The silver route leaves the observatory without disturbing the Spring’s boundary. It climbs through dry stone toward the crypt’s outer welcome, while the three marked ways remain open behind Mara.
Kynes remains in Phandelver, and Slaan and Nhal remain with the Hall’s preserved history. Mara is alone on the rising path, her throat still raw from testimony.
Beyond the marked threshold waits Ilyd, his pale gray skin and narrow, sharp-featured face visible above the coat, a tall young adult dark elf man in a weathered black coat, silver hair braided close, his scarred hands holding a sealed letter.
Ilyd
The record house in Baldur’s Gate sent this through lawful custody. It asks a question, not a surrender.
He extends the letter only to the boundary’s edge. Its red wax bears the record house’s seal, while a second pale mark confirms that the contents remain unopened.
Ilyd
They ask whether your testimony may be consulted without possessing it, completing it, or treating silence as permission.
Ilyd
I have brought it here because the answer belongs to the witness. The threshold will record whatever you freely choose to say.
“" I was planning on only sharing what's in my journal, that was out away before I came into the city." I say clearly,I pause. " If I may, how are you still alive? Are you not ancient by this point?" I ask curiously. " And may I share this encounter? Kynes will never believe me."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled -1)
Mara
I will share only what is in my journal, which was written before I entered the city. If I may, how are you still alive? Are you not ancient by now? And may I share this encounter? Kynes will never believe me.
Ilyd’s scarred hands remain steady around the sealed letter. The boundary records Mara’s questions separately, preserving her journal, her inquiry, and her request without joining them to the record house’s contents.
Ilyd
You may share the encounter, provided you distinguish what you witnessed from what I tell you now. Kynes may doubt it, but doubt is not a violation of truth.
Ilyd
As for my survival, I am not alive in the ordinary sense. I remain through a lawful continuation of memory, will, and body, sustained without the Spring and without any claim upon another.
A faint silver line passes over Ilyd’s chest and hands, revealing no tether beyond his own boundary. The sealed letter remains untouched at the threshold’s edge.
Ilyd
I am ancient by the reckoning of surface lives. I remember the Crown Wars and the first fractures that followed, but age has not made me owner of what I preserve.
Ilyd
Write that I answered plainly, and that permission was given to share this meeting. Write also that the letter remains unopened until its question receives a separate answer.
“I record Ilyd’s explanation and the permission attached to it. " Who is the letter for? " I ask”
SUCCESS (Great Reasoning, rolled +4)
Mara records Ilyd’s explanation in her journal, distinguishing his lawful continuation from her own witness. She adds the permission to share the encounter, and notes that the letter remains unopened.
Mara
Who is the letter for?
The boundary carries Mara’s question to the sealed letter without opening it. The red wax briefly glimmers, and a second name appears in pale script beside the record house’s seal.
Ilyd
It is addressed to the Hall of Welcome in Phandelver, through Kynes as its willing custodian. It concerns testimony that may be consulted without being claimed.
The pale mark confirms the address without exposing the contents. The letter’s custody trail also records Mara as an authorized witness, allowing her journal entry to accompany any future lawful consultation.
Ilyd
You may record that much. The Hall may refuse the letter, and Kynes may refuse to carry its question. Neither refusal will be treated as damage or consent.
“" you know ilyr is up to something, I assume he is survived much the same way you have" I say plainly”
SUCCESS (Great Reasoning, rolled -2)
Mara
You know Ilyr is up to something, I assume he survived much the same way you have.
The words cross the threshold plainly. The sealed letter stays closed, but its pale custody mark darkens as the boundary records Mara’s suspicion beside her testimony.
Ilyd
I know Ilyr persists. I do not know that he persists as I do, and I will not make resemblance into proof.
Ilyd
His survival may be a continuation, a vessel, or something imposed upon another. What I can say is that his will has sought renewed reach.
A dry rasp catches in Mara’s throat, worsening the ache left by her testimony. The boundary records the cost as strain, not injury, while the letter remains untouched.
