The party leaves Macedoriak’s outer road in haste, reaching the collapsed king’s walk before night fully closes. Dry irrigation channels cut through strangled vines and fallen royal stones.
The narrow path descends between broken walls toward the old gardens. Lillia keeps her journal open beneath the fading sky, following its lone clue about a garden where nothing grows.
Lillia Rhen
The route should bend here. Look for a weathered stone, probably marked with the split-crown seal.
Marcus clears thorny vines from a fallen marker while Siegfried tests the loose stones underfoot. Mikka watches the darkening path, staying close to the group.
Beyond the marker, a weathered stone bears half of the split-crown seal, its lower edge buried in dust. Fresh footprints cross beside it, leading deeper into the ruined gardens.
Lillia Rhen
These tracks are recent. Someone found the seal before us, and they continued along the garden path.
Marcus Rhen
Then we stop here long enough to read the ground. Whoever passed through may have left more than footprints.
Director's note
Footprints are seen leaving the safety of the city and going beyond a wide river
Director's note
At the edge of said river, lies another stone with a crudely shaped crown, likely recently drawn
“I inspect the fresh footprints for clues”
SUCCESS (Fair Perception, rolled +1)
Issac crouches beside the freshest impressions, keeping his hands above the damp soil. The prints belong to two travelers, one heavier and carrying a long object at the hip.
Issac Rivendohr
They crossed recently, before the ground dried, and both continued beyond the river.
The deeper footprints angle away from the garden path rather than toward its ruined center. Faint water marks show where the pair descended the riverbank and crossed.
Lillia Rhen
Good catch. They did not wander through the garden. They used this marker to find the river, then went beyond it.
Following the impressions, Issac finds a second trail of disturbed mud at the wide river’s edge. A flat stone bears a crude crown scratched recently into its surface.
Marcus Rhen
That crown was made after the old marker weathered. Whoever left these signs wanted someone else to follow, and they expected pursuit.
Lillia Rhen
The tracks continue on the far bank. We have a direction now, but crossing after dark will require care.
Director's note
The trail leads deep into wide plains, with only scattered rock formations and grazing passive animals idly roaming
Director's note
Siegfried and Mikka are setting up a crude camp, as we settle in for the night
“I say, "lets pick up this search in the morning"”
SUCCESS (Mediocre Persuasion, rolled +2)
Issac Rivendohr
Let’s pick up this search in the morning.
The proposal settles over the wide plains. Behind them, the river fades into dusk, while scattered rock formations gather long shadows around the quiet grazing animals.
Siegfried Taloss
All right. I’ll support that, but we keep watch in turns. We are trusting a trail that plainly expects pursuit.
Siegfried and Mikka gather dry grass and fallen branches, shaping a crude camp between two low stones. Their work gives the group shelter, though the search must wait until daylight.
Mikka Rosethorn
Morning, then. But you owe us the first watch, Issac. Your choice means we all rely on you to notice anything approaching.
Marcus Rhen
He has made the cautious choice, but the responsibility now rests visibly on him.
The campfire catches, small and steady. Lillia closes her journal beside her pack, while the crude crown and the distant trail disappear beneath the deepening night.
Director's note
I drag a stone from the nearby river and set it near the camp while the other sleep
Director's note
Lillia approaches me
Director's note
I give a curt nod
Director's note
Issac and Lillia continue conversation for a few minutes
“"Don't let the tone in their voices get to you, Issac." A long sigh follows as she continued, "My idiot of a brother and the muscle for brains have of a habit of rushing into missions without caution. "No, t-they seem nice. I just never had to speak this much. Didn't have m-many... 'friends' back home."”
SUCCESS (Mediocre Persuasion, rolled +2)
Issac Rivendohr
No, they seem nice. I just never had to speak this much. I did not have many friends back home.
Issac’s admission settles softly beside the fire. He drags a flat river stone near the camp, then sits while the plains darken around the grazing animals.
Mikka Rosethorn
That is all right. You do not have to fill every silence with us.
Siegfried Taloss
And for what it is worth, we think you are nice too. Quiet, maybe, but nice.
Siegfried and Mikka settle into their bedrolls. Later, when the others sleep, Lillia approaches the stone and pauses at the edge of the firelight.
Lillia Rhen
You handled that well. Marcus and Siegfried rush ahead often, but they are not careless about people. They will give you room.
Issac Rivendohr
The fire is warm, and the river stone is cold beneath my hand.
Director's note
Me and Lillia sit side by side, the only ones awake
“She starts up conversation with me, telling me about her family, the collesium that Siegfried grew up in, and, despite her brother's idiocy, is quite the skilled swordsman. I simply listen as I star at the starry sky.”
