Dax tears free of the last root seam and spills into shadowed woods. Behind him, the passage shudders and narrows, spitting splinters and damp earth.
Ahead, broken branches mark a fresh track through pine needles. It leads toward the distant black shape of King Arthur's castle, and whatever Robin Hood is doing out there, he is still moving.
Heilyn
The threshold is still awake. If it seals wrong, it will draw more than it shuts away.
The memory shard in the Minotaur's grasp gives one weak ember-pulse, then dims again. The light in Dax's pack answers with a low, warning throb, as if the woods themselves are counting time.
The Exiled Prince
Keep going. If Robin Hood reached the castle path, then so can we. The key is almost spent, and so is the trail.
He steps in close behind Dax, too quick, too eager for a man under threat. His hand hovers near Dax's pack while the roots behind them groan and begin to cave inward.
✓ Quest Accepted
Find Robin Hood
✓ Quest Accepted
Reach King Arthur's castle path
“I see the shine of Robin's drawn arrow just ahead all I can see is the shadow of what he targeted”
SUCCESS (Good Perception, rolled +0)
Dax catches the glint in the brush and follows it through the dark. Robin Hood is not visible, but his arrow is, held at full draw just ahead.
The shaft points past the path, toward a hunched shape half-hidden in the ferns, all shadow and trembling antlers.
Dax
Robin Hood has the target.
Robin Hood
There. Keep your eyes on that thing.
Dax shifts his focus with the arrow, and the woods open a little wider around the marked prey.
Behind the shadowed target, the trail toward King Arthur's castle stays clear, but the beast ahead has not yet noticed them.
“I keep the beast in sight and move to the path”
SUCCESS (Legendary Agility, rolled -1)
Dax keeps the antlered shape in sight and drifts with it, angling toward the open trail without breaking his line on the brush.
The beast shifts deeper into shadow, but the path to King Arthur's castle stays visible to Dax's right, clear and waiting.
Robin Hood
Good. Slide to the path, but do not lose that brush.
Dax reaches the edge of the trail, sword low, shield turned toward the ferns as the hidden shape stays pinned by sight and arrow.
The Exiled Prince
At last. The way is open. Move before the woods change their mind.
Heilyn
It is not alone, I think. The clearing still feels watched.
The Minotaur
If it runs, let it run. Just do not let it circle back.
Quest Complete
Reach King Arthur's castle path
Attribute Upgrade: Perception Good→Great
“Robin join us an lead the way nobody knows these woods like you”
SUCCESS (Superb Willpower, rolled -2)
Dax
Robin, come with us. Lead the way, nobody knows these woods like you do.
Robin Hood
A fair plea. I will lead, and I will not waste your trust.
Robin Hood
But if I guide you, I choose the path, and I choose the pace.
The Exiled Prince
Fine, as long as he keeps us moving toward the castle.
Heilyn
That is wiser than wandering blind. The woods answer to him better than they answer to us.
Robin Hood
Then listen close. There is a safer line under the yews, and a quicker one that cuts through old trouble.
Robin Hood
Choose quickly. The woods have already marked us, and I would rather not pay twice.
Quest Complete
Find Robin Hood
Fault Removed: Greed