Maurice brings the first horse across, then the second, guiding them through the hidden gaps between burned wagons. Celia watches the alder stand while Elianor remains beside the western wreckage.
A rasping call rises beneath a collapsed wagon. Tarin Voss, with short black hair and a narrow, weathered face, a gaunt young adult man in a torn brown courier’s coat, crawls into view, ash-pale and limping. A sealed strip of blackened leather is clenched in his hand.
Tarin Voss
Do not loose steel. I am alive, and I carried this from an officer of the Baron’s host.
He extends the leather toward them. His coat bears fresh rents and muddy handprints, while the marks along his trail include narrow boot soles and deeper impressions that leave no sign of blood.
Celia Graves
Who followed you, courier? Speak plainly. Men can be tracked, but that second trail tells me something else came through the reeds.
Tarin Voss
Living scouts drove me from the alder road. Then the thing found me. It did not breathe, did not bleed, and it kept calling from behind the trees.
Maurice Headsman
Elianor, stay by Celia. Tarin, keep that seal closed until we know whether its message is warning, command, or bait.
✓ Quest Accepted
Learn whether Tarin's message is genuine
✓ Quest Accepted
Identify the creature pursuing Tarin
“ask Celia if she can sense any undead that may be following Tarin”
SUCCESS (Fair Diplomacy, rolled +0)
Elianor Vale
Celia, can you sense any undead following Tarin?
Celia turns from the alder stand and studies Tarin without touching him. The burned wagons creak behind her as she listens beyond ordinary sound.
Celia Graves
Yes. One presence follows his trail, somewhere among the reeds. It is not close enough to see, but it is searching for him.
Her death-marked blade gives a faint, cold shiver in its sheath. Tarin’s face tightens, and Maurice shifts between the courier and the alder road.
Celia Graves
Your question confirms you understand the danger. I will trust your warning, Elianor, but you owe me the next judgment when this road forks.
Maurice Headsman
Then we have a direction and a measure of time. Tarin, keep the sealed strip shut. Celia, guide us where that presence cannot circle unseen.
Celia raises two fingers toward the reeds. Somewhere beyond the burned alder, a dry call answers, distant and deliberate, while the horses stamp uneasily.
“I ask Tarin to open and explain the message”
SUCCESS (Fair Diplomacy, rolled -1)
Elianor Vale
Tarin, open it and explain the message. We need to know what the Baron’s officer intended.
Tarin studies Elianor, then breaks the black seal with his thumb. The leather unfurls, revealing cramped red script beneath soot and rain stains.
Tarin Voss
It orders the western dead toward the ford before moonrise. The officer calls them a diversion, meant to draw defenders from the alder road.
Celia leans close without touching the strip. Maurice keeps his broad frame between the reeds and the horses, listening for the dry call.
Tarin Voss
There is more. A second command waits at the old toll crossing. The Baron’s living scouts are to guide something through after the dead pass.
Celia Graves
Then the message is useful, but Tarin’s silence cost us trust. He will surrender the strip to me, and answer every question before we move.
Tarin Voss
Agreed. I kept it closed because couriers who read such orders are often treated as accomplices. I will tell you what I know.
“I move the horses behind the burned wagons”
SUCCESS (Fair Agility, rolled -1)
Elianor gathers the reins and leads the horses behind the burned wagons, keeping their bodies screened from the reeds and the open ford.
The ground is churned and slick. Her twisted ankle buckles once beneath her, and she catches herself against a scorched wheel, pain flashing up her leg.
Maurice Headsman
Easy. Keep them close and let the wreckage hide the movement.
Elianor steadies the lead horse, then guides the others through the narrow gap. Hooves scrape stone, but the animals settle in the wagons’ deep shadow.
Celia Graves
Good. From here, the reeds cannot see the whole line. Tarin, speak while we have cover.
Tarin Voss
The old toll crossing lies beyond the alder road. The scouts will bring their hidden master there after the diversion passes.
Behind the wagons, Maurice takes the reins from Elianor and checks the horses one by one. Beyond the reeds, the dry call answers again, closer now.
Quest Complete
Learn whether Tarin's message is genuine
Skill Upgrade: Diplomacy Fair→Good