Lillia lowers herself beside Issac on the river stone. Firelight warms one side of her face while the other turns toward the star-filled sky.
Lillia Rhen
My family has served Narstria for generations. Marcus carries that duty loudly, as if every room were a battlefield.
Lillia Rhen
Siegfried grew up in his family’s coliseum, surrounded by fighters and instructors. He learned discipline before he learned patience, which explains much.
Lillia Rhen
Marcus may be an idiot when choosing missions, but do not mistake that for weakness. His swordsmanship is exceptional, even among our family.
She speaks without resentment, though a tired fondness softens her criticism. Across the camp, Marcus, Mikka, and Siegfried remain asleep beneath the quiet plains.
Issac Rivendohr
The stars are clear above the river, and the fire is beginning to settle.
Lillia Rhen
You listen carefully, Issac. That is rarer than people think. You do not need to answer every silence.
Director's note
She and I decide to both take the night shift together, as we both share stories as the night progresses
Issac gives a curt nod. For several quiet minutes, he and Lillia remain beside the river stone, listening to the fire and the distant water.
Lillia Rhen
You came here chasing your father’s trail, but you also carry something of your own. Those are not always the same journey.
Issac offers no answer, and Lillia does not press him. Across the camp, Marcus, Mikka, and Siegfried sleep beneath the open sky.
Lillia Rhen
I will take the first watch with you. We can trade stories until dawn, and keep the others from waking to an empty camp.
She settles beside him, journal closed against her knee. The plains stretch wide beyond the fire, broken only by scattered rocks and quietly grazing animals.
Lillia Rhen
When I was younger, I believed old records held every answer. Now I think they mostly teach us which questions survive.
The fire sinks lower as their stories pass between them. Together they watch the dark riverbank, while the first night watch unfolds without disturbance.
“I finally decide to speak up, telling her about my family legacy, at least according to my mom, my father wasn't present when I was two. I also explain how that made it more difficult to make friends; I was always quiet like a mouse, even now.”
SUCCESS (Great Willpower, rolled -2)
Issac Rivendohr
My mother says my father was a renowned adventurer, but he was gone by the time I was two. I grew up without him.
The words leave Issac quietly, but the effort drains his composure. His voice falters once, and he pauses with both hands braced against the cold river stone.
Issac Rivendohr
That legacy made friendship difficult. I was always quiet like a mouse, even then. I am still quiet now.
Lillia Rhen
I understand. When everyone knows the story attached to your family, they may speak to that story before they speak to you.
Lillia keeps her gaze on the low fire rather than studying his face. Across the camp, the others sleep undisturbed while the river carries moonlight through the dark.
Lillia Rhen
But you spoke tonight, Issac. Not as Alaxander’s son, and not as a name in an archive. You spoke as yourself.
Lillia Rhen
He has carried this longer than his silence suggested.
undefined / undefined
The fire burns low beside the river. Then every grazing animal on the plain lifts its head at once, turning toward the dark horizon.
Lillia Rhen
That is not a natural movement. Something has disturbed the land, though I cannot sense a spell.
A deep tone rolls beneath the ground. The river shivers in its channel, and pale lights bloom beyond the scattered rocks like stars rising from the earth.
Lillia Rhen
Those lights are too low for the heavens. If they reach the camp, the others may wake changed by whatever caused them.
The animals begin moving away without panic, hooves whispering through the grass. Across the plain, one rock formation answers the distant glow with a brief blue pulse.
Lillia Rhen
The stones are reacting. I have read of First Age sites that answered one another across great distances, but never this close.
The tone fades, leaving the river running normally again. In the cooling ash, a line of faint purple marks now leads from the water toward the glowing rocks.
Director's note
Me and Lillia simply stare at the development
Director's note
A new route reveals itself
“(Nothing happens)”
The purple marks remain faint but steady beside the river, tracing a quiet course between the scattered rocks. Nothing else moves across the plain.
Lillia Rhen
The route is visible now, but it is not changing. Whatever awakened it has finished its work for tonight.
Lillia keeps her journal closed and studies the marks from beside Issac. The low fire paints both faces with amber light while the others sleep undisturbed.
Issac Rivendohr
The purple marks begin at the river and lead toward the rocks.
Lillia Rhen
We should remember its beginning and its direction. At dawn, we can cross carefully and follow it without disturbing the camp.
She settles back onto the river stone, leaving the route untouched. The two watch in silence as the lights fade, while the river and sleeping plain return to stillness.