Three weeks later, the woods have their own kind of quiet. Benjamin sits by a tiny fire that gives off almost no smoke, its glow swallowed by the thicket.
Jenny works a blade across a stone, slow and careful. The scrape is soft, almost lost under the night insects. Elias leans with his bad shoulder against a tree, breathing through the ache.
Jenny
If this edge holds, we save a little time tomorrow.
Elias
Time keeps getting expensive. Rations too.
Benjamin
The fire is smaller than last week.
Jenny glances up at Benjamin, then back to her work, the blade catching a brief lick of firelight.
Jenny
You keep picking the safe routes. That matters more than people admit.
Elias
And when the safe routes run out, we still have each other. That is not nothing.
For a moment, the three of them just listen to the woods. No pounding doors, no shouting streets, only the fire settling between them like a shared promise.
✓ Quest Accepted
Secure enough food and water
✓ Quest Accepted
Learn to shoot with Jenny
“Ask Jenny to show me how to hold the rifle properly.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Leadership, rolled -2)
Benjamin looks up from the fire and gestures toward the rifle laid beside the tins. Jenny pauses her sharpening, then sets the blade aside.
Benjamin
Show me how to hold the rifle properly.
Jenny
Yeah. Better you learn it right than panic with it later.
She kneels closer and slides the rifle into Benjamin’s hands, correcting his grip with quick, practiced taps.
Jenny
Thumb stays clear. Shoulder takes the weight. Keep your cheek here, not floating off the stock.
Elias
We are all pretending calm comes naturally. It helps.
Benjamin settles the rifle against his shoulder as directed. Jenny watches his stance, then nods once when it stops wobbling.
Jenny
There. That looks a lot less like a disaster. Want me to show you the rest while the fire is still behaving?
“Show me how to aim the rifle”
SUCCESS (Legendary Agility, rolled +2)
Jenny shifts from the fire to Benjamin’s side, slow and sure. The rifle comes up between them, its barrel angled low toward the brush.
Jenny
Front sight on the target. You line up the little post with the notch, then squeeze, not slap.
She taps his forearm, then the stock, guiding his shoulders until the aim settles steady. The muzzle tracks a dark gap between two trees.
Benjamin
The sight picture steadies when he stops forcing it.
Benjamin adjusts once, and the rifle stops wavering. The movement is small, but it lands cleanly, like the lesson finally clicks into place.
Elias
That looks better than my first try. Which was embarrassing, for the record.
Jenny
Good. Now keep it there. If anything comes out of that thicket, you want the first look already waiting.
Quest Complete
Learn to shoot with Jenny
New Gift: Marksman