A narrow path from the hollow climbs toward a roofless shepherd’s shrine overlooking the old road. Soulcatcher’s two spectral sparrows settle among the broken stones, their violet edges dimming.
Elian Voss
Before we follow either trail, may we pause? I would rather give you the plain account I kept than let the marks speak for me.
Elian steps beneath the shrine’s fallen lintel but remains beside the open path. Nera stands nearby with her staff lowered, listening without interruption.
Elian Voss
I watched the scouts because they watched the burial path. I feared their lesson would become another test imposed on people who never agreed to take it.
Elian Voss
The gray-badged scout kept north. The spellworker turned east and erased her final sign. I followed only far enough to remember what happened, then stayed visible.
Beyond the shrine, the old road divides around a stand of thorn trees. One spectral sparrow faces north; the other angles east, preserving the separation.
Elian Voss
I do not know their purpose, Mara. I know only what I saw, and why I refused to become another hidden hand upon the road.
“" fair enough, we go north first. My question is where is Veyra Ashehand." I say plainly. " I know first hand how she wishes to play with people's lives." I turn and face both of them. "You both may follow or leave at any time. I will not stop you." I say”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled -1)
Mara
Fair enough. We go north first. My question is, where is Veyra Ashhand? I know firsthand how she wishes to play with people's lives.
Mara
You both may follow or leave at any time. I will not stop you.
Mara turns from the eastern trail toward the northern sparrow. Elian watches her plainly, while Nera studies the old road and weighs the offered freedom.
Elian Voss
The last confirmed account placed Veyra near Daggerford, arranging a retrieval through her Grey Gloves. I have no proof she remains there.
Nera
I heard the same, but that was before her eastern methods failed. She may be moving between safe houses, or sending others where she will not stand.
Elian Voss
I will follow north. Not because you ordered it, Mara, but because the burial path deserves a witness who will not turn uncertainty into command.
Nera
And I will come as far as the northern trail. If Veyra’s mark appears, I will name what I know and leave the choice of pursuit to you.
✓ Quest Accepted
Find Veyra Ashhand
“I follow the northern sparrow toward the burial path.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Survival, rolled +2)
Mara follows the northern sparrow across the pale grass. Her survival sense reads the slope cleanly, distinguishing old cairn paths from fresh crossings and avoiding every unstable hollow.
The sparrow descends toward the burial path, where weathered stones emerge from the earth in a broad, deliberate line. Gray fibers cling to one marker, but no ward or command stirs.
Nera
There. The gray-badged scout passed between the cairns, keeping to the preserved route. No concealment, no claim, and no sign that they disturbed the dead.
Elian follows openly with Nera, remaining outside the cairn line. The northern trail lies before Mara, its recent passage plainly visible in bent grass and loose dust.
Elian Voss
This is where I stopped watching from close by. The scout continued toward the upper burial ground, while the older path bends west around it.
Nera
The sparrow has brought us to the burial path. We can read the scout’s movements here without turning the trail into permission to pursue.
The northern sparrow settles on a split cairn and folds its violet-edged wings. Beyond it, the burial path continues between silent stones beneath the open sky.
“" as an inquisitor from history once said, a wolf doesn't ask for concent of its prey. I am actively tracking, so there for I'm in pursuit." I say follow the sparrows direction.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Survival, rolled +2)
Mara
A wolf does not ask its prey for consent. I am actively tracking, so I am in pursuit. Follow the sparrow.
Mara follows the northern sparrow between the cairns, reading bent grass, dust, and broken stems with exacting certainty. Nera and Elian keep pace behind her.
The sparrow threads through the upper burial ground and settles on a flat marker. Beyond it, fresh tracks cross the preserved route toward a low ridge.
Nera
The scout passed here recently. They kept to the dead road and left every stone undisturbed.
Mara reaches the ridge beneath the sparrow’s circling shadow. Below, the gray-badged scout, a lean young adult man with wind-browned skin, short dark hair, a narrow face, and a weathered gray-green cloak over dark trousers stands beside an ancient cairn, plainly visible and unaware of the approaching group.
Elian Voss
There. That is the one I watched. I will remain visible and say only what I witnessed.
Nera
You have found the scout, Mara. The path is open, and pursuit has brought us directly to them.
✓ Quest Accepted
Learn whether the scout recognizes Elian’s family name
“I cast stun on the scout to paralysis him but leave him awake.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Arcana, rolled -1)
Mara’s spell crosses the ridge as a silent blue thread and settles over the gray-badged scout. His limbs lock instantly, while his eyes remain alert and fixed upon her.
