Rolled 14 (1d100)
>>6206502<span class="mu-g">…</span>
<span class="mu-g">You</span> can’t say you exactly follow all this talk—most of it in foreign, dwarfy gibberish—about the origins and purposes of this place, nor do you care. You’re more focused on ~Martyn~. As Taito, Copperbelt, and the blue-green crew discuss angels of approach with ZZ, you cling to his arm, and just enjoy it. Treasure’s nice, naturally, but between freeing ZZ and getting the guy, you already feel like you’ve won.
(Now you just need to save little old Hershy, and it’ll pretty much be the perfect day!)
“…ara? Cara?”
You blink a couple times when you hear your name, and look over to Martyn. “Oh, sorry, I was thinkin’ about… Uhh… What’s up?”
Martyn is a little exasperated, but nice enough about it, and sums up what he was (apparently) yammering on about thus: “I was saying that this changes everything we know about the origins of our peoples. We may have uncovered the common origin of all the ‘small folk’! And it begins with…”
He lowers his voice, leaning in, and you feel a thrill at his proximity.
“…It begins with YOUR kind.”
“Yeah,” you say dreamily, focused on the tingly-warm feel of his breath and the passionate gleam in his eye. “That’s, like, awesome~”
“The implications are astonishing,” Martyn agrees. “But I have to wonder… What will become of this place?”
“Huh?”
Martyn looks away, towards the others.
“I get the feeling that this place will be hidden away,” he says, sounding sad. “This magic… This history.. I don’t think it will ever see the light of day, if these old ones and the dwarven corporations have their way.”
You blink a few times as you process this information, deciding whether or not you really even CARE about all that. It seems like maybe you should?
<span class="mu-s">“Yes,”</span> you hear a voice speak within your own mind, <span class="mu-s">“You should.”</span>
You panic for a moment, but a quick look around at the others tells you that this isn’t the Ettercap. And it feels different to her, but not unfamiliar. Only when you look towards a nearby patch of shadows do you finally recognize the psionic frequency, for there you see a single luminous red eye.
(The Nothic! The envoy of the Dark God of Knowledge, your tutor in all things Dark!)
<span class="mu-s">“Protect this place. Secure its secrets.”</span> The eye stares, burning bright and eerily unblinking, and you cannot tear your gaze away. <span class="mu-s">“You will be rewarded.”</span>
