John Smith clambers from the beached skiff onto the muddy landing. The Seine laps low against the shore, and the last red smear of torchlight hangs far behind him. Ahead, a narrow path climbs between wet reeds and dark stone.
The Boatman
Go on, then. Keep to the path and do not look back. I will shove off when I can.
Healer Gaston steadies himself on the low stone edge, breathing hard. The hidden paper is still safe with John, damp at the edges but unbroken.
Healer Gaston
If your pursuers search the river, this landing will be the first place they check. We need a roof, and quickly.
A lantern blooms beyond the reeds. A ferryman, broad-shouldered and wrapped in a soaked cloak, steps from a moored punt and freezes when he sees them.
The Ferryman
You there. If you came from the city side, you bring trouble with you.
The Boatman shifts in the skiff, ready to cast off, while the ferryman watches John and Gaston with wary calculation. The night feels too small for all the men hunting shadows.
“Approach the ferryman and say "we seek only safety. We mean you no harm"”
SUCCESS (Good Willpower, rolled +1)
John Smith closes the last steps to the lantern and lowers his pace, palm open and rapier kept down. The ferryman does not retreat.
John Smith
We seek only safety. We mean you no harm.
The Ferryman
That voice carries no begging in it. Only iron, kept under a lid.
The Ferryman
Then keep it that way. Trouble comes in wet boots and finer words than yours.
Healer Gaston eases off the stone edge, some of the strain leaving his shoulders. In the skiff behind them, the Boatman pauses with his hand on the oar.
The Boatman
He speaks true. We crossed under haste, not malice. If you have a dry roof, man, point us to it.
The Ferryman
Aye. There is a store shed by the path, and a loaf too hard for honest teeth. Stay there till dawn, and we all keep our skins.
The ferryman tips his lantern toward the reeds, showing a narrow track and a stack of crates beside a low shed. For the first time, his wary look softens into plain caution.
“Run to store shed”
SUCCESS (Great Agility, rolled +0)
John Smith breaks from the lantern and cuts across the mud at a hard, silent run, boots splashing through the reeds.
The ferryman turns to watch him go, lantern held high, while Healer Gaston starts after him one step behind.
John reaches the store shed and stops at the warped door, the paper still pressed safe against his chest.
The Ferryman
Good. Get under cover, all of you. The path is plain from here, but not safe.
Healer Gaston
He made it cleanly. That is a mercy tonight.
From the skiff, the Boatman leans on his oar and scans the river, his face lit in brief gold by the lantern.
The Boatman
Then I cast off before the dark changes its mind.
Quest Complete
Deliver the incriminating paper to safety
New Gift: Hard-Won Insight