Maelin lifts the stained route record and carries it into the guild archive. Older maps and contract ledgers line the walls beneath dust-bright lamps.
The hooked ink crawls from the parchment across several eastern road charts, tracing farm lanes before fixing on a sealed route through the mountains.
Three matching marks darken over the mountain-pass seal. The parchment shivers in Maelin’s hands, while Artania’s bronze token gives a faint answering chill.
Maelin Voss
That pass was sealed after the Burning Pass incident. These marks are not merely copying your report. They are finding a connection.
Brunna crosses the archive threshold and bars the heavy door from within. Al stands beside Artania, ears angled toward the shelves as a faint scratching begins behind them.
Brunna Coppervein
Nobody opens that door until we know what is scratching. Maelin, keep the record still if you can.
Al
Rrrowl.
✓ Quest Accepted
Stabilize the guild's route records
“I am already tired from the journey and the long day. But I give them my best anyway. I gather my power and focus a thin, gentle line of magic into the hooked mark, trying to read its intent and figure out what it is telling us so I can stabilize it.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Magic, rolled -1)
Artania opens the Magic Pouch and draws out its steadying focus. Though weariness weighs on him, he gathers his power into a single, thin thread of blue-white light.
The thread enters the hooked mark without force. The crawling ink slows, then settles across the route record as the scratching behind the shelves falls silent.
Maelin Voss
The marks are holding. Artania, whatever you touched, it is answering your magic.
Meaning unfolds through the connected symbols: the mark identifies a sealed passage, warns that the route is being activated, and calls for the eastern lights to be witnessed before the mountain seal opens.
Brunna Coppervein
Then the message is clear enough. It wants the road observed, not disturbed. That gives us something useful without chasing whoever sent it.
Artania’s magic stabilizes the record completely. The hooked pattern remains visible but inert, while the three mountain marks dim to a watchful silver.
Maelin Voss
I will preserve this chart and mark the eastern contract for urgent review. You have earned your rest, lad, before the guild decides what comes next.
Quest Complete
Determine what the hooked route marks signify
Attribute Upgrade: Reasoning Great→Superb
Quest Complete
Stabilize the guild's route records
“Great job to you two as well. Is there somewhere I can bed down for the night. The road and the past few days have beaten me down and I need rest. I am sure Al does as well. I clutch my cut hand to my chest.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +1)
Artania Nero Thornson
Great job to you two as well. Is there somewhere I can bed down for the night? The road and past few days have beaten me down, and Al needs rest too.
Artania clutches his cut hand to his chest. Al presses against his leg, watchful but weary, while the stabilized chart rests safely on the archive table.
Maelin Voss
There is a guild bunkroom above the west hall. Bronze members may use it between contracts, and I can have a healer look at your hand.
Brunna Coppervein
Come along, lad. Al can sleep in the adjoining animal room, where the straw is clean and the water is fresh.
Maelin seals the route record inside the archive cabinet, then leads Artania and Al through a quiet stairwell. The guild’s lamps burn softer here, away from the crowded hall.
Maelin Voss
Your room is ready. Rest without worry tonight, Artania. The guild will keep the chart secure, and tomorrow we can discuss the eastern lights with clearer heads.
The bunkroom holds a narrow bed, folded blankets, and a washbasin. Beyond its inner door, Al receives a straw-lined stall and lowers himself with a relieved sigh.
“Request the guild healer examine my hand. I feel to drained to use healing magic, and I have no medical supplies of my own.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled -2)
Maelin pauses beside the bunkroom door, then summons the guild healer. Artania keeps his cut hand close, too drained to gather healing magic.
Artania Nero Thornson
Please have the guild healer examine my hand. I am too drained to heal it myself, and I have no supplies.
A middle-aged woman enters wearing a moss-green healer’s robe, with silver-streaked black hair, warm brown skin, and a leather satchel of herbs at her hip.
Healer Odelia Marr
I am Odelia Marr. Sit, lad, and let me see the injury. You did right not to force exhausted magic through it.
Odelia unwraps the ward-cloth and examines the crescent cut beneath the lamplight. The wound is shallow, but a thread of cold silver magic remains in it.
