Hugh settles against an intact section of wall, one hand pressed to his ribs. Brindle remains at the slope, torn ear raised toward the darkening camp.
The last light catches the bloodstained strap near FOXY, revealing stiff leather, broken stitching, and a dark stain worked deep into its fibers.
Hugh
We stayed until dusk. Garran sent the other men east with the wounded, but I remained with him and two riders to guard the camp.
Hugh draws a careful breath and watches FOXY’s attention settle on the strap. His face tightens before he continues, while Brindle gives a low warning growl below.
Hugh
The ash was warm after the fire had died. Not glowing, not burning, but warm beneath my fingers. I feared touching it because the horses had gone silent.
Hugh
Garran ordered us away from the eastern pens. One rider obeyed. The other followed him, but Garran and I stayed long enough to see that dark shape cross the firelight.
Night gathers over the ruined post. Hugh waits against the stone, leaving the bloodstained strap and his account open to FOXY’s closer examination and questions.
“Ask him exactly what it was he saw if he can and asked what happened next and if that's how he ended up stuck in that storeroom”
SUCCESS (Good Reasoning, rolled +3)
FOXY
Tell me exactly what you saw, Hugh. What happened next, and is that why you ended up trapped in the storehouse?
Hugh
It crossed from the eastern pens, low and dark, shaped almost like a crouching man. Firelight touched no face, no hands, nothing I could name.
Hugh points beyond the ruined post, toward the slope where the darkness has swallowed the camp. Brindle lifts his muzzle and watches the same empty ground.
Hugh
After it passed, Garran ordered us east. The wounded went first. I stayed with him and the other rider, Silas, until Garran followed the marks toward the pens.
Hugh
The ash warmed again. Garran vanished beyond the pens, and Silas fled after him. I found the torn standard, then smoke drove me into the storehouse.
Hugh’s finger traces a line through the dust toward a collapsed drainage cut. Beneath the rubble, a strip of green cloth is caught on a stone, bearing the same stitching as Garran’s standard.
Hugh
That cut is where the trail ended. The drainage passage still runs beneath the slope. It may lead to where Garran went, and it gives us a safer way down.
“Ask uf he needs any kind of medical attention if not then we take the safer way down and follow it”
SUCCESS (Great Athletics, rolled -1)
FOXY
Do you need medical attention? If not, we take the safer way down and follow the passage.
Hugh
My ribs are bruised, but I can walk. No healer is needed. Take me to the drainage cut.
Hugh pushes himself upright, wincing once. Brindle leaves the slope and noses along the collapsed stones until the green cloth marks the passage beneath.
FOXY shifts the loose rubble aside and lowers himself into the drainage cut. The stone roof forces him to crouch, while damp earth and old water darken the narrow floor.
Hugh follows carefully, and Brindle slips ahead into the gloom. As FOXY braces against the wall to descend, a jagged stone tears through his leather at the knee and leaves a sharp bruise beneath.
Hugh
The passage is sound enough. Garran’s trail should lie beyond this bend, if the earth has not buried it.
The three reach the bend beneath the slope. Behind them, the ruined post disappears into darkness; ahead, the drainage passage continues toward the eastern pens.
Director's note
Keep heading towards the eastern pens
“all the while observing and noting down the path”
SUCCESS (Good Perception, rolled +1)
FOXY proceeds beneath the low stone roof, noting each turn, fallen brace, and seep of water. The passage bends steadily east toward the pens, while Hugh follows close behind and Brindle leads.
FOXY
The drainage runs east, then narrows after the second bend.
FOXY traces the route by its landmarks: a split roof stone, a shallow channel crossing the floor, and a root thrust through the western wall. Damp earth muffles their steps.
Hugh
There was no root here when I entered the storehouse. The passage has shifted, but the slope is still carrying us toward the pens.
Brindle pauses at a low opening, then slips through without hesitation. Beyond it, colder air carries the stale scent of ash and trampled straw.
FOXY fixes the route in memory: the drainage cut enters a wider channel beneath the eastern pens. A broken iron hook hangs beside the opening, marking the exit.
Hugh
That is the way. The pens lie just beyond the stones.
