The Broken Shield tavern swallows Kael Umal in firelight, smoke, and the sour bite of old ale. Rain ticks against shuttered windows. In the corner, two women hunch over a few copper coins while the innkeeper stands over them like a drawn blade.
One woman has dark braids and a soldier’s stillness. The other, a slim blonde with a choppy pixie cut, keeps glancing toward the stairs as if the room itself has turned against her.
The Innkeeper
Triple the usual rate. War makes prices honest.
Maisie
We have enough for one room, one bowl, and a mug. That is all.
Miles
Not enough. Not even close.
The innkeeper’s hand flattens over the coins, not taking them, just pinning the choice in place. Nearby tables go quiet, listening without looking.
Kael Umal stands at the threshold, black armor catching the firelight like a patch of night. The room feels the shift before anyone speaks again.
The Innkeeper
Well? Is he with you, or are you wasting my evening as well?
✓ Quest Accepted
Help the two women secure shelter for the night
“I offer a few coins of my own together we can afford a meal and together we can afford a shared room in the inn. It starts raining outside.”
SUCCESS (Mediocre Diplomacy, rolled -1)
Kael Umal steps to the counter and lays a few coins beside the innkeeper’s hand. His black gauntlet lingers there a moment, a quiet offer set against the rain’s steady tapping outside.
Kael Umal
Together, that pays for a meal and a shared room for them.
The innkeeper’s eyes flick from the coins to Kael Umal’s helm, then back again. Their grip loosens from the women’s coin pile, and the copper on the counter becomes enough.
The Innkeeper
Hmph. One meal. One room. Shared, as you said. And you keep the armored stare to yourself.
Maisie
You did not have to do that.
Miles
We were running out of options.
The innkeeper snatches up the coins and calls for a bowl from the kitchen. The Braided Woman gathers the remaining coppers with careful fingers, while the blonde woman lets out a breath she had been holding too long.
Maisie
Thank you, stranger. We will remember this.
Rain thickens beyond the shutters, drumming harder on the tavern walls. Inside, the room’s tension eases into low murmur and steam from the hearth, but the night outside grows meaner by the minute.
Quest Complete
Help the two women secure shelter for the night
“There is but one bed with one blanket. The outside is cold even with the window shutter closed. I begin to remove my armor and sit on the bed. I ask them their names.”
SUCCESS (Great Willpower, rolled -2)
Kael Umal turns from the counter and goes to the bed. One by one, the black plates come free, set aside with quiet care, and the room seems to breathe again around him.
He lowers himself onto the mattress beside the single blanket. The bed gives with a soft creak, and the cold that has settled in the shutters reaches the room all the same.
Kael Umal
What are your names?
Maisie
Maisie. And that makes me the one with the braids, apparently.
Miles
Miles. Just Miles.
Maisie
You bought us a meal and a roof. That deserves a real answer.
Miles
He notices everything, even in that helm. Too much, maybe. Still, the room is ours for the night because of him.
Maisie
And your name, stranger? Or do you prefer we keep calling you the armored shadow?
✓ Quest Accepted
Get a good night's sleep with Maisie and Miles
“"I am Kael and I wish you both a good night." I day sliding under the blanket. They soon follow and slide under the blanket as well”
SUCCESS (Great Willpower, rolled +2)
Kael Umal
I am Kael. Sleep well, both of you.
He eases under the blanket, the motion slow and deliberate, as if granting the room permission to rest with him.
Maisie
Kael, then. Better than armored shadow.
Miles
And better than being out in the rain. Thank you.
Maisie slips closer to the shared bedding, her shoulders dropping at last. Miles follows, still cautious, but the tension leaves her hands as she settles in.
Maisie
He does not press. That makes him harder to fear.
Miles
You do not ask for much, do you?
Outside, rain rattles the shutters in a steady hush while the three of them arrange themselves for the night, the hearth glow dimming around the bed.
“I awaken in the morning with one woman on either side of me gently touching my chest, still sleeping peacefully.”
SUCCESS (Great Willpower, rolled +1)
Morning thins the room to gray-blue hush. Kael Umal wakes beneath the blanket, warm weight on both sides of him.
Maisie lies to his left, one hand resting lightly on his chest, her breathing slow and even.
Miles sleeps to his right, curled close enough that her fingertips brush his armorless side, her face finally loose with peace.
Kael Umal
They are both still asleep.
Outside, rain keeps whispering at the shutters, but the bed holds steady against the cold.
Maisie
Mmm... if you move, I may complain.
Miles
Let her complain. I am not getting up yet.
Quest Complete
Get a good night's sleep with Maisie and Miles
Attribute Upgrade: Willpower Great→Superb