Morning mist hangs low over the marsh, beading on Kaelis's sleeves as he steps from the cottage. The path ahead is already crowded.
Two stern guards stand shoulder to shoulder. Behind them, the Mayor of Charris faces Kaelis, one hand lifted toward the door behind him.
The Mayor
Kaelis. This property is seized, unpaid taxes and fees. You are too young to keep it by yourself.
One guard shifts his spear aside and reaches for the door seals, careful but final. The other watches Kaelis closely, waiting for trouble.
The Mayor
Stand aside, lad. We will secure the place, and you can collect what little is yours.
The words land like a cold hand on the back of Kaelis's neck. The cottage door creaks in the damp wind behind him, still open, still unsealed.
The Guard
If you have a complaint, bring it to town later. Right now, let us finish the lockout.
✓ Quest Accepted
Flee the marsh cottage
“They will send me to harsh orphanages, i flee”
SUCCESS (Great Agility, rolled +3)
Kaelis moves first. He slips past the guard’s spear line and takes the muddy edge of the path in a blur of motion, leaving their hands closing on air.
The mayor recoils a half step, surprise breaking his careful face, as Kaelis clears the cottage front and puts the guards behind him.
One guard lunges after him, but the slick ground steals his footing and he checks himself before he can overcommit.
The Mayor
Stop him, if you can. Do not let him vanish into the marsh.
Kaelis is already beyond their reach, the cottage at his back and the mist swallowing his tracks as he disappears among the reeds.
For one sharp moment, the mayor’s dropped glove lies in the mud where he stood, a small seal-ring flashing free in the gray light.
Quest Complete
Flee the marsh cottage