Serafina snaps closer to the terminal, one hand braced on the frame while the other scrolls the route seal. The Avali contact line shudders, then hard-switches into a cold corporate cipher.
Serafina
This is not a family line. It is a gate.
A synthesized voice cuts through the speaker, claiming Unseen relay maintenance and demanding an immediate toll. The warning tag blinks red, the channel flexing like it is about to close.
The Unseen Relay Voice
Verify payment now. Fail to clear the surcharge, and the lattice drops this channel.
Serafina’s feathers flatten as she reads the surcharge again. The trap was never just bait, it is a toll bridge dressed up as rescue.
Nahuli
The fee is attached to the contact line, not the meeting.
She turns toward Nahuli and the others, already recalculating what they can afford to lose. Somewhere beyond the cipher, someone is waiting for proof, or payment, or both.
✓ Quest Accepted
Clear the relay surcharge