Round 3

[Narrator | Narrator]
The lantern’s flame steadies as the ash‑laden clearing quiets into a tense hush. The elder’s proposal sits on the cracked table: rebuild the ruined church, attract villagers under its new faith, and use that sanctuary to deter both city patrols and whatever lurks beneath the streets. Jeane, Silra, and Sister Hale have each voiced their reservations and conditions—autonomy for power, survival over exploitation, and a moral boundary on turning the holy into a market. The elder nods, accepting that the pact will be shaped by those who will labor for it. With the terms tentatively outlined, the elder hands each of them a small, weathered scroll: the first step to claim the church’s stones, the next step to begin the rebuilding. The clearing falls silent, the storm outside tightening its grip, and the party prepares to leave the council chamber, the weight of their choices settling on their shoulders.