Sanctuary's alley swallows you in cold shadow and rain. Alleria, a young athletic half-elf woman with a youthful angular face, hazel eyes, pointed ears, and dark-brown leather armor over a moss-green tunic, the copper-haired half-elf thief, is pinned against brickwork, one hand clamped around a mud-stained ledger.
Estate guards advance from both ends, steel drawn and lanterns raised. Their boots splash through filthy runoff while the thief watches for any opening.
Alleria
You. Dark elf. Take this, quick. It proves what they did to Lilium, and I won't let them burn a girl for being different.
Alleria thrusts the ledger toward you, keeping her shoulder against the wall. Its warped leather cover bears a faded estate seal and several dark fingerprints.
Estate Guards
Put the ledger down! It is stolen property, and the witch's crimes are none of your concern.
Estate Guards
Stand aside, outsider. We will have the thief and the evidence, or we will take both by force.
L'Sara T'Lvanni
Four guards, two exits, and a ledger close enough to snatch.
The guards tighten their cordon. Alleria's extended hand remains between you and them, the ledger trembling only slightly in her grasp.
✓ Quest Accepted
Secure the ledger for Alleria
“I seize the ledger and flee with Alleria through the nearest exit.”
FAILURE (Great Thievery, rolled -2)
You snatch the ledger from Alleria's hand and twist toward the nearer exit. Her fingers catch your wrist for one heartbeat before the cordon surges inward.
The lantern-bearing guard hooks your cape with his sword hilt. You wrench free, but the ledger slips beneath a fallen crate as Alleria is forced hard against the wall.
Alleria
The drainage hatch! Behind the crate, dark elf! It opens into the old tannery yard!
Estate Guards
Hold them! Seal the alley exits!
The crate has shifted, exposing an iron hatch rimmed with black water. Through its bars, you glimpse a narrow runoff tunnel sloping away beneath the estate.
Alleria kicks toward the hatch, but two guards seize her arms. The ledger remains just beyond your boots, pinned between crate and cobblestone.
Alleria
Take it and go! I can get loose if you reach the yard!
Rain hammers the alley while the guards drag Alleria away from the hatch. The exposed tunnel offers a usable escape, but the ledger and Alleria now demand separate choices.
“I shove aside the crate and seize the ledger”
SUCCESS (Good Strength, rolled +0)
You drive your shoulder into the crate and heave. Wet wood grinds across cobblestones, exposing the hatch fully while the ledger comes free beneath your hand. The effort bruises your shoulder through the leather.
L'Sara T'Lvanni
The ledger is mine, but my shoulder is already throbbing.
Alleria
Good! Down the hatch, before they box us in!
The crate slams against the wall, scattering black water. Alleria twists beneath the guards' hands, and the sudden space gives her one boot's length toward the opening.
Estate Guards
Stop her! The ledger cannot leave this alley!
The lantern-bearing guard lunges across the puddles, sword hilt raised. His boot catches the displaced crate, slowing him just enough for the hatch to yawn between you and the cordon.
Alleria
I will follow! Move!
The ledger lies secure against your palm, its damp pages sealed beneath warped leather. Rain drums harder as the tunnel waits below and the guards recover their footing.
Quest Complete
Secure the ledger for Alleria
Skill Upgrade: Thievery Great→Superb
+ New Item Acquired
ledger