Rain hisses from the tavern’s eaves as Faralda enters the crowded common room. A young adult man stands atop a bench, lean and scar-cheeked, with sandy hair, a weathered green cloak, and a bronze sun-mark at his throat.
Edrin Vale
I am Edrin Vale, marked by the Dawnstar. I seek knowledge of the darkness gathering beyond these roads, and those willing to stand against it.
Before anyone answers, a golden sigil kindles above the tables. Sacred light pours across every face, turning tankards, blades, and wary eyes bright as polished coin.
The Cloaked Traveler
No. Not here. Not before them.
The tavern doors slam shut without a hand touching them. Iron latches twist into place, and the omen’s radiance gathers above one ordinary traveler’s hood like a searching crown.
Edrin Vale
The sign recognizes someone among us. No one leaves until we learn why.
Conversation dies beneath the ringing hush. Around Faralda, the gathered patrons shift toward weapons or prayer, while the cloaked traveler, a young adult man with a narrow, weathered face, pale skin, and a hooked nose beneath the hood slowly raises his face into the divine glow.
✓ Quest Accepted
Prevent bloodshed in the tavern
✓ Quest Accepted
Learn why the Dawnstar sigil chose the cloaked traveler
“I raise empty hands and urge everyone to lower their weapons.”
SUCCESS (Fair Diplomacy, rolled +3)
Faralda
Lower your weapons. No one here needs to make this worse.
Faralda raises both empty hands, palms open beneath the golden sigil. The nearest patrons hesitate, then swords and knives descend, one after another, until the room’s panic loosens its grip.
Edrin Vale
You heard her. Blades down, and give the sign-bearer room.
The tavern patrons obey. Chairs scrape across the floor as they retreat from the cloaked traveler, leaving a clear ring beneath the searching radiance.
The Cloaked Traveler
You should not have done that. They will see you now.
The golden sigil shifts from the traveler and settles over Faralda’s raised hands. Its light burns colder there, revealing no weapon, only the steady mark of judgment.
Edrin Vale
Then let it see clearly. She has chosen peace while the rest of us reached for steel.
Around the ring, the patrons remain silent and unarmed. The latches hold, but the room no longer feels ready to erupt.
Quest Complete
Prevent bloodshed in the tavern
“I offer the traveler a private escape from scrutiny”
FAILURE (Fair Diplomacy, rolled +0)
Faralda
Come with me. We can speak somewhere the others cannot overhear, before this sign draws every eye to you.
Faralda steps toward the cloaked traveler, keeping her voice low and her hands visible. The golden sigil follows, bright enough to make secrecy impossible.
The Cloaked Traveler
A private escape is exactly what it will forbid. But there is an old passage beneath the hearth. It opens into the rain cistern, if its seal still holds.
The traveler reaches toward the hearth, then stops as the sigil flares. A thin golden line appears across the floorboards, tracing a concealed route beneath the tables.
Edrin Vale
You were offering him cover, not a route beneath the tavern. Still, that may be our only opening. I will hold the room’s attention.
The patrons murmur as the glowing line reaches the blackened hearthstone. The locked doors remain untouched, but the hidden passage has become visible to everyone.
The Cloaked Traveler
If you still mean to help, do not ask me to walk openly. Lift the third stone from the firepit, and choose quickly.
“I lift the third hearthstone and enter the passage”
SUCCESS (Fair Strength, rolled +0)
Faralda kneels at the hearth and wedges her fingers beneath the third blackened stone. With a sharp pull, she lifts it free, scraping her palm raw against its rough edge.
The stone drops beside the firepit. Beneath it, a narrow stair descends into damp darkness, and cold air smelling of rain rises around her boots.
The Cloaked Traveler
Quickly. The passage is open, and the sign will not stay patient.
Faralda lowers herself through the opening. Her shoulder strikes the stone rim, leaving a deep ache, but she lands securely on the first slick step below.
Edrin Vale
Go. I will keep their eyes on me until the door closes.
Behind her, the golden sigil contracts into a thin halo and follows into the stairwell, casting the old masonry in trembling light. Faralda enters the rain cistern passage.
