At the ravine’s choke point, masked bandits, lean adult figures in patched gray leathers and dark scarves ring the halted wagons, bows leveled from the rocks. Dust veils the merchant family and the frightened pack animals.
The merchant mother, her weathered face framed by a dark braid, a sturdy middle-aged woman in a russet cloak, grips a child close beneath the wagon. Beside her, a lean young adult man in blue silk peers over a crate, pale and trembling.
Bandit 1
Guards, drop steel and step away from the wagons. Resist, and the merchants pay for your stubbornness.
Tomas
Please! My name is Liora Venn. Get my children through, and everything in the lead wagon is yours!
A horn sounds from the rear wagon. Three guards close ranks, but the encirclement is too broad; arrows twitch on every ridge, waiting for the first break.
Tomas
There’s a narrow trail behind the shrine! If someone reaches it, the wagons can turn and run.
The bandit captain, a tall adult woman in a hooded brown coat, her lower face hidden by a red scarf raises one gloved hand. Across the ravine, bowstrings tighten in unison as the guards glance toward Mando and the narrow trail.
✓ Quest Accepted
Get the merchants through the ambush
“Shunkar, knowing his duty, turns to his charges and says "consider it doene." He advances menacingly in the direction of the narrow trail, and the bandits blocking it, letting every ounce of the killing aura he built on the front lines pour out from him.”
SUCCESS (Superb Intimidation, rolled +1)
Mando Shunkar
Consider it done.
Mando turns toward the shrine trail, halberd striking the stone with each measured step. Heavy armor grinds softly, while the ravine seems to contract around his advancing shadow.
His battlefield presence rolls ahead of him, cold and absolute. Men who have faced death recognize its weight; bows dip, and the masked outlaws blocking the trail recoil into one another.
Bandit 1
Captain, that is the war-god from the front! Even the orcs fear him!"
The bandits part before Mando reaches them, abandoning the narrow trail completely. Their courage breaks without a blow, leaving the route open behind the shrine.
Bandit Captain
Let him pass. Lower your weapons and do not draw his eye.
The captain lowers her gloved hand. Across the ridges, bowstrings slacken, and the guards see the escape path clear as dust drifts through the stunned silence.
“Shunkar stands guard as the caravan slowly passes through the open trail. "Smart decision" he tells the bandit leader.”
SUCCESS (Good Perception, rolled +1)
Mando Shunkar
Smart decision.
Mando plants his halberd beside the shrine trail and stands guard as the lead wagon rolls past. His armored bulk keeps the opened path unquestioned.
Bandit Captain
A wise warrior knows when steel would only purchase ashes. Keep moving, merchants.
Liora guides the frightened child beneath the wagon’s canvas while the young man scrambles aboard. The guards follow, eyes fixed on the ridges and the silent bows.
Liora Venn
May the road repay you, Mando Shunkar.
One wagon passes, then another. No bandit reaches for a rein or raises a bow; even the pack animals find the trail beyond the shrine.
When the caravan clears the choke point, dust folds around its departing wheels. The bandit captain remains still, measuring Mando across the widening distance.
Quest Complete
Get the merchants through the ambush
Skill Upgrade: Intimidation Superb→Legendary