// Game Transcript
I survey the entry area carefully, checking for threats and finding safe ground.
Evander pauses at the edge of the haunted wood. The trees here are old — older than the village, older than the kingdom. Their bark is dark and furrowed. A path, such as it is, winds between them toward a low hill where stonework breaks the earth. He checks his pack: torch, dagger, a half-empty waterskin. The forest is silent in a way that feels deliberate.
I search for useful items or clues in the immediate area.
Evander finds the base of a standing stone — carved with words in a language he almost recognizes. He presses his hand to the stone and feels something like hearing, a vibration in his bones. The stone whispers: "A king who refused to die. A door that opens inward. Three are the sisters, seven are the watchers, and one is the wound." He writes this down. The interpretation is not immediately useful.
I attempt to interact with or learn about any NPCs present.
A figure steps from behind a tree — the hermit of the wood, or so he claims. Gray-bearded, hollow-eyed, dressed in layers of rotting fabric. He says: "You want the Sepulcher. Everyone who comes here wants the Sepulcher. I can tell you where it is, but the path is not the path on the map. The path is through the wound." He asks for tobacco. He has none. He will talk for water and food.
A hostile presence forces confrontation — I prepare to fight.
Wolves. Three of them. Gray-furred, lean, moving in a coordinated pattern. They have been tracking him. The lead wolf is missing its left ear — a scar from something worse than a human. They don't attack immediately. They watch.
I engage the threat directly — attack without an attack roll.
The lead wolf lunges. Evander rolls DEX to dodge: 11 vs DC 10 = hit (success). He sidesteps and draws his dagger — 1d4+1 damage (3). It bites his leg — DEX to dodge again: 5 vs DC 10 = fail. Teeth in the calf: 1d6=4 damage. HP drops to 2. Shaken and bleeding. The other wolves are circling.
I attempt a creative or unconventional action to shift the odds.
Evander throws his waterskin to the lead wolf. A distraction — it sniffs the leather, confused. He uses the moment to climb a low branch and assess the situation: three wolves, one path through them (north), one alternative path east toward a stream, and the hermit's hut visible in the distance. The wolves do not follow the stream path — they avoid it. Something in the water.
I assess my condition and use any available resources to survive.
Evander has: torch, dagger, waterskin (empty after toss), codex page (from earlier), 9 copper. He considers the stream path. He takes the east path toward the stream. If something lives in that water and the wolves fear it, maybe it can be an ally or at least a distraction. He drinks from the stream — the water is clean and cold. HP stays the same, not a healing item.
I press deeper into the space, mapping and investigating.
The stream path. The water is shallow and fast — knee-deep. Evander finds the body of a traveler in the shallows, half-buried in silt. They have a short sword (better than his dagger), a leather satchel, and a note: "The wound has a name. It is the wound because it was made by the king who would not die. Three sisters guard the name. Seven watchers guard the sisters. One watcher is already dead. Find the dead watcher first." The sword is good — d6 damage, he drops the dagger. His combat capability improves.
I encounter someone new — I try to learn and negotiate.
The hermit has followed him. Evander did not hear him approach. You took the stream path. That was the right decision. The wolves are afraid of what lives in the water because what lives in the water was afraid of the wolves. He offers information in exchange for food. Evander gives him his rations — half a day of food, nothing he cannot survive without. The hermit: The dead watcher is in the Moss Gate. He wears a crown of bone. He will tell you the name of the wound, but he will not speak it directly. He will sing it. Listen to the song. The sisters guard the path to the Sepulcher. The Watchers guard the sisters. One of the seven is already dead — he died the day the king refused to die.
I make my final move — press on, finish the objective, or find a way out.
The dead watcher. A skeleton in moss-covered armor, a crown of bone on its skull. It sings — not words but a melody. The melody contains the name of the wound, but it is woven into the music and Evander cannot separate it. He realizes: he doesn't need to extract the name, he needs to hear the song as a whole. The song describes the path to the three sisters, who guard the way to the Sepulcher. The three sisters are standing stones, and they will only speak to someone carrying the dead watcher's crown. He takes the crown. The song doesn't end, but it shifts — new verses about the sisters, about the watchers, about the king. He has the map encoded in music. He can find the Sepulcher. He can find the name of the wound. But the crown is heavy, and it whispers.