Ilyd
Record this clearly: Ilyr is active in purpose, but his manner of survival remains unproven. Your suspicion is now witnessed, not confirmed.
✓ Quest Accepted
Determine how Ilyr persists
“I ask Ilyd what evidence could distinguish Ilyr’s vessel from a continuation. I record Ilyr’s active purpose and his unproven manner of survival.”
SUCCESS (Great Reasoning, rolled +0)
Mara
What evidence could distinguish Ilyr’s vessel from a continuation? I will record his active purpose and leave his manner of survival unproven.
Mara’s question crosses the threshold. Her journal receives the distinction in separate lines, while the sealed letter and its custody marks remain untouched.
Ilyd
A continuation preserves one will through its own memory, body, and choices, without requiring another bearer. Evidence would show continuity without an imposed tether.
Ilyd
A vessel would reveal a divided boundary, an external command, or a will anchored through another person, object, or prepared body. Such signs would distinguish inhabitation from lawful persistence.
Ilyd raises one scarred hand, stopping short of the sealed letter. A thin silver line marks the difference between an inward continuation and an outward attachment.
Ilyd
Seek evidence of dependency, interruption, and whose choices sustain the pattern. Do not treat resemblance, age, or renewed reach as proof by themselves.
Mara records Ilyr’s active purpose and the evidentiary distinction. The entry states plainly that his manner of survival remains unproven, preserving suspicion as witness rather than confirmation.
“I investigate signs of Ilyr’s dependency, I protect my journal from unauthorized consultation”
SUCCESS (Legendary Perception, rolled +0)
Mara opens her journal beneath the threshold’s silver light, keeping its pages angled away from the sealed letter. She traces Ilyr’s evidentiary distinctions beside her existing records.
The journal’s witness marks separate observations from conclusions. A faint residue clings to the entries concerning Ilyr, revealing an outward thread seeking dependency rather than a self-contained continuation.
Ilyd
There. The pattern depends on a host, anchor, or prepared vessel. It does not sustain itself through one uninterrupted will and body.
Mara folds a narrow strip of warded parchment over the relevant pages. Silver script records that consultation requires her deliberate opening, and that silence, proximity, or custody grants no permission.
Ilyd
Your protection distinguishes possession from witness. Anyone seeking those pages without your consent will find only the sealed boundary and a faithful notice of refusal.
The ward settles without binding Mara or altering her notes. Her journal now preserves the confirmed dependency signs, marks Ilyr’s survival method as unresolved, and denies unauthorized consultation.
+ New Item Acquired
Warded parchment
“sliding the note into the journal." It sounds like what they call a grey liche, one who extends their life with out binding other souls or damning people into servitude. I assume ilyr is more of a black liche then?" I ask”
SUCCESS (Great Reasoning, rolled +0)
Mara slides the warded note into her journal beside the separate entries on dependency, interruption, and Ilyr’s unresolved survival. The protective strip seals over the page.
Mara
It sounds like what they call a grey lich, one who extends their life without binding other souls or damning people into servitude. I assume Ilyr is more of a black lich, then?
Ilyd
Those names are useful in common speech, but they are not precise laws. A grey lich, as you describe it, sustains continuity without an external bearer or imposed servitude.
The journal’s silver marks divide the terms from the evidence. The note remains secured, and no thread crosses from its pages toward the sealed letter or Ilyd.
Ilyd
Ilyr’s pattern is darker in consequence, but I would call it vessel-dependent before calling it black. His outward thread seeks an anchor, host, or prepared vessel, and that dependency threatens another’s choice.
Ilyd
Record the distinction: grey and black are judgments of tradition. Vessel-dependent and self-continuing describe evidence. Ilyr’s method is confirmed as dependent, while its full nature remains unproven.
Quest Complete
Determine how Ilyr persists
Attribute Upgrade: Reasoning Great→Superb
“I explain how I use my necromancy, for research, study and blessing the dead to the underworld. Saying I see it as a soul reaper. And I explain how soulcatcher works in the way of defence and helping souls cross to the after life." I thank you for council, may I call on you again if need be?"”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled +1)
Mara
My necromancy is for research, study, and blessing the dead onward to the underworld. I understand it as the work of a soul reaper, not an owner of souls.
