pedestal seam.
Mara
The locket is a key, not the answer. Close it wrong, and the path stays open.
The magic in the room tightens like a held breath. Kynes stands at the edge of the flare, locket in hand, while Mara waits for his next move.
✓ Quest Accepted
Close the pedestal seal
✓ Quest Accepted
Learn what Mara knows about the pedestal
“I press the locket into the pedestal seam as Mara instructed.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Arcana, rolled +3)
Kynes presses the silver locket into the glowing seam. The pedestal answers at once, swallowing the metal with a clean click of light.
Red runes race across the split stone, then fold inward. The floor sigil dims as the chamber gives a low, satisfied hum.
Mara
It takes the shape, then the key. That is what the old wards wanted.
A thin shard of silver script lifts from the seam and settles onto the locket in Kynes's palm, as if marking it for him.
Bren
There. It is taking. Do not let go yet.
The glow in the pedestal narrows to a single red thread, then vanishes. Nezznar jerks once in the stasis field, still furious, still trapped.
Mara
The seal is closed. But the chamber has heard us now, and it knows who touched the lock.
Dust settles over the dead bodies and the softened sigil. Mara turns toward Kynes, unsettled, while Bren watches the dark pedestal for whatever answers next.
Quest Complete
Close the pedestal seal