Healer Odelia Marr
The cut is clean enough, though the mark left a lingering chill. I can treat it now, but the salve will use the guild’s last prepared vial tonight.
She applies the bitter-smelling salve and binds Artania’s palm with fresh linen. Warmth returns to his fingers, while Odelia sets the emptied vial aside for replacement.
“Thank you Miss Marr. May I ask how long you have been a healer here for?”
SUCCESS (Superb Reasoning, rolled +1)
Artania Nero Thornson
Thank you, Miss Marr. May I ask how long you have been a healer here for?
Odelia ties off the linen bandage and settles onto the edge of the washstand, keeping Artania’s treated hand beneath the warm lamplight.
Healer Odelia Marr
At this guild? Seventeen years. I came here as an apprentice, served under two healers before me, and took the post when the last retired.
Healer Odelia Marr
The work changes with every season. Road wounds, cursed splinters, exhaustion, venom, and occasionally magic that has forgotten what shape it ought to keep.
She checks the bandage’s tension, then glances toward the adjoining animal room where Al shifts in the straw. The guild’s quieter lamps cast gold across her satchel.
Healer Odelia Marr
You may call me Odelia, lad. If you intend to stay with the guild, learn this early: knowing when not to spend your magic is part of healing.
Healer Odelia Marr
Now, tell me whether the numbness has fully left your arm, and whether Al bears any injury from the farm road.
“My arm feels rather well now, I am simply tired from my trials. I do not think Al is injured but it could not hurt to check. I call Al quietly so as not to startle him and introduce him to Odelia.”
SUCCESS (Great Perception, rolled +0)
Artania Nero Thornson
My arm feels well now, Miss Marr. I am simply tired from my trials. I do not think Al is injured, but checking him would be wise.
Artania turns toward the adjoining animal room and calls softly, careful not to startle the resting wolf. Al lifts his head from the straw and pads quietly through the inner doorway.
Artania Nero Thornson
Al, come here. I would like you to meet Odelia, the guild healer.
Al approaches Odelia with his scarred muzzle lowered, then sits beside Artania’s knee. His amber eyes remain calm and attentive as he offers one foreleg for examination.
Healer Odelia Marr
A pleasure to meet you, Al. Let us see whether the road left any hidden aches behind.
Odelia examines Al’s paws, legs, shoulders, and ribs with practiced hands. The wolf stays still, accepting her touch while Artania watches closely.
Healer Odelia Marr
No injury, lad. He is tired and damp from the road, but sound. Clean water, food, and sleep will serve him well tonight.
“The guild is rather prepared, with adjoining animal rooms. Do many adventurers and warriors in this hall have companions, like Al?”
SUCCESS (Superb Reasoning, rolled +1)
Artania Nero Thornson
Is the guild usually this prepared? Do many adventurers and warriors here travel with companions like Al?
Healer Odelia Marr
Quite a few do. Wolves, hawks, hounds, pack goats, and stranger companions besides. The animal rooms keep them safe without crowding the bunk halls.
Al’s ears lift at the mention of other animals. From somewhere beyond the stairwell comes a muffled bark, followed by the soft clatter of claws on wood.
Healer Odelia Marr
Warriors favor trained hounds and hunting birds. Rangers bring beasts accustomed to the wild. Mages sometimes arrive with creatures bound by pact, though those require stricter quarters.
Brunna Coppervein
The rooms are guild sense, lad. A companion who guards your back deserves clean straw and water, not a cold corner beneath a contract board.
Odelia gives Al a final gentle pat along the shoulder, then gestures toward the adjoining room. Fresh water, clean straw, and a shallow wooden bowl wait beside his stall.
Healer Odelia Marr
Al is welcome here whenever you hold guild standing. Just report unusual behavior, keep him under control in the hall, and remember that companions share your responsibilities.
“I will remember that. In the morning is there a dining hall in the guild? Or is there an area for hunting outside the walls?”
SUCCESS (Superb Reasoning, rolled +2)
Artania Nero Thornson
I will remember that. In the morning, is there a dining hall in the guild, or an area for hunting outside the walls?
