The heavy oak door groans as it swings inward. A tall, gaunt man draped in travel-worn furs enters the cramped room. He carries the scent of pine needles and old blood.
Stranger
Standing in the doorway, he tosses a heavy, rusted iron key onto the wooden table near Eolsi's hand. You look like a man who has lost his way, and perhaps his shadow. Retrieve the Sun-Crowned Amulet from the crypt beneath the Old Mill. Bring it to me, and I shall return the memory of who you were before the Void hollowed you out.
Eolsi
His eyes pulse with orange light. He sees the man’s true nature—a tapestry of rotting silk and hunger. This is no savior. It is another predator waiting for a chance to feed.
Eolsi
Your offer sounds like a leash. Why should I trust a ghost-walker to restore my past?
Stranger
Trust is a luxury for the whole, boy. You are a fragmented vessel. The amulet is the only key to stitching your soul back into a singular truth. Do we have an accord?
+ Story Quest Added
Retrieve the Sun-Crowned Amulet from the crypt
+ New Item Acquired
rusted iron key
“You agree & ask a mage to help you”
SUCCESS (Superb Persuasion, rolled +1)
Eolsi
I agree to your terms, but not your methods. I will retrieve your trinket, but I am bringing my own insurance. A mage I know, one who understands the weave of the Void, will be waiting to ensure this "stitching" of my soul doesn't end with you wearing my skin.
Stranger
He leans forward, his thin lips curling into a jagged smile. A hedge wizard, then? Very well. Bring your safety net. It will only make the harvest more bountiful when I tear the amulet from your cooling fingers.
Eolsi
The stench of rot intensifies as he speaks. He is so certain of his trap, he does not even try to hide his anticipation of my death. I need to be faster than his hunger.
The stranger turns and vanishes into the gloom of the hallway, leaving the iron key cold and heavy upon the wood.