Morning fog still clung to the palace ramparts when Lian Zhen, Prince Ren Feng, and Minister Si Ming set out beyond the city's North Gate. Their small escort comprised six scout riders, two guild engineers adept in collapse assessment, and one archivist scribe tasked with mapping waypoints—Archivist Guo's shy grand‑niece, Lin Ya.
The coordinates from Tri‑Mouth's parchment led toward the Red‑Cedar Wilds, a rugged stretch of forested foothills that once hosted quarry villages before mines ran dry. Legend claimed abandoned shrines still whispered there—echoes of rites better left forgotten.
Ren rode ahead on a dappled hare‑courser, armour hidden under travelling leathers. Lian shared his stirrup rhythm atop a black mare named Glasswing, shard‑sense thrumming in her palms each time hooves struck stony ground.
Si Ming maintained a stoic seat but eyes darted to every rustle. He had traded brocade for charcoal field garb, the mulberry badge replaced by a utilitarian bronze clasp. Practical fear made allies quickly.
[SYSTEM] Destination proximity: 3.2 li. Environmental Qi density: elevated. Potential shard activity likely.
Pathways narrowed to single‑file deer tracks. Blood‑red cedar trunks creaked in wind like old doors. Lin Ya, riding at rear, recorded bird calls and tree diameters by rote—training archivist habits that might one day save dynasties.
Sudden silence fell: no birdsong, only the hum of distant water. Lian held up a fist. The column halted.
A weather‑worn torii arch emerged from mist, crimson paint flaking like scabbed blood. Beyond it, crumbling stone steps descended into a ravine swaddled in shadow.
Carved above the lintel, almost erased: a split phoenix symbol—half obsidian, half void. Novus Plume.
Si Ming swallowed hard. "Why build downward to worship?"
"Some truths fear daylight," Lian said, dismounting. She tied Glasswing to a sapling, drew a palm‑sized shard disk from her pouch. Turquoise glow haloed edges, casting pale light ahead.
Ren unsheathed his spirit‑forged jian; muted glyphs along the fuller brightened, hungering for trouble.
"Last chance to remain topside," Lian told Lin Ya.
The girl squared tiny shoulders. "History is safer when witnessed." She produced a charcoal‑wax tablet for note‑taking.
Side‑Party Affinity Check: Lin Ya courage +5
Ren Loyalty steady
Si Ming Respect +2
They descended. Cedar roots protruded like petrified serpents; each step released centuries of damp resin scent. Thirty steps down, the staircase widened into a cavern mouth. Phosphorescent fungi dotted walls, offering ghostly illumination.
The shrine floor was mosaicked shale. Abandoned censers lined altar rails, but in place of incense coils, crystal shards sprouted like dagger‑blooms—each shard etched with micro runes.
[SYSTEM] Warning: Resonant feedback loop detected. Potential Anchor drain if exposed >10 min.
"Keep distance from clusters," Lian ordered. She approached the central dais: a cracked obsidian plinth shaped like half a phoenix talon. Upon it lay a crystal core—roughly heart‑sized—pulsing faintly.
Engineer Feng Rui whispered, "Looks half‑harvested."
Lian extended her shard disk to scan.
Core Type: Synthetic Anchor Seed
Status: Dormant → Reactivating upon proximity
Danger Level: High (unstable cascade)
A groan reverberated—stone protesting ritual wounds. The core brightened, heartbeat pulse accelerating.
Ren stepped beside her. "Can you neutralise?"
"Maybe." She reached for Crystal Breath, but the System flashed violet:
Anchor Overlap Alert — interference risk 47 %.
Before she could decide, a crossbow quarrel whistled from shadows, smashing into the core. Sparks and shard fragments sprayed. A robed figure on the mezzanine balcony nocked a second bolt, cowl marked by the split‑phoenix emblem.
Ren's jian flashed, deflecting the bolt midair.
"Contact!" he shouted. Scouts loosed arrows upward, clanging off balcony rail.
