The highway bends into a pine-choked hollow, where masked outlaws cluster around a rough scaffold. A sellsword woman stands beneath it, wrists bound, the rope already resting around her neck.
She is a weathered adult woman with a lean build and sun-browned skin with cropped auburn hair, a split leather coat, and a scar crossing one eyebrow. Beside the scaffold, a broad-shouldered adult man in a green cloak, with a weather-lined face, close-cropped brown hair, and a chipped front tooth weighs silver coins in his palm.
The Coin-Counting Bounty Hunter
That is the full price. Count it yourself, if you doubt me.
Mara Vey
Keep your silver. Someone will pay more to see me alive.
The bounty hunter closes his fist over the coins. Around him, the masked outlaws shift their grips on bows and blades, their attention turning sharply toward Felix.
The Coin-Counting Bounty Hunter
Well now. A lone traveler at our door. Are you here to bargain, stranger, or merely watch?
The hollow falls quiet except for the creak of the scaffold and the restless pines. Every masked face waits on Felix's next move.
✓ Quest Accepted
Free the condemned sellsword
“"Well my good friend, what I am here for is that woman you have tied up there. You must already know that she has a pretty bounty on her head and I am here to get her as soon as possible. And I am sure you are an intelligent person who I believe can strike a deal without any need of bloodshed. So you can hand her over to me and leave with your lives... or you and your allies behind you can die if you are ready for it."”
SUCCESS (Good Persuasion, rolled -1)
Felix Kov
My good friend, I am here for that woman. Hand her over and leave with your lives, or you and your allies can die. Surely we can strike a bloodless deal.
Felix plants his staff in the pine needles. Blue sparks crawl along its grain, and a low thunder rolls from his blood, making the masked outlaws glance uneasily at one another.
The Coin-Counting Bounty Hunter
You make a costly offer for a stranger, traveler. Lower that staff, and I will cut her loose. But you will answer for her if she vanishes.
The bounty hunter studies the crackling staff, then the faint blue light gathering beneath Felix's skin. His confidence thins. He steps toward the scaffold and draws a knife.
The Coin-Counting Bounty Hunter
Cut her down. The traveler takes responsibility, and my purse loses its prize. If she betrays you, I will remember your face.
The rope drops away, and the sellsword's bonds are cut. The masked outlaws lower their weapons, though their suspicion follows Felix as closely as their eyes.
Mara Vey
That is a generous wager, stranger. I will not waste the freedom you bought, but now I owe you a debt I cannot ignore.
Quest Complete
Free the condemned sellsword