One small mark.
Only one.
Rohan stared at it for a long moment.
Maerin noticed.
She moved to the table and removed her mask, revealing a weathered face with a scar running from the corner of her jaw to just below one ear. She was older than he had guessed. Not elderly, but old enough that the authority in her posture had been earned repeatedly.
"Sit," she said.
Rohan sat across from her.
The quest panel appeared again.
[Quest Progress: Report to the Ash-House]
[Objective Complete: Follow Captain Maerin to the Ash-House.]
[Reward Acquired: Local Knowledge]
The words faded almost immediately.
Rohan waited.
Nothing poured into his mind.
No sudden download. No map. No convenient packet of facts.
Instead, Maerin folded her hands on the table and said, "Now. Tell me where you came from."
Rohan looked at the empty space where the panel had been.
Then at Maerin.
'So the reward isn't given by the system directly.'
His intrigue sharpened.