Healer Odelia Marr
There is a dining room below the west hall. Breakfast begins at sunrise, and companions may eat there if they remain calm and close.
Odelia points toward the stairwell, where the scent of baked grain and herbs rises faintly from below. Al’s ears angle toward it, alert to the promise of food.
Brunna Coppervein
For hunting, use the east postern gate after reporting out. The guild keeps a practice field and a stretch of managed woodland beyond the walls.
Brunna Coppervein
Bring Al there in daylight, keep clear of farms and marked roads, and tell the gate warden where you are going. No need to range far for a meal.
Healer Odelia Marr
The guild can provide his breakfast, too. Hunting is for exercise or training, not necessity, unless a contract says otherwise.
Beyond the window, the Capital’s evening bells begin their measured ringing. Odelia gathers her satchel while Brunna waits by the stair, leaving the morning’s choices plainly open.
“Thank you Odelia. I will remember everything you have taught me. I give a bow of my head toward her.”
Artania Nero Thornson
Thank you, Odelia. I will remember everything you have taught me.
Artania bows his head toward Odelia, careful of the fresh bandage around his palm. Al watches her calmly from beside his knee.
Healer Odelia Marr
Then you have learned the most useful lesson already, lad: listen before acting. That habit will preserve you when magic and danger offer poor choices.
Brunna Coppervein
And sunrise will bring breakfast, the practice field, and perhaps a clearer report on those eastern lights. Rest now, while the guild keeps watch.
Odelia gathers her satchel and checks the linen once more. The evening bells fade beyond the window, replaced by the muffled sounds of guild life below.
Healer Odelia Marr
Keep the bandage dry tonight, and return to me if the silver chill returns. Otherwise, I expect to see you downstairs at sunrise with a steadier hand.
“Yes, I will take your advice to heart, thank you once more. Brunna? Anything else I need to catch up on before bed time?”
SUCCESS (Superb Reasoning, rolled +1)
Artania Nero Thornson
I will take your advice to heart, thank you once more. Brunna, is there anything else I need to catch up on before bedtime?
Brunna pauses at the stair and glances toward the quiet archive, then back to Artania. Al remains beside him, ears attentive to the guild below.
Brunna Coppervein
Only three things, lad. Keep your bronze token close, report any change in the eastern lights, and do not forget breakfast before you wander.
Brunna Coppervein
Maelin will give you the updated contract notes at sunrise. The eastern-farm posting stays active, and your first report is already entered under your name.
She taps the stair rail, practical and reassuring. From below comes the clink of dishes, while the archive door remains barred and the guild lamps burn steadily.
Brunna Coppervein
Nothing else tonight requires your attention. Sleep, let Odelia’s salve work, and bring Al down when the breakfast bell rings.
Brunna Coppervein
He has found danger before finding his bed. Let us hope the guild can give him one quiet night.
“Very well I will sleep tonight, then review in the morning before setting out.”
Artania Nero Thornson
Very well. I will sleep tonight, then review everything in the morning before setting out.
Artania settles into the narrow bunk with his bronze token beneath his folded clothes. Beyond the inner door, Al circles once in the clean straw and rests.
The guild quiets around them. Warm lamplight fades beneath the door, and the evening’s roads, marks, and eastern lights recede into undisturbed sleep.
At sunrise, the breakfast bell rolls through the west hall. Artania wakes rested, his bandaged hand warm, while Al rises at the first scent of baked grain.
Healer Odelia Marr
Good morning, lad. Let me see that hand before you review the contract. A quiet night appears to have treated you well.
Odelia finds the cut clean and the silver chill absent. Downstairs, Maelin has placed the updated eastern-farm notes beside the breakfast tables, ready for Artania’s review.
Maelin Voss
Your report is here, Artania. Review the marked roads at your pace, then bring your token to the counter before setting out.
“Maelin you are an exceptionally skilled receptionist. Do you handle many adventurers paper work this aptly?”