Mara
Soulcatcher is defensive. I use it to protect myself and help souls cross into the afterlife, without binding them or keeping what should pass on.
Mara speaks from the silver threshold, her journal open but untouched by any new claim. The warded note remains sealed, and her explanation joins the record as her own account.
Ilyd
That distinction is lawful. Study may seek understanding, and a soul reaper may guard a crossing, provided the dead remain free to depart.
Ilyd
Soulcatcher’s purpose, as you describe it, is defense and passage rather than possession. Record that its use depends on consent, refusal, and release.
Mara
Thank you for your counsel. May I call on you again if I need to?
Ilyd
You may. Call through the lawful custody mark, or leave a witnessed request at this threshold. I will answer when I can, and silence will remain a refusal, not a promise.
“" is the letter for Kynes eyes only?" I ask”
Mara
Is the letter for Kynes's eyes only?
The question crosses the silver threshold. The red wax remains unbroken, and the custody marks hold their quiet distinction between addressee, custodian, and witness.
Ilyd
No. It is addressed to the Hall of Welcome through Kynes as its willing custodian, not restricted to his eyes alone.
Ilyd
He may refuse to carry it, or permit the Hall to consult it under the stated conditions. You may share that the letter exists and where it is addressed, but not its unopened contents.
A pale line confirms the distinction without touching the wax. Mara's prior permission to share the encounter remains separate from any permission concerning the letter's contents.
Ilyd
If Kynes accepts custody, he may choose who receives the question. Neither his custody nor your witness grants ownership, and refusal remains complete.
“I ask my conditions for any consultation”
SUCCESS (Superb Reasoning, rolled +1)
Mara
For any consultation, I require that the letter remain sealed unless its lawful conditions are met, and that refusal be treated as complete.
Mara’s conditions cross the silver threshold without touching the red wax. The custody marks brighten, separating consultation, custody, witness, and ownership.
Ilyd
Those conditions are accepted. The letter remains unopened until the Hall and its willing custodian agree to consult it lawfully.
Ilyd
You may require distinct witnesses, a faithful record of what is offered, and no completion of testimony that its bearer leaves unfinished.
A pale inscription forms beside the seal, recording Mara’s terms without claiming them as the letter’s authority. Its contents remain hidden, and no permission is inferred from silence.
Ilyd
You may also withdraw your witness before consultation begins. Kynes may refuse custody, the Hall may refuse reception, and the bearer may refuse every question.
Ilyd
If consultation proceeds, it must preserve the unopened contents, distinguish every witness from every claim, and record refusal without treating it as damage.
“I request a witnessed copy of these conditions”
SUCCESS (Superb Reasoning, rolled +1)
Mara
I request a witnessed copy of these conditions, preserving the letter’s seal, every refusal, and the distinction between witness, custody, and claim.
The silver threshold receives Mara’s request without touching the red wax. A second pale line forms beside the custody mark, prepared to preserve the conditions exactly as stated.
Ilyd
Granted. I will witness the copy, and the threshold will attest that it reproduces the conditions without opening, completing, or claiming the letter.
Silver script gathers on a clean sheet of gray parchment: the seal remains unbroken, consultation requires lawful agreement, refusal is complete, and unfinished testimony stays unfinished.
Ilyd
It records your right to withdraw, Kynes’s right to refuse custody, the Hall’s right to refuse reception, and the bearer’s right to refuse every question.
Ilyd places two fingers beside, but not upon, the parchment. His witness mark appears beneath the copy, while the threshold adds its own attestation and leaves the original untouched.
Ilyd
The witnessed copy is yours. It grants no access to the letter, but it faithfully preserves the lawful conditions under which access could be considered.
✓ Quest Accepted
Leave the crypt
+ New Item Acquired
Witnessed copy
“I thank Ilyd, preserve the original seal, and follow the outer welcome upward. I start the long journey back to the hall of welcome”
SUCCESS (Great Agility, rolled +2)