Twilight Town’s orphanage road runs slick with sea mist, the hill below crowded by distant masts and train smoke. At the gate, Sakura Matou backs up fast, white hair spilling over her shoulders as two rough men close in, hands out and voices low.
The First Bandit
Easy now. Come with us, and nobody gets hurt.
The Second Bandit
You want coin, not trouble. Let the girl walk.
Mercedes Machina lands between them and Sakura like a thrown blade, daggers already in hand. One bandit flinches at the dragon tattoo curling down her arm.
Evan Liecht
Merc’s here. Good. This is already worse than I wanted.
Evan stands back near the cracked stone wall, greatsword lowered but ready, his gaze fixed on the standoff as if waiting for the exact wrong move.
Mercedes Machina
The one on the left is the faster threat.
A sudden snap of lightning jumps from Mercedes’ leg tattoos to the wet ground. Both bandits recoil as one, momentum broken, and the nearer man stumbles into the gatepost.
The First Bandit
Forget it, we’re out.
Sakura Matou
Merc, behind you, now!
✓ Quest Accepted
Protect Sakura Matou
“Is Sakura safe within this perimeter?”
YES (Likely, rolled 55)
Mercedes Machina
The structural integrity of this perimeter is absolute, and the wards Sakura is standing within remain completely undisturbed.
Evan Liecht
Merc, look at the way the energy flows around her, she is perfectly shielded from anything these thugs could throw at her.
“I warn Evan mockingly, to keep the barrier steady if he can, before going to look for the bandits”
SUCCESS (Legendary Charm, rolled -1)
Mercedes Machina
Merc’s smile turns sharp as she glances at Evan, then toward the alley. Keep that barrier steady if you can, hero. I am going to see where your little pests ran.
She peels away from the pillar and crosses the wet cobbles without hurry, letting the sea mist catch on her boots. The blue shimmer around Sakura stays intact behind her.
Evan Liecht
I have it, Merc. Just... don’t disappear into trouble without telling me first.
Mercedes rounds the orphanage corner and finds fresh mud tracks cutting between stacked crates, one dragging toward a side lane. A dropped brass button glints in the gloom.
Mercedes Machina
Fresh enough to be useful.
The tracks split near a rain barrel, then vanish under a low awning where someone clearly ducked through in a hurry. The alley opens onto a tighter passage between stone walls.
Ahead, a bandit’s shadow jerks into view at the far end of the passage, and a voice from the dark snaps, wary and low, 'Who is there?'
Quest Complete
Protect Sakura Matou