Joseph descends through the thinning storm and lands beside an abandoned watchtower above the cloud line. Its beacon is cold, and its iron-bound door hangs open.
Inside, Sergeant Oren Vale, his weathered bronze skin and a crooked scar beneath one eye visible,, a broad-shouldered middle-aged man with a graying beard, battered blue-steel armor, and a torn royal cloak, lies wounded beside the stair.
Snow blows through the broken arrow slits. Oren clutches a blood-marked dispatch in one hand and raises a dagger with the other as Joseph enters.
Sergeant Oren Vale
Stay where you are, Balefire. I may be wounded, but I can still open your throat.
The dagger trembles, though Oren’s stare remains hard. Wax seals and royal script show through the folds of the stolen dispatch.
Sergeant Oren Vale
This names a weakness in the king’s inner guard. I took it to expose a traitor, not to hand victory to you.
Sergeant Oren Vale
If he reaches for that paper, loyalty may cost more than my life.
✓ Quest Accepted
Secure the royal dispatch