Shimo’s fingers close on the service keys, but a hard thud jolts the door. From the other side comes a strained whisper, barely more than breath, asking for the latch to be opened before the guards return.
Wulf
Please. Quick now, or they catch me here.
Kaelen freezes with his bow half-raised, eyes cutting from the door to Shimo. The wax-marked latch sits plain in the dim passage, and the rain barrel gurgles softly in the shadows.
Kaelen
Could be bait. Could be prey. I cannot tell which.
Shimo
Open up. Slowly.
The key turns. The latch lifts. A gaunt young man stumbles out, one sleeve torn, one cheek smeared with ash, and he lifts both hands at once, empty and shaking.
Wulf
Name’s Wulf. I was penned in there when the Iron Company took the yard. I mean you no harm.
✓ Quest Accepted
Get past Wulf
“For now I usher us inside to get out of sight for any potential patrols. While doing so I tell Wulf that if he means no harm then he should help me move the bodies indoors to clean up the scene. I'll then turn to Kalen to check how things went for him and Elias. I hope that wulf will show his sincerity and help to ease Kaelen's understandable distrust of the new person. I'll also assure Kaelen that wulf will be my responsibility and will take him with me to keep him in line”
SUCCESS (Good Diplomacy, rolled -1)
Shimo eases the little group into the shadowed passage and gestures Wulf toward the wall. The open door is left just enough to breathe, not enough to advertise them.
Wulf
Aye. I will help. Better to earn trust than beg for it.
Wulf bends to the nearest slumped guard, careful and still shaky, while Shimo shifts the second body by the shoulders. Kaelen watches without lowering his bow, but the sharpness in his face softens a fraction.
Shimo
Help me with these, and we keep this clean.
Kaelen
He speaks well for a man just out of a lockup. That is something.
Once the bodies are dragged inside and tucked out of the passage, Shimo turns back to Kaelen. Smoke, rain, and the distant crash of the assault drift through the corridor, but here the air steadies.
Kaelen
Elias held the rear well. He gave us the service route, then stayed put when I told him to. If he is still standing, I owe him a drink.
Wulf wipes his palms on his torn sleeve and looks from Kaelen to Shimo, waiting to be judged. Shimo answers with a calm nod and a hand set lightly on his shoulder, making plain who carries him from here.
Shimo
Wulf stays with me. If he keeps helping, he keeps moving.
Wulf
Then I will keep helping. Ask me what you need, and I will tell you what I know.
Quest Complete
Get past Wulf