At the private river landing, the wagon driver guides the loaded cart beneath the reeds while Ricayu, Corven, Keith, Myaksei, and Aeva take positions nearby. The stolen contract and tomorrow’s schedule remain sealed beneath Ricayu’s cloak.
Keith checks the riverbank and Aeva steadies her shield. Myaksei watches the road, while Corven studies the landing’s exits. The company is ready to intercept the diverted cargo and bring its handlers to justice.
An unfamiliar elf approaches openly along the bank, an adult woman with a slender build, tawny skin, long dark hair braided with white thread, and a blue-green mantle fastened by a carved prayer token.
the shrine emissary
Ricayu, I carry the mark of the goddess you serve. She has watched your progress and calls you toward an ancient shrine hidden within a dungeon.
the shrine emissary
The shrine can channel her blessing through you, but the cargo has begun moving ahead of schedule. You must choose whether justice comes first, or whether the dungeon path can still be reached in time.
Corven Vale
That is no small choice. The landing may soon reveal the guilty, while a divine summons rarely waits patiently. We need facts before we divide our strength.
Downriver, a muffled oar knocks once against wood. The wagon driver turns toward the sound, and every companion looks to Ricayu as the river cargo begins moving.
✓ Quest Accepted
Intercept the diverted cargo
✓ Quest Accepted
Reach the ancient shrine
““I will seek out the goddess, thank you for seeking me out. We will go to this dungeon together after this mission. Please thank the goddess for me. I gather the map from her and something in me makes me kneel and hold my fingers to my lips. It feels natural and the elf bows in return with the same gesture. I tether connects us for a moment and her thoughts touch my mind and I feel the goddess more potent than ever. After she departs, we return to our places to finish the quest to capture the diverted cargo and those guilty of manipulating recent events.”
SUCCESS (Superb Oratory, rolled +0)
Ricayu
Thank you for seeking me out. We will go to the dungeon together after this mission. Please thank the goddess for me.
The shrine emissary accepts the thanks and places a folded map in Ricayu’s hands. He kneels, touches his fingers to his lips, and bows; she answers with the same reverent gesture.
For one breath, a tether joins them. The goddess’s presence touches Ricayu’s mind, potent and immediate, before the connection withdraws and the emissary turns back along the bank.
the shrine emissary
She has received your thanks. Keep the map safe, and come when this work is finished. The shrine will remember your promise.
The emissary departs among the reeds. Ricayu conceals the map beneath his cloak, then returns with Corven to the waiting positions as the loaded wagon glides toward the landing.
Corven Vale
There. Let them commit themselves to the bank. We take the handlers alive, secure the cargo, and let the contract speak for us.
The wagon driver signals the hidden boat. Keith and Aeva close the road, Myaksei blocks the river path, and Corven steps from cover as Ricayu’s bow commands the landing.
+ New Item Acquired
Shrine map
“We move as a unit, the bonding, conversations, planning, times by the fire, sharing meals, sharing ale have bonded us so we move as a unit. Simple flicks of eyes, hand gestures command our actions. I cover with my bow and we sweep in to take possession of the cargo, we tie up the handlers, but there are a few who won’t go quietly and we are forced to fight for our lives.”
FAILURE (Superb Agility, rolled -4)
The company moves as one. A glance from Corven sends Keith and Aeva toward the wagon, while Myaksei cuts off the river path and Ricayu raises his bow.
His first arrow strikes the ground before the lead handler, halting the advance. Keith wrenches open the wagon, and Aeva drives the others back behind her shield.
Rope passes from hand to hand. Two handlers are bound beside the wheels, but a third seizes a cargo hook and breaks through the forming line.
Corven Vale
Ricayu, fall left. The wagon blocks your shot. Keep them off Myaksei while we secure the far side.
Ricayu shifts left, but the handlers surge together instead of scattering. His bow can no longer cover the entire landing, and one attacker forces him from his clean firing position.
Keith meets the hook with his sword, Aeva braces beside him, and Myaksei pulls a stumbling companion clear. Corven binds another handler while the river mud turns treacherous beneath them.
Corven Vale
The cargo is ours, but the landing is compromised. Hold the wagon, not the whole bank. We withdraw to higher ground and question the prisoners there.
Quest Complete
Intercept the diverted cargo
Skill Upgrade: Oratory Superb→Legendary
+ New Item Acquired
Diverted cargo
“We question the handlers and record the details, parties involved and ise intimidation to act as the scary elf who is ready to kill them. Corven plays the good cop and begs me to let them have a chance to earn their lives. The party acts indifferently as if they would let me have my way and it seems Corven is the only way to spare their lives. The men are stricken with fear and are eager to win Corven over as they glance at me with my bow at the ready to end them.”
