Two weeks after the Annex falls, Dallas keeps to the morning light. The apartment is quiet except for the rustle of medical supplies and Murderbone’s nails on the floor.
He works the first-aid dummy with steady hands, wrapping, checking, rewrapping. The motions are careful, almost ritual, like every bandage might count as testimony.
Murderbone sits nearby, watchful and patient, his head tilting whenever Dallas pauses to study a diagram or compare a note against the kit.
Dallas Fontaine
The pressure wrap is tighter than it looks.
By evening, the window turns the room the color of old whiskey. A bottle of Jack Daniel’s Old No. 7 waits on the table, unopened, stubborn as a confession.
Dallas sets the bottle aside and keeps reading instead, while Murderbone settles at his feet. The radio hums low in the background, and the night stays calm enough to hear a page turn.
A knock comes once at the door, soft and polite, followed by Elena Vane’s voice asking if he is still awake.
✓ Quest Accepted
Maintain discipline through the night
“Call out to Elena and invite her in to share the quiet.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Reasoning, rolled +1)
Dallas Fontaine
Yeah. Come in, Elena.
The door opens wider, and Elena steps inside with her shoulders easing at the sight of him still at the table.
Elena Vane
I was hoping you would say that. It is quieter in here than the hallway, which feels like a gift tonight.
Murderbone rises, sniffs once, then settles again beside Dallas, satisfied that the room is still theirs.
Elena Vane
He is holding the line. One more hour like this matters.
Dallas Fontaine
The bottle stays where it is.
Elena Vane
You have been careful all day. That is not nothing, Dallas. It counts.
She closes the door softly, leaves the lamp on low, and crosses to the table without touching the untouched whiskey.
Quest Complete
Maintain discipline through the night