Merryholm Obelisk Resonance

An obelisk has gone silent for the first time in years.

Requirements

Hear the keeper's worry
'The obelisk has hummed every dawn for nine years. Two weeks ago it stopped. The conduit downhill is still drawing, so the line isn't broken. Walk it with me. Tell me what you hear.'
Listen at the obelisk
You put a palm flat to the stone. It's warm, the way a man's chest is warm, and you can feel something underneath it that should be a hum and is instead a slow, off-time tap.
Read the conduit flow
The conduit's still drawing essence clean, no flicker, no foul colour. Whatever's wrong with the obelisk isn't downstream of it. The keeper exhales. 'Then it's the source. That's worse.'
Strike the resonance test
You strike the stone with the keeper's brass rod three times. The first two go dead. The third sets the obelisk humming for a count of nine, then back to the slow tap. Something's answering, just not all of it.
File the keeper's findings
The keeper writes the test results in the book and closes it slowly. 'Nine years it sang the same note. Now it taps. I'll send word south. Whoever feeds it is asleep, or waking up, or worse. Take your pay and don't come back tomorrow.'

Reroll Credits: 60