South of the marsh, the ground rises into a narrow road of black stone and old cart-ruts. Cold wind combs through the reeds behind Valornor Gladewarder, carrying a faint violet shimmer from the hidden breach.
Ahead, a half-collapsed milestone leans beside a tumble of roots. Something pale glints at its base, half-buried in mud, catching the light like bone or glass.
Valornor Gladewarder
That is not natural stone.
A shape moves near the milestone, then stills. The reeds part once, quietly, as if someone is watching from the ditch.
The Hooded Stranger
Easy, ranger. I am not here to fight you. I saw the glow in the marsh, and I know where it leads.
The stranger keeps their hands visible, but their hood stays low, hiding their face. The road ahead bends toward ruin-streaked scrubland, and the cold seems to deepen around the pale glint at the milestone.
“THE RANGER IGNORES THAT WHICH GLINTS, AS WELL AS THE STRANGER AND CONTINUES RUNNING TO THE SOUTH!”
SUCCESS (Legendary Agility, rolled +1)