Tenda Wildheart steps out of the bamboo and into cold moonlight. Ahead, the village gates stand barred with fresh timber, and militia spears cross in a hard line.
Behind shuttered windows, faces flicker and vanish. The villagers are watching, but fear keeps every mouth shut.
Tenda holds the ledger tight. The iron key bumps against it, a small weight that suddenly feels like a verdict.
The Militia Sergeant
No one enters until the warlord’s orders are clear. Turn over what you carry.
Mei
Those orders are lies. Open the gate, and let the elders see the ledger.
Zero
If they want a fight, I am ready. If they want truth, even better.
One militia man falters at that, glancing toward the dark windows. The line is holding, but only just. The ledger is here, the elders are inside, and the next move can break the warlord’s net or spill blood at the threshold.
“Tenda demands the elders come out and see what the ledger shows”
SUCCESS (Great Willpower, rolled -1)
Tenda Wildheart
Bring the elders out. Let them see the ledger for themselves.
Tenda lifts the ledger just enough for the front rank to see its seal. His voice carries cleanly through the gate, steady and plain.
The militia line stirs. Spears do not lower, but one guard leans aside to look toward the dark houses, then toward the sergeant.
The Militia Sergeant
You want the elders, you ask them by name. Which elder will speak for this?
Mei
The eldest council should come. If the ledger is a lie, they can say so in front of everyone.
Kaelen
The gate is the test. If they send out a voice, the village starts to split.
A latch clicks somewhere inside the wall. After a long breath, a narrow side door opens and two elders step into moonlight, one carrying a lantern, the other bare-handed and grave.
The Militia Sergeant
Stand down a moment. Let the elders look.
“I ask the sergeant to lower his spears”
SUCCESS (Great Willpower, rolled +0)
Tenda lowers his chin and gives the sergeant a plain look, then gestures once with the ledger toward the barrier of spears. The moonlight catches the iron key at his wrist.
Tenda Wildheart
Lower the spears.
The sergeant hesitates, then snaps two fingers. One by one, the front spears tilt away from Tenda and the elders, leaving a narrow lane open at the gate.
The Militia Sergeant
No sudden moves. The elders go in, and the village sees what they decide.
The Elder With Lantern
That is fair enough. Fairness is what we came to test.
The Bare-Handed Elder
Bring the ledger here. If it is true, the hall will hear it from us, not from rumor.
Mei steps to Tenda's side, her shoulders loosening by a fraction as the line opens. Kaelen watches the lane ahead, while Rex stays low and still beside the timbered gate.
Quest Complete
Bring the village elders the ledger
Attribute Upgrade: Willpower Great→Superb