Callum arrives beneath the village's crooked gate as shouting erupts from the goat pen. Dust hangs over the yard, bright beneath the hard afternoon sun.
Inside the rough fence, terrified goats press against one another while a fox crouches among them, ears flattened and tail low.
Dralim
You there! Help me, now, before another goat is hurt!
A teifling herder plants his boots in the straw and raises a hooked staff. The metal point hovers over the fox, whose eyes remain fixed on Callum.
Callum
The fox is watching me instead of the staff.
Dralim
Keep it from bolting, boy! Drive it away from the herd!
One goat bleats and scrambles sideways. The fox flinches but does not run, holding its ground amid the trembling animals as the raised staff begins to descend.
✓ Quest Accepted
Save the fox
“*The herder's name is Dralim.* "Dralim hold on a moment!" *I rush into the pen and grab the fox dragging her out of the pen.*”
SUCCESS (Superb Animal Handling, rolled +4)
Callum
Dralim, hold on a moment!
Callum rushes through the gate as the staff drops. He catches the fox around its body and draws her swiftly clear of the goats, boots sliding through straw.
The fox does not bite or struggle. She folds against Callum's arms, while the goats surge away and gather behind the pen's far rail.
Dralim
By the red moons... She let you take her.
Callum
Her heart is racing, but I find no wound beneath her fur.
As Callum carries her beyond the herd, he spots a thorny black burr caught beneath her collar of fur. Its sharp scent is bitter and strange.
Dralim
Set her down slowly, boy. If she came from the wild, she may know why my goats panicked.
✓ Quest Accepted
Learn what caused the goats to panic
Quest Complete
Save the fox
“*I remove the bur. I lift it up for Dralim to see.* "Do You know what this?" *I adjust the bur in the sunlight and then turn away as the sun blinds me.* "Ow."”
SUCCESS (Great Agility, rolled +0)
Callum eases the black burr from beneath the fox's collar. She remains still in his arms, though her paws tighten briefly against his sleeve.
Callum
Do you know what this is?
He lifts the burr for Dralim, turning its hooked spines through the sunlight. A dull violet sheen flickers beneath the black husk.
Callum
Ow.
Callum turns from the glare, blinking hard as sunlight washes his vision white. A tiny barb has pricked his fingertip, leaving a bright bead of blood.
Dralim
That is no common burr. Keep it from your skin, boy. I have seen such thorns mark beasts before storms.
The fox lifts her head toward the village well, ears suddenly angled toward a faint sound beneath the earth. Dralim's grip tightens on his hooked staff.
+ New Item Acquired
Black Burr