Jonah Carries Herman Back

Victor's cache turned the end of the lair into inventory, but not into relief. Inside were useful things: Clean Step Thieves' Leather, a Ring of Absorption, four poison vials, a half-used disguise kit, a Knife of the Cardinal Carver, and more loot still waiting to be distributed. The items mattered, especially after the party had come to Aleklot's Rest on a QUEST recovery mission, but the room's real weight was not only in what they carried out. Jonah carried Herman Winger's body back toward the inn. That image held the arc together better than any receipt could. The party had defeated a living dragon, recovered Victor's hidden cache, and survived the master path, but the guide who had brought them into the tourist dungeon was dead. Gumbo kept the dragon materials promised by his deal, paid the party three hundred gold, and left. The mission ended with success that did not feel clean. The dragon was dead. The cache was recovered. Gumbo was paid off. Herman's body was on the return path. Oskar and Jeremiah were gone through the void. Aleklot's Rest had given them treasure, proof, and consequences in the same room.