Downtown Detroit shakes under a wash of team colors, horns, and rage. The home team has lost by one point, and the crowd spills off the sidewalk like a broken wave.
Thadeus stands near the edge of it, leather trenchcoat catching the stadium lights, wooden sword at his side. Phones are up, voices are raw, and something heavy is about to give.
The Leader
We are not leaving like this. Somebody tell me where the front office people went.
A chant starts, then fractures. A can skitters across the pavement. Several fans turn toward a row of parked cars and a glass storefront.
Marla
Stop, stop, this is getting stupid. Security is already coming.
The Young Man with a Megaphone
They robbed us. They stole it in the last minute. No one walks away calm after that.
Someone shoves past Thadeus, hard enough to test his balance. Across the street, a line of fans surges toward a police barricade that is already bending under pressure.
The Leader
You there. Big guy. Help hold them back, or get out of the way.
✓ Quest Accepted
Get away from the stadium unrest
✓ Quest Accepted
Escape the imminent riot
“Can I see a clear path through the chaos toward the parking lot?”
NO (Unlikely, rolled 83)
Thadeus scans the stadium concourse, but the surging mass of people and overturned barricades completely obscure any route to the parking lot. Every potential exit is choked with panicked bodies, leaving no clear path forward.
“I push through the nearest gap”
SUCCESS (Fair Strength, rolled -1)
Thadeus shoulders into the nearest opening as bodies shift and complain around him.
A jersey sleeve brushes his coat, then a startled fan stumbles aside, widening the gap just enough.
He slips through without stopping, the crush behind him swallowing the space closed.
Marla
Hey, you, watch the line!
The Young Man with a Megaphone
Don’t let them scatter, keep pushing!
Thadeus reaches the edge of the knot of fans, where the street opens a little wider and the noise thins by a notch.
“I keep moving toward the street”
SUCCESS (Mediocre Agility, rolled +1)
Thadeus keeps moving, slipping past the edge where the bodies thin and the street breathes again.
Behind him, the crowd surges at the gap he leaves, but it does not catch him.
Marla
Hey, stay out of the crush!
The Young Man with a Megaphone
No, keep them together!
Thadeus reaches open pavement near the curb, the racket from the stadium now muffled by distance and moving feet.
A line of parked cars and a wider stretch of sidewalk wait ahead, while the riot stays packed behind him.
Quest Complete
Get away from the stadium unrest
Attribute Upgrade: Strength Fair→Good
Quest Complete
Escape the imminent riot
Attribute Upgrade: Strength Good→Great