Mara Pell brings the red-scarfed raider before Betram at the chapel wall. The other five prisoners, five mud-streaked adult men and women in torn brown and gray raider garb remain bound beneath the watch of three village watchmen, while Hadrik studies the captive.
Mara Pell
This one carried the red scarf and rode at the front. He claims he knows nothing, but Hadrik says otherwise.
Hadrik Sorn
Name the courier who delivered Jorren's order. Do not hide behind surrender now. Your silence will bury every man beside you.
The captive's jaw tightens. Beyond him, the other raiders shift against their bindings, and one watchman grips his spear as the chapel fire snaps in the wind.
Jorren's raider 1
The courier was Veyra Dask, a Veldemarke woman with a silver knot-token. She came from the eastern ravine and left before dusk.
Hadrik Sorn
The ravine leads to the old quarry. If that token marked her allegiance, the hidden force is gathering there before dawn.
Mara takes the captive's silver knot-token from inside his coat and places it on the chapel stones. Beyond the village, the eastern ravine disappears into darkness, but the route is now clear.
“Betram takes the silver knot token and mounts his horse. "If I can reach the quarry before dawn, I can stop this from going any further. I leave the prisoners to you, Mara." He rides off into the night. Headed with all speed to the quarry.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Agility, rolled +2)
Betram Steelstream
If I can reach the quarry before dawn, I can stop this from going any further. I leave the prisoners to you, Mara.
Betram takes the silver knot-token from the chapel stones and closes his hand around it. He mounts the fresh horse, gathers the reins, and turns toward the eastern darkness.
Mara Pell
Go, then. I will keep these prisoners bound and make certain Hadrik hears every name they know. Bring back peace, young dragoon.
The fresh horse launches from the chapel yard, carrying Betram into the night. Hooves strike the hard road as the silver token flashes once in his fist, guiding him toward the eastern ravine.
He follows the ravine beneath a starless sky, vaulting fallen branches and broken ground without slowing. The distant quarry appears before dawn, its abandoned cranes and black stone walls crouched beyond the pass.
Betram Steelstream
The quarry is still quiet.
Betram reaches the quarry at full speed and reins in among the outer stones. No alarm rises from within, but fresh tracks descend toward the concealed work yard, where a faint lantern burns below.
Quest Complete
Learn who carried the orders
Attribute Upgrade: Reasoning Fair→Good
+ New Item Acquired
Silver Knot-Token
“Betram ties his horse to a nearby tree and approaches on foot. Using his Dragoon leap to bound between cliffsides as he approaches the source of the light.”
SUCCESS (Great Athletics, rolled -1)
“Betram ties his horse to a nearby tree and approaches on foot. Using his Dragoon leap to bound between cliffsides as he approaches the source of the light.”
FAILURE (Great Athletics, rolled -1)
Betram ties the fresh horse to a bent ash tree above the quarry path. The fresh horse paws once at the stones, then falls still as Betram slips into the shadows.
He reaches the ravine’s narrow throat and springs upward, catching a jutting ledge before bounding toward the opposite cliff. Loose shale breaks beneath his boots.
The second landing comes short. Betram strikes the cliff face, twists, and catches a lower shelf with one hand while stones clatter into the darkness below.
Betram Steelstream
The upper route will not hold my weight.
His grip holds, but the failed bound leaves him beneath the intended path, separated from the lantern by a sheer wall. The falling stones reveal a narrow quarry stair cut into the rock.
Betram pulls himself onto the shelf and studies the stair. It descends toward the concealed work yard from below, while the lantern’s glow remains steady beyond the broken cranes.
✓ Quest Accepted
Reach the concealed work yard
“He follows the stairs as an alternate path as he closes in on the lantern's position.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Agility, rolled +0)
Betram descends the quarry stair with measured steps, keeping one hand against the rock while the lantern’s glow brightens below. The cut stone holds firm beneath him.
At the final turn, he lowers his stance and moves across the work yard’s shadowed edge. Cranes and stacked stone conceal his approach as the lantern burns beside a rough table.
The stair delivers Betram directly beneath the lantern’s position. He reaches the concealed yard and sees a young adult Veldemarke woman with a lean build, dark braided hair, and a silver knot-token fastened at her green cloak.
Veyra Dask
You came through the quarry stair. Jorren said Sanbreque would follow the road, not climb beneath it.
Veyra turns from the table without reaching for the knife at her belt. Charcoal marks show troop routes across the stone, while sealed packets rest beside the lantern.
Betram Steelstream
The quarry is a staging ground, not an abandoned work yard.
Quest Complete
Reach the concealed work yard