Benjamin, Jenny, Louis, and Elias stagger out of the trees and into a bowl of rock and gravel below the mountain base. Hunger, smoke, and bruises hang off them like another layer of clothes.
Above the gate, two guards on a catwalk level their rifles down at the group. Floodlights glare off the steel doors behind them.
The Guard
Stay where you are. No one comes up unless you prove you are clean.
The Second Guard
Hands out. Slow. Any bite, any fever, any lie, and you do not move again.
Benjamin stops in the open with the others, exposed under the lights. No weapons in hand, no cover, just the hard climb behind them and the locked mountain ahead.
Louis
This is it. We made it to the base, now we have to get them to let us in.
The guards keep their rifles trained as one of them jerks a chin toward the slope, waiting for proof while the night breathes cold behind the survivors.
✓ Quest Accepted
Get entry to the mountain base
“Is there a quarantine test we can pass?”
NO (Likely, rolled 79)
The guard shakes his head, his expression hardening as he gestures toward the dark, empty road behind them. There is no testing, no screening, and no entry for those who arrive at their doorstep.
“Can you at least radio your commander to confirm we have supplies to trade for entry?”
EXCEPTIONAL NO (Unlikely, rolled 91)
The Guard
Commander? You think we waste radio time on every stray dog that wanders out of the woods. There is no trade, no commander, and no way you are stepping foot inside this gate.
Benjamin
The radio is just a prop to them. They never intended to let anyone in.
“Is there any way to prove we are uninfected?”
NO (Unlikely, rolled 62)
The guard does not stop or look back, his footsteps echoing hollowly against the metal grating as he disappears into the base. There is no test, no protocol, and no path forward through the heavy steel doors.
“I call up to the guards again”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +2)
Benjamin cups his hands and calls up again, his voice carrying clean through the floodlit dark. The words come out steady, not loud enough to sound desperate, just firm enough to make the catwalk listen.
Louis
He isn't letting this go. Good.
A few beats pass. Then movement answers from the shadows above, a shape turning back toward the edge. Not the same guard, a different one, slower this time.
Jenny
At least somebody's still listening.
Elias
We came all this way. They can either talk to us, or watch us freeze out here.
The new guard leans over the rail, rifle low, studying the four of them under the lights. The base stays shut, but the silence changes. It becomes a silence with attention in it.
Louis
Benjamin, say the word. We are still together.
For the first time since the gate, the others stop looking at the door and look at Benjamin instead, waiting beside him rather than ahead of him.
“"Our helicopter here was shot out of the sky. We were supposed to be in there right now. Please. Please dont leave us out here to die."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Leadership, rolled +1)
Benjamin keeps his voice level and tells the catwalk guard the helicopter was shot down, that they were meant to be inside by now, that they are tired and out in the cold.
The new guard does not answer at first. He straightens, looks past Benjamin to the others, and the rifle in his hands lowers a fraction.
Louis
That got his attention. Keep going, Ben.
Jenny
Tell him the truth. All of it.
Benjamin speaks through the glare, and this time the guard’s posture changes. The man turns his head toward the base doors, then reaches back as if signaling someone below.
Elias
He is listening now. We just needed the right reason.
Metal clacks inside the gatehouse. A side latch releases, and the heavy front gate finally shudders open just enough to admit them one by one.
Louis
There it is. Stay close, all of you.
Quest Complete
Get entry to the mountain base
New Gift: Mountain Survivalist