Adventure of Leon Morgan

The forgotten temple squats at the village edge, its stone doors shuddering under distant impacts. Beyond them, attackers press through smoke while frightened defenders scramble behind overturned carts and broken masonry.

A reclusive alchemist, a gaunt middle-aged woman with silver-streaked hair, soot-marked spectacles, and a patched brown coat, its sleeves rolled over bony wrists and a brass flask clipped at her belt, rushes between barricaded entrances. Bandages, bottles, and ammunition rattle in her overloaded arms.

The temple floor trembles as a heavy blow strikes the main doors. Dust sifts from carved dragons overhead, and a barricade beam jumps half an inch in its brackets.

Leon Morgan plants his boots against the temple floor and drives the Ōtsuchi of justice crosswise into the gate’s inner braces. The doors slam inward against him.

The impact bows the wood and jolts his arms numb, but the braces hold. Outside, the attackers pile their weight against the sealed entrance, their shouted rhythm breaking apart.

A jagged splinter punches through Leon’s glove and opens the heel of his palm. Blood darkens the grip, while the hammer’s wooden haft creaks under the strain.

The defenders rally behind him, dragging a second beam into place. The gate remains shut, and the attackers fall back from it, their assault checked for the moment.

Leon Morgan draws the RSh-12 and fires through the temple’s narrow firing gap. The revolver’s blast punches across the courtyard, scattering the attackers’ formation and forcing them away from the doors.

Several attackers drop their weapons and scramble behind the low stone wall. Others drag their injured momentum into cover, leaving the gate clear as smoke rolls through the broken approach.

Inside, the frightened defenders stare through the gap, then surge into motion. Two brace the beam while others gather dropped ammunition and watch the retreating raiders.

Mara Venn reaches Leon’s position and points toward the attackers’ abandoned gear beyond the threshold. A stamped metal crate lies exposed beside the wall, its lid split by gunfire.

Beyond the gate, the surviving attackers disappear between smoke-shrouded buildings. The crate remains in the open, while the defenders hold their breath behind the reinforced doors.

Leon Morgan crosses the smoky courtyard toward the stamped crate, RSh-12 lowered but ready. His wounded palm tightens around the revolver as two attackers break from cover to stop him.

The attacker by the broken wall lunges first. Leon catches the raider's wrist, turns with the charge, and drives him hard onto the dusty stones until the struggle goes slack.

The attacker crouched beside the cart raises a dropped weapon. Leon closes the distance, knocks it aside, and lands a controlled strike that leaves the raider unconscious against the wheel.

With the approach clear, Leon grips the crate beneath its split lid and hauls it back toward the temple. The damaged palm protests, but the load comes free and stays in his possession.

The frightened defenders pull the inner passage open. Smoke curls around Leon and the crate as the unconscious raiders remain behind him, separated from their weapons.

Leon carries the stamped metal crate across the threshold. Mara Venn reaches for its split lid while defenders reseal the doors, and the captured supply finally lies within the temple.