Aeva remains among the smoking mounds while the charcoal burners share coarse bread and watch the road. No companion has followed her from the ruined hovel; the nun stayed with the fugitive, and the retainer rode away.
The younger workers speak little, glancing toward the eastern fork. The oldest burner waits until they move beyond the nearest mound, then wipes ash from his beard.
the oldest burner
There is one thing I held back. The bound man shouted a name before the rider with the red scarf struck him silent.
He breaks the bread in his hands, eyes fixed on the rutted track. Smoke drifts low around his boots, carrying the bitter scent of pine.
the oldest burner
He cried, “Halvard.” I cannot swear whether it was a brother, a lord, or the man he feared, but the red-scarfed rider knew it.
the oldest burner
The burner points east, toward the old stone bridge. Beyond it, wagon ruts vanish beneath windblown snow, while the other workers continue studying the road.
the oldest burner
If that name belongs to your northern folk, shieldmaiden, you should learn what waits beyond the bridge before their trail fades.
✓ Quest Accepted
Establish whether Halvard links the fugitive to the feud
✓ Quest Accepted
Learn the hidden man's account
“Does Halvard belong to the northern clans?”
NO (Likely, rolled 82)
The oldest burner’s certainty falters when he studies the northern clasp again. The stamped mark belongs to the clans, but the name Halvard does not.
the oldest burner
No. Halvard is not a northern name among the clans. I have heard it in the lord’s country, borne by men who serve his halls.
The younger burners exchange uneasy looks. One crosses himself toward the smoking mounds, while the other keeps watching the eastern road.
the oldest burner
Then the clasp may have been planted, stolen, or taken from another coat. The bound man’s words pointed to Halvard, not to kinship.
The distinction settles over the road like ash. The fugitive may still come from the north, but the name offers no proof that Halvard is one of Aeva’s people.
the oldest burner
If Halvard is the man he feared, seek his meaning at the bridge. Do not mistake a northern token for a northern allegiance.
“I follow the eastern road to the old bridge”
Aeva leaves the charcoal mounds and follows the eastern road. The track narrows between black pines, where windblown snow softens the wagon ruts.
The old stone bridge appears near dusk, its low arches spanning a half-frozen stream. Moss fills the joints, and one parapet bears fresh wheel-scrapes.
Aeva
The wagon crossed here recently.
Beyond the bridge, the ruts divide around a stand of alder. One trail continues north toward the clans’ country; the other bends toward the lord’s lands.
A torn strip of red cloth clings to a thorn beside the northern track. Farther on, boot marks overlap the wagon’s passage, then fade beneath fresh snow.
The bridge gives no answer about Halvard, but it confirms the wagon’s direction and leaves the northern road open before Aeva.
“Was Halvard involved in binding the fugitive?”
YES (Likely, rolled 47)
A gust lifts the torn red cloth from the thorn. Beneath it, a second scrap remains caught on the bark, marked by a dark smear and a broken leather tie.
Near the northern trail, the snow preserves a deep heel print beside the wagon ruts. Its edge bears the same sharp notch as a boot sole pressed into the bridge mud.
the fugitive
Halvard... he bound me.
The scattered signs settle into one account. Halvard was not merely named by the captive; he helped restrain him before the wagon crossed the bridge.
The red-scarfed rider may have struck the fugitive silent, but Halvard’s hand belongs to the binding. The lord’s country now touches the crime directly.
Northward, the wagon trail remains open beneath the falling snow. Behind Aeva, the bridge stands between the clans’ road and the lord’s lands, holding the truth’s first clear division.
“I examine the torn red cloth and leather tie”
SUCCESS (Fair Perception, rolled +1)
Aeva lifts the red cloth from the thorn and turns it between her fingers. The wool is coarse, tightly woven, and torn across one edge rather than cleanly cut.
The dark smear has dried into the fibers. It is mixed with road grit, while the broken leather tie remains stiff from damp and cold.
Aeva
The tie was pulled apart under strain, not sliced.
She examines the knot’s flattened loops and finds pale fibers caught beneath it, matching the rough blanket cloth seen around the fugitive.
One end of the tie carries a shallow notch where a buckle or ring pressed into the leather. The red wool bears the faint imprint of a narrow strap.
The scraps came from clothing or harness disturbed during a struggle beside the northern trail, and the tie likely held something fastened before it broke.
Snow begins covering the older marks, but Aeva now has the red cloth and leather tie as tangible evidence linking the trail to the wagon’s guarded passage.
Quest Complete
Establish whether Halvard links the fugitive to the feud
+ New Item Acquired
Red cloth
+ New Item Acquired
Leather tie