The saboteur pressed a palm to a wall‑rune. The cavern trembled; shards around the dais rattled like wind‑chimes struck by storm.
Lian felt anchor tug—core drawing on her own shard signature like leech to vein.
Crisis Triggered: Shard Eruption event in 02:00
Options: Stabilise core (Arcane, DC 14) or Overload & Flee.
She locked eyes with Ren, decision hanging in two heartbeats…
Two heartbeats stretched into an eternity, cavern walls pulsing crimson with the crystal core's surge.
"I stabilise," Lian said, voice iron‑calm. "Cover any hostiles."
Ren nodded once, pivoting to engage the balcony saboteur. Steel rang as he parried another quarrel and hurled a throwing dagger. The cloaked figure ducked back, leaving Ren to orchestrate the scouts' arrow screen.
Si Ming barked orders to engineers: "Form cordon! No one approaches the dais." Fear laced his tone, yet he stood firm, jian drawn.
Lian focused on the core—now throbbing light flares like a wounded star. She inhaled a Crystal Breath, guiding qi into her palms. Turquoise current threaded veins, meeting the violet anchor tug in a heated clash.
[SYSTEM] Stabilisation Attempt (Arcane) — Target DC 14
Modifiers: Crystal Breath (+3), Anchor Sync 25 % (+2), Environmental Riot (–1)
Roll: 12 + 4 = 16 — Success
She pressed both hands onto the obsidian plinth. Shard‑frost exploded outward, encasing the core in a translucent shell that hummed counter‑frequency. Pain lanced up her arms—tug‑of‑war between her anchor signature and synthetic heart.
Anchor Drain 7 % — Meridian Flow dips to 18 %
Stabilisation holding…
The core's frantic pulse slowed, crimson waves dimming to embers. Around the dais, dagger‑blooms of crystal receded like frightened sea anemones.
On the mezzanine, the saboteur realised the tide turned. He tossed a ceramic orb—smoke bomb—then vaulted over the rail, a grappling hook snapping taut to upper exit. Scouts' arrows whistled too late.
"Pursue!" Ren ordered. Two riders scrambled up side stairs.
Lian released the plinth with a gasp. The shell she'd conjured settled into a glassy chrysalis over the core—stable for now.
[SYSTEM] Shard Eruption Cancelled
AP Gain: +30
Anchor Sync –4 % (rebound)
Status Effect: Anchor Fatigue (minor dizziness, –5 % agility until rest)
Si Ming hurried forward, eyes wide. "By the ancestors… you bound an earthquake in a pebble."
"Temporary," she rasped. "Core still volatile. Needs removal or irreversible quenching."
Engineer Feng Rui approached, awe outweighing caution. "If we cart the core to Guild Forges, we could dismantle safely."
Ren returned, cloak cleaved, minor scrape across cheek. "Saboteur escaped through ventilation shaft. Left this." He produced a shard‑etched coin: split phoenix and the numeral VII.
Lian pocketed it beside parchment. "Another breadcrumb."
Lin Ya hurried to sketch the stabilised core, annotating runic overlays. "Historians will call this The Cedar Miracle."
"Let's survive first," Lian said, legs trembling. Ren slipped an arm under hers—support disguised as politeness.
"Escort the core," he ordered. "Two scouts ahead, two behind." Si Ming nodded, his earlier disdain transmuted into wary respect.
As they ascended the staircase, a final System prompt flickered:
Major Quest Complete: Prevent Shard Catastrophe at Red‑Cedar Shrine
Rewards: +30 AP (already added), Novus Plume intel unlocked, Ren Affinity +2
Total AP Balance: 80
Outside, dawn stained mist golden. Load‑bearers hoisted the chrysalis‑cased core onto a rune‑sled. Lian watched it leave, knowing every victory hoarded a seed of greater war.
Ren squeezed her hand. "You chose harder path."
"Living paths always harder than fleeing," she replied.
