Roku leaves the infirmary with his forearm wrapped. Reggie, Jessica, and Vaelith accompany him, while the commander and soldiers remain behind as the fort gate groans open.
A soot-covered survivor staggers through the gate from the silent village. They carry no weapon, and a fresh dragon-shaped burn coils across their throat.
Reggie Vonland
That mark is not village fire. It bears the same pattern as the dragon signs beneath my skin.
The survivor’s eyes fix on Reggie’s markings. Their breath catches, then steadies, and the burn glows faintly as a voice older than the ruins shapes their mouth.
the soot-covered survivor
The blood remembers its guardian. The dragon was sealed behind the first vow, beneath the family line.
Vaelith
That cadence. It is the first voice that escaped the artifact, speaking through a living throat.
the soot-covered survivor
It does not seek Roku’s power. It seeks the bloodline sealed behind it, and the dragon-marked one is its key.
✓ Quest Accepted
Reveal the truth of Reggie’s dragon blood
✓ Quest Accepted
Sever the escaped first voice’s claim
“I ask Reggie to reveal what his dragon marks remember.”
SUCCESS (Good Diplomacy, rolled -1)
Roku Luaghly
Reggie, reveal what your dragon marks remember.
Reggie’s grip tightens around his warhammer. The dragon-shaped markings beneath his skin brighten, crawling from his wrists across his arms like living bronze script.
Reggie Vonland
They remember a vow spoken beneath the family line. A dragon guarded our blood, and someone sealed it behind that oath when the old war ended.
Reggie Vonland
They remember a second voice too, one wearing the dragon’s name but serving darkness. It called our blood a key, and it named you the lock.
The soot-covered survivor flinches as the marks flare. Reggie’s skin splits along one glowing sigil, and a bead of blood runs down his palm onto the hammer’s haft.
Reggie Vonland
The memory ends beneath the sunken home. Not the ruins here, but the house itself. Something there is waiting for the family vow to break.
Vaelith
Then the voice has given us its truth, but it has also marked Reggie as its beacon. We cannot pretend that cost is small.
Quest Complete
Discover what the escaped first voice seeks from Roku
Attribute Upgrade: Agility Fair→Good
Quest Complete
Reveal the truth of Reggie’s dragon blood
Attribute Upgrade: Agility Good→Great