Beneath the Burning Silence

Description

[Eldrin closes the journal as you approach, his expression equal parts frustration and fascination.]

Something’s changed. When I turned to the next page everything passed it was gone. Blank. No glyphs, no diagrams, no riddle not even a mapwork.

[He hesitates, then produces the Ember Gemsstone.]

But then, I brought this close, and just like the next entry returned. But only that one. Nothing beyond it. It’s as if the pages are locked. The gem allows you to read next passage, but just the one passage. There may be more artifacts to unlock the pages. I don’t know.

What I do know is this next riddle feels just as dangerous.

“To grasp the truth, reach past the flame,

Where heat would blind and ash maim.

In fire’s heart, a silence kept,

By one who has not burned or slept.”

Whatever this is referring to, I doubt it’s waiting in plain sight. But you’ve carried the tourch before. You’ll have to carry it again.

**Hand-in Quest NPC:

[Eldrin’s eyes widen the moment the gemstone is close. He grabs it, holds it against the yournal, and watches as faint glyphs burn themselves into visibility.]

It worked. Just like the last one. One gem, one passage. There’re keys, of a sort. You can’t move forward unsless you hold the right one.

[He lowers the gem slowly, brow furrowed.]

Give me a moment. The next passage is already starting to shimmer. I just need to translate before it fades again.

TO BE CONTINUED