SUCCESS (Superb Reasoning, rolled +1)
Artania Nero Thornson
Maelin, you are an exceptionally skilled receptionist. Do you handle this much adventurer paperwork so aptly every day?
Maelin looks up from the eastern-farm notes, a faint smile touching her face as morning light glints from the brass register.
Maelin Voss
Most days, yes. I have served at this counter for eight years, and every contract teaches me another way a report can go wrong.
Maelin Voss
I process arrivals, contracts, rank changes, injury records, companion registrations, payments, and dispatches between guild halls. Accuracy keeps adventurers alive as surely as a sharp blade does.
She aligns the papers into a precise stack, then separates Artania’s report from the others with practiced ease. Al watches the movement from beneath the breakfast table.
Maelin Voss
Brunna handles field judgment and Odelia handles healing. My work is making certain their knowledge reaches the right record, person, or road without being lost.
Maelin Voss
So thank you for noticing. Competent paperwork is quiet work, but quiet work is often what lets adventurers return safely from loud adventures.
“In that case, thank you again. You three are the most competent people I have met. The capitals adventure guild is surly the best.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +2)
Artania Nero Thornson
In that case, thank you again. You three are the most competent people I have met. The Capital's adventurers' guild is surely the best.
Maelin’s measured smile warms, while Brunna gives a pleased grunt from beside the breakfast table. Odelia pauses over her satchel, clearly listening.
Maelin Voss
That is generous praise, Artania. We do our best to make competence look ordinary, because adventurers depend on it every day.
Brunna Coppervein
Best in the Capital, perhaps, lad. The guilds in Ashdown and Meridian would argue loudly, but I will not deny this hall has standards.
Healer Odelia Marr
And a good guild is measured by how it treats its newest members. You and Al have been given a proper welcome, which is no small thing.
Al lifts his head beneath the table as the three women exchange approving looks. Morning bustle gathers around them, and Maelin taps the updated notes beside Artania’s bronze token.
Maelin Voss
Then let us see whether the Capital can justify your confidence. Review the eastern notes, and we will make certain your next departure is as carefully recorded as your first.
“Very well, I review the notes and get breakfast while I feed Al as well. Afterwards I plan to let Maelin, Odelia, and Brunna know my schedule for the day before I set off.”
SUCCESS (Superb Reasoning, rolled -1)
Artania reviews the eastern-farm notes beside his breakfast, tracing the marked roads and recording the well, shrine, hidden passage, and remaining lights in careful order.
He shares baked grain and broth with Al, filling the wolf’s bowl before eating. Al settles beneath the table, fed and watchful as guild life flows around them.
Maelin Voss
Your notes are thorough, Artania. I have added the well and shrine as confirmed sites, while the farther eastern lights remain uninvestigated.
After breakfast, Artania gathers his bronze token and contract notice, then informs Maelin, Odelia, and Brunna that he will review the route and set out toward the eastern boundary today.
Healer Odelia Marr
Your hand is sound, and your schedule leaves room to return before exhaustion becomes another danger. Keep the bandage dry while traveling.
Brunna Coppervein
A sensible plan, lad. Tell the gate warden your destination, keep Al close, and bring back what the eastern lights reveal.
Maelin marks the departure in the guild ledger. With Al fed, his hand healed, and the day’s schedule known to the guild, Artania prepares to leave through the eastern gate.
“Alright I will first retrace my steps from yesterday to retrieve the bronze mark. Afterward I will continue on towards where the cluster of lights was located, and investigate. Finally I will question anyone about said lights as I find them on the road.”
SUCCESS (Great Perception, rolled -3)
Artania retraces yesterday’s path with Al, following the eastern boundary stones to the farmhouse. The loose paving stone lifts cleanly, revealing the ward-cloth and hidden brass mark.
As Artania retrieves it, the cloth’s blue stitching snaps with a sharp chime. The sound carries across the fields, and the mark leaves a cold crescent against his palm.
Artania Nero Thornson
The mark is recovered. We will continue east, but keep to the road and watch the lights.
Artania and Al follow the eastern road toward the remembered cluster. Silver lights pulse beyond a low rise, suspended above the fields without lanterns, smoke, or visible supports.
