Mara follows the confirmed surface route west beneath the quay, where warped timbers give way to a hidden stair. No companion follows; Sarthien’s camp remains above ground.
The stair opens into a low chamber beneath the waterline. Fresh maps cover a stone table, pinned beside silver bowls, violet lenses, chalk weights, and a copied signal-mark.
A narrow side passage exhales cold air. Veyra Ashhand has only just departed, leaving one ink-dark thread trembling above the eastern watercourse map.
Veyra Ashhand
You arrived at the endpoint, Mara. That means the signal did exactly what I designed it to do.
The thread gathers into a speaking echo rather than a body. Beneath the eastern map, a second mark glows beside a name written in Sarthien Pell’s hand.
Veyra Ashhand
Sarthien was the intended recipient. I needed him to carry the pattern openly, so I could measure who repeated it and who recognized its reach.
The observation tools turn toward a sealed bronze drain beneath the quay. The echo fades, leaving Veyra’s purpose exposed: she is testing whether the old crossing can be made visible without opening it.
✓ Quest Accepted
Learn what danger Veyra withheld from Mara