Garran does not take the river road. He guides Tobin back beside the toll shelter and settles him against its post, keeping the chain slack but firmly in hand.
Garran
Start at the beginning. Who left you here, who paid them, and what did they promise the person waiting beyond the river? Leave nothing out.
Tobin
A man brought me before dawn. He wore a brown cloak and smelled of wet wool. He said the payment had already been made, but he never gave me a name.
Tobin glances toward Timothy before continuing. His wrists remain reddened by the irons, and his small shoulders tighten whenever Garran’s fingers shift along the chain.
Tobin
He called the recipient a master near the river, not a reeve. He said I would work for food and shelter, but I never agreed to anything.
Garran
Did he mention a forge, a mill, or a household name? If you withhold a detail, we may walk into an ambush or deliver you to the wrong man.
Tobin
A forge. I heard him say Edric once, quietly, while speaking to another man. I do not know whether Edric is the master, but that is all I remember.
✓ Quest Accepted
Discover how the man in the brown cloak mistreated Tobin