SUCCESS (Great Willpower, rolled -1)
On higher ground, the bound handlers kneel beside the seized wagon. Ricayu stands before them with bow raised, expression unreadable, while the party watches in deliberate silence.
The men glance from Ricayu’s drawn weapon to the indifferent faces around him. Mud stains their clothes, and fear tightens every answer before a question is asked.
Corven Vale
Please, brother, let them earn their lives. They can tell us who ordered this, where the cargo was meant to go, and who profited.
The lead handler, a broad-built adult human man with a mud-streaked face, cropped black hair, and a soaked brown work coat swallows hard and bows toward Corven, treating him as the sole barrier between confession and Ricayu’s arrow. The others nod desperately.
lead handler
Hadrik Venn ordered the diversion. Pellan Rusk supplied the resin-sealed crates, and the river landing was chosen by Hadrik’s clerk, Odran Pell.
the wagon driver
The cargo was bound for a private landing below Darsen Cross, then onward by barge to House Seln’s factor. We were paid to block the eastern road and claim the wagons were delayed.
Myaksei records each name, route, payment, and order while Keith checks the cargo seals and Aeva guards the prisoners. Under Ricayu’s steady aim, every handler adds confirming details.
✓ Quest Accepted
Secure the captured handlers for lawful judgment
“We head back to Darsen Cross with the men bound and I continue to act as though I want them dead. I hunt and bring back game and look at them saying I’m eager for them to try to escape so I can hunt them. I smile with my beautiful unusually handsome smile which in the current context is even more menacing. “I hope you try to escape.” I whisper. “I want to hunt you.” I threaten them. They seem to cower and stay close to Corwen and are sure I may kill them in their sleep. We arrive back to Darsen Cross and they testify to everything as I watch. They plead for mercy and the evidence is brought forth, the contracts, logs, the shipment and coupled with the seals and their testimony, the court issues warrants for those involved.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Oratory, rolled -2)
The bound handlers walk between Corven and Aeva toward Darsen Cross. Ricayu disappears into the nearby woodland and returns with a hare and two pheasants, mud darkening his boots.
Ricayu
I hope you try to escape. I want to hunt you.
Ricayu’s beautiful smile makes the whisper more menacing. The handlers cower close to Corven, watching him even when they eat, certain sleep would not make them safe.
Corven Vale
Keep them breathing and together, brother. Fear has opened their mouths, but evidence will keep the magistrate’s judgment firm.
At Darsen Cross, an elderly woman magistrate with silver hair, a severe blue robe, and an ink-stained hand hears the testimony. Myaksei presents the contract, logs, shipment, seals, and delivery schedule.
lead handler
Mercy, magistrate. Hadrik Venn ordered everything, Pellan Rusk supplied the crates, and Odran Pell arranged the landing. We have told you all we know.
The wagon driver confirms each detail. The magistrate compares the seals and records, then issues warrants for Hadrik Venn, Pellan Rusk, Odran Pell, and the other named conspirators. The cost is concrete: Ricayu’s bowstring frays again during the march, requiring replacement before the next hunt.
Quest Complete
Secure the captured handlers for lawful judgment
“I replace my bowstring and visit my elven brothers in the shop. They have held my room for me and are eager to hear of our adventures. When they hear of my upcoming visit to the shrine, they get to work to prepare ceremonial elven garb for my shrine visit. They take the earrings off their ears and the dangly elven earrings glow with magical energy. It is my first magical item and I feel the pulse within rippling over me. “Why give this to me?” I ask. They communicate that they see a greater purpose for me and I will help our people. Their adventures are done but mine, are merely beginning. The elder elf shares she is approaching her 700th birthday and I have centuries to help our people and she wants to ensure I am equipped. I listen to the lore and tales and my heart swells with my elven family: my kin.”
SUCCESS (Superb Agility, rolled +2)
Ricayu replaces the frayed bowstring with a fresh cord, tests its tension, and returns to the elven shop. His brothers rush from the workroom, delighted to see him.
the elven brothers
Your room has remained yours, kin. Sit, eat, and tell us everything. We have wondered what roads and dangers claimed your days.
As Ricayu describes Darsen Cross and the coming shrine journey, the brothers prepare ceremonial green and russet garments. The elder elf woman joins them, her silver-brown braids bright in the lamplight.
The brothers remove their dangling elven earrings. Their metalwork glows with restrained magical energy, and when one is offered to Ricayu, its pulse ripples through his body.
Ricayu
Why give this to me?
the elder elf woman
We see a greater purpose in you. Our adventures are done, but yours are only beginning, and you will help our people. I approach my seven-hundredth birthday; you have centuries ahead to serve, learn, and protect. I would see you equipped.
