Hilda lowers her mace, the steel head scraping against the vibrating tunnel floor. She stares at the creature, her brow furrowed with a mixture of confusion and genuine shame. The dust settles around her boots, and she sighs, the sound lost to the groan of shifting tectonic plates.
Hilda
I stood ready to strike a beast, yet this thing holds the very stone together. I have been blind to the weight of these mountains.
Hilda
My apologies, creature. I took you for a common grazer, but I see now that the earth itself bows to your presence.
Goat
She is quiet now. Does she have more mountain sage hidden in those heavy pouches?
Hilda sheathes her mace and carefully moves a jagged slab of rock to clear a path. She keeps her distance, offering the goat space to navigate the fissure. She gestures toward a narrow opening where the light is steady, waiting for the goat to lead the way out of the failing tunnel.
+ Scene Quest Added
Follow Hilda out of the tunnel
“*Show her the respect a fellow guardian deserves, as you intended to but failed to when you embarrassed yourself during your first meet*”
SUCCESS (Good Willpower, rolled -1)
Goat
I must show this human that I am no mere beast, but a force of the peaks. I will offer a gesture of solidarity, a true guardian's nod of acknowledgment.
The goat stands firm, ignoring the tremors beneath his hooves. He bows his head low, letting his heavy, curved horns dip toward the stone, then meets Hilda's eyes with a steady, solemn intensity that speaks of ancient pacts and silent vigils.
Hilda
There is a soul behind those golden eyes. He understands the burden of the mountain.
Hilda
We move together, then. The passage ahead is unstable, but the path beyond the fissure looks clear.
Hilda turns toward the opening, her hand resting reassuringly on her sheathed mace. She glances back, waiting to see if the goat will follow her lead toward the sliver of sunlight piercing the gloom of the tunnel.
Quest Complete
Follow Hilda out of the tunnel