The Warlord backs into the mist, and his soldiers melt after him. The canyon road falls quiet except for distant coughing and the crackle of torches below the village wall.
Tenda reaches the outskirts with the others, where shaken survivors cluster behind stacked carts and broken fence posts. The village is safe for the moment, but every face waits for the next knife in the dark.
Mei steps out of shadow, rain-damp hair stuck to her cheek, and lifts a hand toward the fog-choked road. Her eyes stay on the retreat line, not the crowd.
Mei
He will not be gone for long. I know where his remaining scouts hide, and which paths they use to circle the village.
The Elder With Lantern turns at that, lantern light shaking across his old face. The truth of the Warlord's bloodline hangs between him and Mei like a blade not yet lowered.
The Elder With Lantern
Then we do not waste this mercy. If his line reaches us again, we cut off their eyes before they return.
Tenda stands between the survivors and the dark road, Mei's warning giving him the shape of the next fight. To protect the village now, he must turn retreat into a perimeter before the scouts close in.
✓ Quest Accepted
Cut off the scouts before they return
✓ Quest Accepted
Secure a perimeter around the village
“I ask Mei to lead me to the hidden paths where the Warlord's scouts are waiting.”
SUCCESS (Fair Tactics, rolled +1)
Tenda Wildheart
Mei, show me the hidden paths the scouts use.
Mei
Yes. There is a goat path above the west bend, and a drainage cut near the old signal stones. If they return, they pass through both.
Mei moves at once, leading Tenda toward the fog-veiled edge of the road while the others tighten around the survivors. The village below stays lit, small and vulnerable, and the broken fence rails creak under a rising wind.
The path climbs over slick rock. Tenda's numb arm brushes the stone as he goes, and the cold bites through the bandage with each step.
The Elder With Lantern
If those scouts slip back through us, the whole wall pays for it.
At the lip of the overlook, Mei points into the mist. Below, a narrow cut splits away from the main road, just wide enough for men to file through in silence.
Mei
There. I know the turns. We can meet them before they see the village lights again.
A distant horn beats once from somewhere deeper in the canyon, thin and rhythmic. Mei keeps her arm outstretched toward the hidden way, waiting for Tenda to choose the first move.
“I circle wide and intercept the scouts”
SUCCESS (Legendary Agility, rolled +0)
Tenda peels off from the overlook and takes the longer line along the rock shelf. Fog swallows his first steps, then gives way to the drainage cut below, where the scouts have started threading toward the hidden route.
He drops in behind them in silence, using the curve of the canyon wall to mask his approach. His numb arm stays tight to his side as he closes the gap.
The rear scout turns too late. Tenda cuts across the path, stopping the pair before they can climb back to the main road.
Mei
He got there first.
Mei catches sight of the interception from above, her hand still raised over the hidden way. The Elder With Lantern tightens his grip on the lantern and stares into the mist, listening for the horn pulse.
The Elder With Lantern
Good. Keep them pinned there.
Below, the scouts hesitate at Tenda's blocking stance, boxed in between the cut and the stone wall. The village lights remain out of reach behind them, and the canyon goes very still.
Quest Complete
Cut off the scouts before they return
Skill Upgrade: Tactics Fair→Good