Ricayu listens as his kin share old shrine lore, family tales, and lessons carried through generations. The glowing earring rests against his ear, its quiet pulse mingling with the warmth of belonging.
✓ Quest Accepted
Begin the journey to the ancient shrine
+ New Item Acquired
Magical elven earring
“The magic of the earring is potent and makes all lore, tales and information I hear revealed as true or false… it serves as a filter to expose falsehoods. It also helps to remember lore and stories I hear so I can carry the tales to future generations of elves. They share their tales with me and the lore seems to be easier to remember.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Reasoning, rolled -1)
The earring’s pulse settles into Ricayu’s awareness. Each tale arrives with a clear inner distinction: true accounts hold firm, while false details lose their shape before they can take root.
the elder elf woman
Our oldest records say the shrine was built by wandering archers who sought judgment before mastery. That is true. The tale of golden spirits guarding it is only a story.
The truth remains vivid: the shrine’s purpose, the roads once used to reach it, and the lessons carried by its builders arrange themselves in Ricayu’s memory without effort.
the elven brothers
Our grandfather taught us the river songs and the names of every greenwood trail. We remember his kindness, though his claim to have walked beyond the northern ice was certainly false.
More family lore follows, woven through songs, craft traditions, old journeys, and warnings about misplaced trust. The earring preserves each truthful thread so Ricayu can carry it to future generations.
the elder elf woman
Listen closely, kin. You need not fear forgetting what matters. Truth will stay with you, and falsehood will find no lodging in the story you pass onward.
The elven brothers continue sharing tales around the lamplit table. Ricayu’s memory gathers them as living knowledge, while the earring quietly separates inherited wisdom from embroidered legend.
“I feel myself become hungry for the lore… I didn’t realize how much I didn’t know. Names of old trails, old roads, old paths, past keepers, sentinels, old threats, resolved disputes, boundaries, l of the lore… I accept with the enchanted earrings help. I am like a child, which in elven years I am, listening to stories and I can’t get enough. After a late night, I get to bed and the hum of the earring lets me dream of the places shared. I wake up and our group heads to the shrine. We follow then map and the lore of the ancient roads and paths form the elf, the map and the earring provide a boon to find the shrine.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Perception, rolled +0)
Ricayu listens deep into the night, hungry for names of old trails, vanished roads, boundary stones, past keepers, sentinels, threats, and disputes long resolved. The earring preserves each true thread.
Ricayu
I was like a child among these stories, and I did not know how much I had yet to learn.
the elder elf woman
Then listen without shame, kin. Every road remembered is a road another traveler may safely find.
At last Ricayu sleeps. The earring hums softly against his ear, and his dreams follow silver roads through forests, river crossings, forgotten boundaries, and ancient shrine paths.
At dawn, Ricayu joins Corven, Keith, Myaksei, and Aeva. Guided by the folded map, the family’s lore, and the earring’s truthful pulse, they leave the road and follow an overgrown trail.
Corven Vale
The path is hidden, but not lost. Your kin remembered what the stones forgot, brother. Lead us by the markers only you can now read.
The company crosses an old boundary cairn and climbs through dense woodland. Beyond a curtain of roots, the ancient shrine stands intact within the dungeon entrance, its weathered arch opening before Ricayu.
Quest Complete
Reach the ancient shrine
Attribute Upgrade: Agility Superb→Legendary
Quest Complete
Begin the journey to the ancient shrine
Skill Upgrade: Lore (Local) Poor→Mediocre
“We enter the shrine, Aeva and Keith lead ready to tank. Corven and I stealth and let the shadows engulf our forms while Myaksei casts light to illuminate our path. My elven eyes allow me to move ahead, my eyes penetrating the darkness.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Stealth, rolled +0)
Aeva and Keith enter first, shields raised and weapons ready. Their careful steps test the ancient flagstones while the shrine’s darkness gathers beyond the weathered arch.
Myaksei
I will give us light, but keep it low. Let the glow reveal the path without announcing more than we must.
Myaksei lifts his hand, and a steady pale radiance forms above his palm. It spreads along the carved walls, revealing dust, root-choked seams, and worn devotional markings.
Corven slips into the shadows beside Ricayu, his outline dissolving among pillars and broken stone. Together they move silently behind the shield-bearers.
Ricayu
The darkness is deeper than the light reveals, but my eyes can still read the shrine ahead.
Ricayu advances beyond the others, his elven eyes piercing the unlit passage. He identifies a descending stair, loose stones, and old arrow slits before anyone steps into danger.
Corven Vale
Good. Guide us by what you see, brother. Aeva and Keith hold the front, while we let the shrine show us its secrets.
Discover the shrine’s judgment