The seam of light spits Young Dave out into a narrow chamber of pale stone and floating dust, just beyond the library’s reach. Suzanne stumbles ahead of him, clutching the spell book to her chest.
Her heels skid. The book jerks loose as the passage behind her flickers like a torn curtain.
Suzanne
No. Not this one. It is mine.
Rosemary, Yama, Stella Nabokov, and Kazeki surge through the seam after him, but they halt at the threshold as the light snaps and warps around them.
Rosemary
Dave, the book. If you take it now, the way back may answer.
Yama
Now. End this.
Kazeki
She is cornered. Press her before she slips again.
Suzanne bares her teeth and reaches for the book, but her footing is gone. Young Dave stands between her and the seam, sword ready, the passage to home trembling open behind her.
“Get behind Suzanne and steal her book.”
SUCCESS (Great Agility, rolled +0)
“Get behind Suzanne and steal her book.”
SUCCESS (Great Agility, rolled +0)
Young Dave slips behind Suzanne in one sharp move and hooks the spell book free with his sword hand. The hag jerks the wrong way, reaching for empty air.
The book is his. Its cover burns cold in his grip, and the seam of light flares as if it recognizes the theft.
Suzanne
Give that back, you brute!
Suzanne snatches at his sleeve instead, tearing fabric and leaving a thin red scrape across his forearm. Her ringed hand comes away with nothing.
Rosemary
Dave has it! Hold her there!
Yama
Now, while she is off balance.
Kazeki
Good. Do not let her touch the seam.
Suzanne staggers back toward the wavering passage, furious and suddenly exposed, while the spell book thumps once in Young Dave's hand like a trapped heart.
+ New Item Acquired
Spell book
“Get behind Suzanne and steal her book.”
FAILURE (Great Agility, rolled -1)
Young Dave drives in behind Suzanne again, but the floor tilts under his step and he comes up short. The hag twists with a sharp, ugly hiss, keeping one shoulder between him and the book.
His sword catches the edge of the spell book instead of the cover, knocking it against the seam. The light flashes hard, and the book jerks open for a heartbeat.
A thin strip of gold script shows inside, and the pages point, not back into the library, but through the stone chamber toward a dark slit in the wall.
Suzanne
No. That is mine!
Rosemary
Dave, the book is reacting. Push her away from the seam!
Kazeki
She is guarding more than the book now. Look at the page.
Suzanne clamps both hands on the book’s spine, but the seam flares brighter and shoves pale light across her face. She flinches back, and the hidden slit in the stone stands out clearly for the first time.
“Steal Suzanne's book.”
Missed — Suzanne struck back for 3 damage
Young Dave lunges for the book again, shoulders driving through the glare, but Suzanne jerks it back against her chest and slips the blade aside. Her free hand snaps out in a hard, ugly strike, and the blow catches him clean, forcing him back a step while the seam of light stutters beside them.
Suzanne bares her teeth, furious and shaken, both hands tightening around the spell book as if she can keep the world from taking it by force. Behind her, the hidden slit in the stone stays lit by the seam’s pale flare, waiting.
“Take the book”
Critical hit for 3 damage — Suzanne struck back for 1 damage
Young Dave drives in for the book, and the blade catches Suzanne through the glare. The spell book jerks free, skidding across the stone toward the seam as Suzanne staggers, one hand flying to the wound, her grip failing at last.
Suzanne
No... not that...
She lashes out anyway, a last desperate blow that clips Young Dave and sends him crashing down hard. The chamber tilts, the seam flares white-gold, and Suzanne sways on her feet beside the open slit as dust drifts through the light.