“Keep going till we get to the pens still keeping note of the path”
SUCCESS (Good Perception, rolled +3)
FOXY continues past the iron hook, counting the bends and memorizing each landmark: a wedge-shaped stone, three roof braces, and a pale root crossing the floor. Hugh follows, while Brindle pads ahead through the cold air.
FOXY
The passage descends gently after the hook, and the eastern pens are close.
The drainage channel widens beneath the pens. FOXY notes a narrow side recess on the left, dry and sheltered, then follows Brindle toward a gap where moonlight filters through loose boards.
Hugh
That recess was not part of the old drainage. It could serve as a hiding place if the pens are watched.
FOXY reaches the pens without losing the route. He fixes the passage in memory: hook, low opening, wedge stone, three braces, root, then the sheltered recess beneath the eastern side.
Brindle squeezes through the loose boards first. Beyond them lie trampled straw, empty stalls, and the dark eastern pens, while the hidden recess remains a usable retreat behind FOXY.
“See if there are any threats and then investigate the area”
FAILURE (Good Perception, rolled -2)
FOXY pauses just beyond the loose boards and studies the eastern pens. Moonlight breaks across empty stalls, trampled straw, and leaning posts, but the shadows conceal their deeper corners.
He searches for fresh tracks, disturbed boards, and any movement among the stalls. The stale straw yields little, and a faint shift somewhere ahead blends with the creak of the pens.
Hugh
Keep near the boards. The pens were open ground once, but darkness makes every stall a hiding place.
FOXY advances toward the eastern pens, checking each stall as he passes. He misses the danger hidden beyond the far partition, but Brindle stiffens and gives a low growl.
The growl stops him before he enters the last stall. Beneath its warped gate, fresh straw forms a narrow line leading toward a gap under the eastern wall.
The gap opens onto a cramped service run beside the pens, partly screened by fallen boards. It offers a way to investigate the far side without crossing the exposed stalls.
Hugh
There. That run was used to bring feed around the pens. If something passed through here, it may have left more than straw behind.
Brindle noses toward the service run, while Hugh waits at the boards. The eastern pens remain ahead, but the obvious route now feels watched.
“Keep brindle close and tell Hugh you'll follow his lead”
SUCCESS (Good Willpower, rolled +0)
FOXY draws Brindle close by the torn collar and keeps the dog tucked against his leg. Brindle’s growl fades to a guarded rumble as they move toward the service run.
FOXY
I’ll follow your lead, Hugh. Keep us moving toward the eastern pens.
Hugh
Then stay close and watch the boards. I’ll choose the way through.
Hugh gestures low and advances along the screened run. FOXY follows with Brindle pressed close, stepping where Hugh places his boots between the fallen boards and stale straw.
At the first dark corner, FOXY’s resolve falters for one breath. Hugh notices the pause, and the admission of uncertainty leaves FOXY’s composure worn thin.
Hugh
Breathe slowly. You saw the danger before I did. Keep your eyes forward.
Hugh leads them onward beneath the eastern pens. Brindle remains close at FOXY’s side, and the three reach the far end of the service run without crossing the exposed stalls.
“Keep following hugh until we get to the eastern pens”
SUCCESS (Superb Agility, rolled +1)
Hugh reaches the end of the screened run and lifts one hand. Beyond the fallen boards, the eastern pens open beneath the moon, their empty stalls silvered with pale light.
FOXY follows exactly where Hugh steps, keeping Brindle close against his leg. Fallen boards and leaning posts conceal their passage until the service run gives way to trampled straw.
Hugh
We are in the eastern pens. Stay beneath the wall, and keep the stalls between us and the open ground.
Hugh crouches beside the eastern wall and points out the safest line between two empty stalls. Brindle lowers his nose, testing the straw without leaving FOXY’s side.
FOXY steps fully into the eastern pens. The service run remains behind him, marked by the broken boards, while moonlight reveals hoof-worn earth and several dark gaps beneath the stalls.
Hugh
From here, Garran went toward the far side. We can search the ground without exposing ourselves between the stalls.
Brindle gives a quiet huff and settles beside FOXY’s boot. Hugh remains crouched ahead, and the eastern pens lie open for their careful investigation.
Get Hugh to confess what he has withheld
Quest Complete
Learn what happened at the western camp
Attribute Upgrade: Perception Good→Great