Smoke curls between the wrecked wagons. Tenda Wildheart still has the scroll, and the Warlord's Daughter keeps her back to the uneasy soldiers, hand on her blade.
Kaelen
You have their names now, don’t you? If the warlord learns you carry that list, he will come for it.
The wounded survivor tightens their grip on Tenda’s tunic, eyes fixed on the folded paper. Several soldiers shift at the word list, their murmurs turning sharp.
Mei
Quiet. I swore the village is spared, and I mean it. But that scroll is not yours to keep.
She glances once over her shoulder at her men, then back to Tenda. The pause says enough, she wants the document back before word spreads any farther.
Tenda Wildheart
The list is the real prize, not the village.
Mei
Give it to me, or hide it well. My father will not stop at burning wagons if he knows you have it.
Her fighters go still at that name, and the mountain pass seems to narrow around the three sides of the standoff. The path ahead is clear now, keep the scroll, and the warlord becomes Tenda’s next enemy.
✓ Quest Accepted
Protect the wounded survivor
✓ Quest Accepted
Keep the enemy list out of the Warlord's hands
“Tuck the scroll deep into my tunic and signal the survivor to move toward the pass.”
SUCCESS (Superb Agility, rolled +0)
Tenda folds the scroll tight and slips it inside his tunic, flat against his chest. With two fingers, he flicks a quick signal toward the wounded survivor, then angles his body to open the way into the pass.
Kaelen
They catch the sign and ease out from behind Tenda, shoulders hunched but moving.
The wounded survivor takes the first steps, keeping low between shattered wheels and soot-black stones. The nearest soldiers watch, but none moves to stop them.
Mei
Her jaw tightens as the scroll vanishes beneath Tenda's clothes, pride fighting with the need to hold her line.
Mei
Walk. If you want that road, take it before my father hears of this.
She lifts her blade hand a little, and her fighters part just enough to leave a narrow corridor of smoke and firelight.
Tenda stands between the survivor and the soldiers as the pass opens ahead, the burning wrecks crackling behind him. One word from either side could still turn this into bloodshed.
Quest Complete
Keep the enemy list out of the Warlord's hands