The sun had scarcely cleared the cedar crowns when a scout rider galloped back, cloak streaming. "Your Highness! The saboteur vanished into an old quarry tunnel two li east. Tracks fresh—torch ash on the threshold."
Ren exchanged a glance with Lian. Anchor Fatigue tugged—she swayed, catching herself on a cedar trunk. Pain like tin needles danced along meridians, but adrenaline hummed louder.
"Return to palace," Si Ming urged. "Let garrison handle."
Lian shook her head. "Garrison will trample clues. We go."
[SYSTEM] Decision Node: Pursue immediately (Challenge) vs. Retreat (Delay).
Chosen: Pursue.
Fatigue penalty amplified (+10 % energy drain per 10 mins).
Ren selected four scouts and Engineer Feng Rui; Lin Ya insisted on following, citing archival imperative. Si Ming frowned but ordered two guards to protect the rune‑sled core, then drew his jian and joined pursuit.
Descent into Dust
The quarry mouth yawned behind collapsing scaffolds. Ren's sword glyphs cast dim blue glow; Lian's shard disk added flickers as they followed fresh boot prints through narrow galleries. Air stank of bat guano and damp ore.
After forty paces, tunnel forked.
[SYSTEM] Passive Pulse Scan: heartbeat three bodies ahead, twenty meters.
Anchor Signature: partial match Novus Plume saboteur class.
Lian whispered coordinates; scouts took the right fork, Ren and she advanced left. Fatigue blurred edges of sight; shards in her blood throbbed like bruises.
A low chamber opened—roof supported by rotting timbers. At center, a whistle-thin figure knelt by an iron chest, stuffing scrolls into a leather satchel. Same charcoal robes, phoenix split emblem.
Ren stepped forward. "Surrender."
The saboteur hissed, uncorking a flask that fumed green—acid mist. He hurled it; Ren deflected with sword flat but vapour bit metal, sizzling.
Lian hurled shard dust; a turquoise barrier flared, halting mist mid‑air. Pain flared—energy cost steep.
Saboteur sprinted to rear tunnel, palming a rune detonator. Lian's System screamed:
Explosive Rig Detected – 00:45
She pushed Ren aside, dashed to chest, and slapped a frost rune tag across the detonator glyph. Shockwave muffled into sub‑zero crackle; timer froze.
Quick‑seal success +10 AP
Fatigue spike – vision swims.
Feet tangled; she collapsed to knee. Saboteur returned, dagger flashing for killing strike. Si Ming arrived behind, parried blade off Lian's shoulder. His second stroke slashed saboteur's thigh; attacker shrieked, dropped dagger, fled limping.
Ren pursued and tackled the figure at tunnel exit. Mask ripped free—revealing a young court eunuch, eyes glassy with zealotry.
"Novus Plume will rise," he spat.
Ren restrained him; scouts bound wrists.
Echoing Secrets
Inside the iron chest: wax tablets etched with receiver‑tower coordinates, half‑finished crystal seeds, ledger naming noble sponsors—several blanks but one insignia unmistakable: Peacock plume of Chancellor Wei's economic faction.
Si Ming paled. "This implicates half the finance bureau."
Lian pocketed a shard seed; interior throbbed faint. "Evidence now, proof later. We take the chest."
[SYSTEM] Major Intel Secured – +25 AP
Ren Affinity +1
Anchor Fatigue critical (–15 % stats until full rest).
She wobbled; Ren caught her. "We've pushed too far."
"Agreed." She managed a grin. "But stories will sing."
They emerged into full daylight. Rune‑sled and engineers awaited, core glowing faint but stable. Lin Ya inked frantic notes, eyes ablaze with history.
Si Ming surveyed captured eunuch, then offered Lian a shallow bow. "Your methods unorthodox—yet effective. The Council owes you… and I owe apology."
"Deeds speak louder," she replied.
Back toward the city, caravan wheels crunched gravel. Lian finally allowed herself to slump against wagon wall, medallion heavy against chest.