Dusk bleeds out over the village square. Mud gleams between dropped baskets and a shattered cart wheel. Kekona stands in the center of the road as the tavern door slams shut ahead, and the last heavy bolt grinds home behind her.
Windows above the tavern flash with candlelight. Shadows crowd the panes, then vanish. Inside, someone screams for the innkeeper to hold fast.
The Innkeeper
Keep the shutters barred! Do not open that door, not for coin, not for prayers!
A knot of villagers huddle on the far side of the square, half-hidden behind a wagon turned sideways as a barricade. Their fear keeps them still, but their eyes stay fixed on Kekona's claws and tail.
The Innkeeper
Manticore, hear me. The doors are sealed. Leave this place, and I swear we will not hunt you.
The tavern's oak doors tremble under the press of bodies within. A child starts to cry, and is hushed at once. Somewhere in the dark street, a loose gate bangs in the wind like a warning drum.
Kekona
The tavern is sealed, and they are afraid of the dark as much as of me.
The Innkeeper
Step away from the square, beast. Tell us what you want, and maybe this night ends with breath still in our throats.
✓ Quest Accepted
Breach the tavern barricades
✓ Quest Accepted
Devour the villagers
“Kekona pounces at the villagers behind the wagon.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Mauling, rolled +2)
Kekona launches low across the mud, shoulders knifing forward. Her claws catch the wagon’s rim, and the barricade shudders under her weight as the villagers recoil behind it.
The wagon tips a handspan, one wheel skidding free of the muck. A crate splits, spilling apples and straw between terrified feet.
The Innkeeper
Hold the line! Back, all of you, back!
One villager stumbles sideways, then another, and the tight knot behind the barricade breaks apart in panic.
Kekona drives through the gap, and the wagon grinds hard against the tavern steps, no longer sealing the square off cleanly.
The Innkeeper
She has split us, seal the opening, seal it now!
The villagers clutch at the wagon as it slews out of place, leaving a jagged breach and trembling hands on either side of it.
Quest Complete
Breach the tavern barricades