A middle-aged farm woman in a russet cloak emerges from a nearby track, carrying a wicker basket. Her sun-browned face tightens when she notices the brass mark.
Hessa Vale
Those lights began two nights ago. They hover over the old irrigation stones, vanish at dawn, and leave the sheep refusing that pasture.
She points east, but her gaze lingers on the mark before she steps back. Al growls softly as the lights brighten, revealing a ring of stones beneath them.
+ New Item Acquired
Ward-Cloth
+ New Item Acquired
Brass Mark
“Have you or anyone you know seen this brass mark before? And how long have those lights been plaguing the pasture? I pull out my guild token and show the woman. My name is Artania by the way, may I also ask yours?”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +1)
Artania Nero Thornson
Have you or anyone you know seen this brass mark before? And how long have those lights been plaguing the pasture?
Artania draws out his bronze guild token and holds it beside the brass mark. Al remains close, watching the farm woman while silver light pulses over the stones.
Artania Nero Thornson
My name is Artania. May I ask yours as well?
Hessa Vale
I have seen that hooked sign once, carved into an old irrigation stone east of here. No one in my family knows who made it.
Hessa Vale
The lights started two nights ago, just after sunset. They trouble the pasture until dawn, and the sheep will not graze there now.
Hessa Vale
I am Hessa Vale. My husband and I keep the nearest fields. If that token means the guild has taken notice, then perhaps someone will finally inspect those stones.
Hessa studies the guild token, then points toward the low rise. The silver lights brighten together, outlining an ancient ring of irrigation stones beneath the darkening sky.
“Alright thank you Mrs. Hessa Vale. I will get to the bottom of this, no matter what. I offer her a reassuring smile. I also wave Al to show her reassurance.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +2)
Artania Nero Thornson
Thank you, Mrs. Hessa Vale. I will get to the bottom of this, no matter what.
Artania offers Hessa a reassuring smile, then waves to Al. The wolf lifts his head and gives a calm, deliberate wag of his tail beside him.
Hessa Vale
Then I believe you, Artania. You and that wolf have the look of folk who take a promise seriously.
Hessa’s shoulders ease. She steps nearer the field’s edge and points beyond the low rise, where silver lights hover over the ancient irrigation ring.
Hessa Vale
The stones are older than our farm, and the lights never cross the ring. Yesterday, one of them sank into the center stone and came back brighter.
Al’s ears angle toward the rise. The lights pulse in answer, revealing shallow channels between the stones, each filled with glimmering water despite the dry pasture.
Hessa Vale
If you mean to inspect them, take the southern path. The northern stones make the sheep panic, and I would rather not see you caught there unprepared.
✓ Quest Accepted
Determine the cause of the silver lights over the irrigation ring
“Thank you Mrs. Vale. I take her suggestion and move towards the southern path. As I get closer to the lights I stop outside the boundary. Gathering myself I breath slowly and use my magic, creating a sensory vale and send it towards the lights to inspect them. I keep my eyes peeled as well, at the same time I send Al to search the perimeter. I always wonder about my good friend, he is incredibly intelligent, making me wonder if he is magic.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Magic, rolled +1)
Artania thanks Hessa and follows the southern path, stopping just outside the ancient ring. The silver lights pulse beyond the boundary, reflected in the glimmering channels.
He breathes slowly and gathers blue-white magic into a sensory vale, sending the invisible veil across the stones while keeping his eyes fixed on every movement.
The vale returns layered impressions: the lights are floating motes of condensed way-magic, each linked to the center stone by threads beneath the water.
It also reveals a buried pattern under the ring, an old irrigation lattice carrying magic eastward toward the distant hills. None of the lights cross the boundary.
Hessa Vale
What do you see, Artania? The stones have never shone like that in my lifetime.
Artania sends Al along the perimeter. The wolf circles the southern stones, nose low, pausing at each channel as his sharp attention maps the ring.
Al
The ground carries old water, strange magic, and a path beneath the stones.
Quest Complete
Determine the cause of the silver lights over the irrigation ring