The wilderness road winds between dark pines and weathered standing stones. Aeru Kensae arrives beneath a pale afternoon sky, his pack quiet against his back.
Ahead, a wounded traveler lies pinned against a fallen tree, surrounded by six lean gray wolves. Their hackles rise as Aeru approaches, but none attacks.
The stranger is a young adult woman with wind-browned skin, tangled copper hair, and a torn green cloak. One hand presses her injured side while the other reaches toward Aeru.
Maelin Veyr
Please. Do not come closer. They are waiting for me to weaken.
The wolves’ growls sharpen into a single, vibrating warning. The largest, scarred across one ear, watches Aeru rather than the trapped traveler.
Maelin Veyr
If you can drive them back, stranger, I may still reach the road.
Aeru Kensae
The wolves are poised, not yet committed.
✓ Quest Accepted
Bring the wounded traveler safely beyond the wolves
“"Let's see if their fangs can match mine." I say as I draw my katana and launch into an attack to drive them back”
SUCCESS (Superb Katana, rolled -2)
Aeru Kensae
Let's see if their fangs can match mine.
Aeru draws his katana in one fluid flash and launches forward. Steel arcs through the space between him and the pack, forcing the nearest wolves to recoil.
The scar-eared leader snaps at the opening, but Aeru’s blade turns it aside. The other wolves scatter several paces, snarling from behind the standing stones.
The cost lands in the same exchange: a fang tears across Aeru’s outer sleeve and grazes his upper arm before the wolf retreats. Warm blood darkens the cloth.
Maelin Veyr
You drove them back. Hold them there, just for a breath!
The wounded traveler braces herself against the fallen tree and pulls free, limping toward the road. The wolves keep their distance, but their eyes remain fixed on Aeru.
Maelin Veyr
Come on, stranger. The road is close, and they will not yield twice.
“"I will not. Either I or they will walk away, but not both."”
FAILURE (Good Willpower, rolled +0)
Aeru Kensae
I will not. Either I or they will walk away, but not both.
Aeru plants his feet between the scar-eared leader and the road, katana angled low. The pack answers with a widening crescent, claws scraping stone as they refuse his challenge.
The leader feints toward his wounded arm. Aeru turns the blade aside, but two wolves slip past the outer stones, cutting toward the wounded traveler’s retreat.
Maelin Veyr
They are not trying to reach me. They are driving us away from the road!
A second rush forces Aeru back one pace. The pack does not commit its teeth; it herds him from the road, their formation tightening around the standing stones.
In that retreat, Aeru glimpses a narrow gap behind the fallen tree, marked by old blue sigils and untouched by the wolves. It leads toward the road’s far side.
Maelin Veyr
The stones are warded. If we reach that gap, they may not follow. Choose quickly, swordsman.
“I quick step to land a killing blow on the lead wolf”
SUCCESS (Superb Katana, rolled +0)
Aeru’s Wind Step snaps him across the stones. He slips past the leader’s feint and arrives inside its guard before the scarred wolf can turn.
His katana cuts in one clean, decisive arc. The lead wolf collapses silently, and the pack’s formation breaks around its fallen alpha.
Aeru Kensae
The warded gap is open.
The remaining wolves recoil from the blade and the blue sigils alike. Two retreat into the pines, while the others circle wide, no longer herding anyone.
Maelin Veyr
Now! Through the stones, swordsman. Before they remember their courage.
Beyond the fallen tree, the narrow passage glimmers with old blue light. The wounded traveler reaches its far side and turns back, one hand pressed to her injury.
Maelin Veyr
You saved my life, stranger. Do not linger beside the dead.
Quest Complete
Bring the wounded traveler safely beyond the wolves
Skill Upgrade: Katana Superb→Legendary