Danny leaves the market road with Woman in Green and the black-haired woman beside him. The broad-shouldered stall keeper, the guards, and the detained thieves remain behind as the gate road opens ahead.
A young adult woman in a bright patched costume hurries from the gate crowd, clutching a battered prop case. Painted cheeks, vivid ribbons, and a crooked feather make her impossible to miss.
Audree
Please, do not let them close the gate! I was performing there, and then everyone started shouting about a courier, a scarf, and absolutely no juggling pins!
One pin skips beneath a wagon. The performer drops to retrieve it, spilling bright cloths and painted cups; a sealed message slides from the case into the mud.
Audree
Oh! That is not part of my act. I am Audree, and it was hidden under the false bottom with the props.
Woman in Green breaks the seal and studies the performer’s coded mark. Her guarded expression sharpens when she reads the instruction and the name Mara Vale.
Woman in Green
Mara Vale wrote this. The message directs a courier through the gate while attention stays on the road. And there, beneath the red scarf, she is watching us.
✓ Quest Accepted
Learn what Mara's courier was moving
“I point to Mara and move toward her before she can leave.”
SUCCESS (Good Agility, rolled -1)
Danny points toward Mara Vale and strides through the gate crowd before she can disappear. His boot catches a raised stone; he slams a palm against the wall, scraping it raw, but keeps moving.
Mara Vale turns sharply beneath her red scarf. Danny reaches her at the gate arch, blocking her path without striking her, while Woman in Green and the black-haired woman close behind.
Mara Vale
You move quickly for someone who was meant to be watching the road, not me.
Woman in Green
The message bears your name, Mara Vale. Explain the courier’s route and the purpose of the distraction.
Mara Vale
The courier carries a list of gate sentries. I was paid to get it through before nightfall, nothing more.
Audree
Nothing more? That sounds exactly like the sort of thing that has several more things hiding underneath it!
Mara’s gaze flicks to Danny’s scraped palm, then to the sealed message in Woman in Green’s hand. She remains cornered beneath the arch, with the road behind her and witnesses gathering beyond.
Quest Complete
Learn what Mara's courier was moving