The scout’s hand stops beside the cairn, fingers unable to close. His breathing continues steadily, and the ancient stones remain undisturbed beneath the spell’s precise restraint.
Corven Voss
You could have called out. Instead, you chose the oldest answer: make the other person unable to act.
Nera raises one hand toward Elian, keeping him back from the cairn. The northern sparrow circles once overhead, its violet edges reflecting in the scout’s open eyes.
Nera
He is awake and contained. Ask what you need, Mara, but do not mistake stillness for agreement.
Elian Voss
He never touched the stones when I watched him. He followed the preserved route and looked toward the upper ground.
Corven Voss
I serve no summons here. If you want the truth about my trail, release my voice from accusation and ask plainly.
“Ignoring the scout's protests, I turn to the two women. "You're both here because you gave me justifiable reasons to trust you." I glance between them before turning to Elian. "Elian, darling, I have a partner who would've telekinetically flung you across this hillside on your surname alone. I didn't." I turn to Nera. "And Nera, sweetie, he's a suspect until we establish otherwise." I casually adjust my robes. "Frankly, you should both be grateful Kynes isn't investigating this. I'm fairly certain the entire hillside would be leveled. Or worse, set on fire." I finally turn my attention to the paralyzed scout. "Now, sugar, what's your story?" I ask plainly.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled +1)
Mara
You are both here because you gave me justifiable reasons to trust you. Elian, darling, I did not let my partner fling you across this hillside.
Mara
Nera, sweetie, he is a suspect until we establish otherwise. Be grateful Kynes is not investigating, or this hillside might be leveled or set ablaze.
Mara adjusts her robes and turns fully toward the immobilized scout. Blue restraint holds his limbs, but leaves his breath, voice, and watchful eyes untouched.
Mara
Now, sugar, what is your story?
Corven Voss
My name is Corven Voss. Hadrik was my uncle, and I worked under his old route-signs before Veyra claimed them for the Grey Gloves.
Corven Voss
I was sent to watch the upper burial ground for the burrower’s return, not to disturb the cairns. The creature follows the road’s old warmth, and someone wanted its path measured.
Corven Voss
I reported to no one today. I saw Elian, saw your sparrow, and stayed by the cairn. Release my limbs, and I will show you the marks I found.
Quest Complete
Learn why the Grey Gloves scouts are watching the burial path and old road
Skill Upgrade: Medicine Superb→Legendary
Quest Complete
Learn whether the scout recognizes Elian’s family name
New Gift: Unveils Buried Lineage
“I dispell the stun " so who's your spell casting partner dear,?" I ask”
SUCCESS (Legendary Arcana, rolled +0)
Mara
So who’s your spellcasting partner, dear?
Mara unravels the blue restraint with a precise arcane correction. The spell releases Corven’s limbs at once, leaving the cairn untouched and his breathing steady.
Corven Voss
I have no partner. The spellcaster I saw turned east, and I never met her face to face.
Corven slowly lowers his freed hands, then points to a strip of gray thread caught beneath the cairn’s edge without touching the stone.
Corven Voss
She worked alone from what I witnessed. Her observing weave marked the road, measured the burrower’s passage, and withdrew before I could follow.
Nera
That sounds like Veyra’s method, but not proof of Veyra herself. Corven, did the spell carry her distinctive return-path?
Corven Voss
No. It ended cleanly. Whoever cast it knew the craft, but I cannot name her, and I will not pretend suspicion is recognition.
✓ Quest Accepted
Have Corven share the marks he found openly
“" show me" I say.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled -2)
Mara
Show me.
Corven studies Mara for a long moment, then accepts the request. His guarded expression hardens into wary respect, as though her directness has earned access but not trust.
Corven Voss
All right. Look, but understand this: showing you makes me answerable for what you learn. I will not pretend that is nothing.
He kneels beside the cairn without touching it and draws a small slate from inside his cloak. On its surface, charcoal lines map the burial road, the burrower’s route, and three fresh observation marks.
Corven Voss
These are mine. The creature crossed here, turned north, and followed the old warmth. These finer strokes belong to the eastern spellcaster. She measured the crossing from outside the path.
Nera
And now Mara knows what you kept from us. That is the cost of showing it, Corven. Your caution has become part of the record.
Quest Complete
Have Corven share the marks he found openly