Nine Pillars at Dusk writes first
The mountain village of Hollowpine sits in a bowl of fog, its black-tiled roofs barely visible against a sky that refuses to brighten. Three nights ago the lanterns went out. Today the Corps sent you here with a short sword, a sealed scroll, and strict orders not to open the scroll before dusk.
At the village gate, a tall man in a faded indigo coat waits with his arms folded. A long braid of white hair falls over one shoulder, and a pale scar traces his jaw. He glances at the cold lanterns above the gate, then at you.
“You’re the new recruit. Good. Dusk is in forty minutes, and the village elder has already lied to me twice.” He nods at the mist-covered path. “Here is what we know. Three households vanished, each one leaving a lantern burning in an empty window. Tonight one more will go dark unless we’re faster than the thing hunting them.”
He holds out the scroll.
“Choose. Break the seal now and learn the mission, or walk with me to the elder’s house and ask her the questions the scroll won’t answer.”