The Cloaked Traveler
You have bought us a little distance. Now tell me why an elven princess walks beneath a tavern with judgment at her hands.
“I tell him I seek allies in my own quest to free my homeland, but it seems that his situation is a bit more pressing at the moment”
SUCCESS (Fair Diplomacy, rolled +1)
Faralda
I seek allies for my own quest: to free my homeland. But your danger is before us now, and more pressing than my cause.
The cloaked traveler studies her in the sigil’s cold gold. Rainwater ticks through the cistern stones, and his guarded posture eases by a fraction.
The Cloaked Traveler
You speak plainly, princess. Most who claim to seek allies begin by measuring what they can take from them.
He turns toward the descending passage and gestures for her to follow. The golden halo glides after them, illuminating a sealed iron door set into the cistern wall.
The Cloaked Traveler
My situation is pressing because those above are not the only eyes hunting me. Help me reach the old river gate, and I will hear your cause.
He presses his palm to the iron. Ancient runes awaken beneath the rust, answering the golden judgment with a low, resonant chime. The lock releases.
“I inspect the passage for watchers before proceeding”
SUCCESS (Superb Perception, rolled +1)
Faralda pauses before the opened iron door and studies the passage beyond. She searches the shadows, ceiling joints, wet floor, and rune-lit recesses for breath, footprints, disturbed dust, or hidden movement.
Faralda
No watcher waits in the passage, and no fresh trail leads toward the river gate.
The golden halo reveals only old masonry, trickling water, and a clear descent toward darkness. Faralda finds no concealed observer, ward, or recent disturbance beyond the iron threshold.
The Cloaked Traveler
You saw them before I did. Good. The gate lies ahead, and for this stretch we are unwatched.
The cloaked traveler steps through the doorway, keeping his shoulders angled toward the black passage while the ancient runes fade behind him. Rainwater murmurs somewhere below.
The Cloaked Traveler
Come. At the river gate, I will tell you why the sign marked us both.
He advances into the passage, and the golden halo follows between them like a silent lantern. The way remains clear as the cistern opens toward the buried riverworks.
✓ Quest Accepted
Reach the old river gate
“I continue onwards with him, keeping an eye open for any dangers that may be ahead”
SUCCESS (Superb Perception, rolled +0)
Faralda continues beside the cloaked traveler, placing each boot carefully on the wet stone. Her gaze travels over the ceiling, ledges, shallow water, and broken masonry ahead.
Faralda
The safest footing lies along the left wall, and nothing ahead has disturbed the water recently.
The passage bends beneath a vaulted arch. Faralda spots a collapsed side tunnel, old iron hooks, and faint draft marks pointing toward the river gate, with no ambush or ward concealed among them.
The Cloaked Traveler
Your eyes miss little. Keep left; the stones near the center conceal a drop into the old sluice.
He follows her indicated line rather than taking the middle path. Beyond the arch, dark water glimmers below a broken railing, while the left-hand stones remain firm.
The Cloaked Traveler
There. The river gate is close. No one waits ahead, and your vigilance has spared us a wet descent.
The golden halo spills across a broad stone chamber. At its far end stands the old river gate, sealed by a wheel crusted with age, while the passage behind them stays empty.
“I approach the old river gate”
Faralda approaches the old river gate, her boots echoing across the broad chamber. The golden halo glides overhead, revealing every seam in the ancient stonework.
The Cloaked Traveler
The wheel has not turned in living memory. If the old markings still answer, the gate will open without force.
The cloaked traveler follows at a measured pace, keeping clear of the wheel. Faralda reaches the gate and studies its crusted spokes beneath the sigil’s steady light.
Up close, the gate bears faded carvings of waves and crowned reeds. Moisture beads along the iron, while a narrow stone ledge leads directly to the wheel.
The Cloaked Traveler
There is the handhold. Take it slowly. The river beyond is deep, but the threshold itself is sound.
Faralda steps onto the ledge before the sealed gate. The old masonry holds firm beneath her weight, and the chamber settles into a quiet broken only by distant water.
Quest Complete
Reach the old river gate