Xarsthos thuds against the earth before the palisade, the weight of Valerius slipping from his shoulder. Bera collapses into the dirt, her breath hitching in ragged sobs. The villagers recoil, their eyes locked on the blood-stained armor of the dead envoy.
Village Elder
Kaelen:5
This brings death to our threshold.
Kaelen
You fool. Do you have any idea what you have brought to our gates?
Xarsthos
I brought the end of a threat. He was hunting your people.
Iron-Clad Mercenary
Haldor
That armor belongs to a commander who does not take kindly to theft, nor to the murder of his messengers.
A man draped in heavy chainmail pushes through the crowd. He rests a heavy, hooked spear against his shoulder, his eyes narrowing as he spits on the ground near the corpse of Valerius.
Xarsthos
He carries the same mark as the dead envoy. This town is deeper in the warlord's pocket than I thought.
+ Scene Quest Added
Survive the confrontation with the mercenaries
“I address the leader. "THIS man attacked me and was harassing this lady. I had to stop him"”
SUCCESS (Good Willpower, rolled +1)
Xarsthos
Listen well. This man sought to drag this woman into the dark. I did not murder a messenger, I executed a predator. Your warlord is not the law here. I am.
The crowd falls into a suffocating silence. Haldor shifts his weight, the hooked spear scraping against the gravel as he readies a lunging stance. He looks toward his men, who begin to fan out, weapons drawn and eyes fixed on the gap between the warrior and the shivering girl.
Haldor
This nomad is more dangerous than the envoy. If he dies, the warlord will double the tribute for our insolence, but if he lives, he might burn this whole camp down to cleanse it.
Haldor
You speak of laws in a graveyard, nomad? Your tongue is as sharp as that blade, but let us see if your blood flows as freely as the rest of them.
Quest Complete
Survive the confrontation with the mercenaries
Attribute Upgrade: Willpower Good→Great
+ Scene Quest Added
Survive the mercenary ambush
“I address Haldor, "come at me if you dare! Only death awaits you scum" I exclaim”
SUCCESS (Great Willpower, rolled +0)
Xarsthos
Come at me if you dare! Only death awaits you scum.
Xarsthos plants his feet firmly in the shifting, treacherous earth, his hand flashing to the hilt of his sword. The air grows heavy with the scent of turned soil and static. Haldor snarls, his grip tightening on his spear, but he hesitates as he witnesses the sheer, immovable resolve radiating from the nomad. The mercenary’s men falter, their confidence shattering under Xarsthos's piercing, draconic gaze.
Bera
He stands like a mountain against the tide. Perhaps I do not have to die in this cursed hole today.
Haldor
You want a grave, stranger? You shall have the deepest one in Oakhaven.
Haldor bellows a command, and the surrounding mercenaries break their hesitation, closing in with jagged blades glinting in the pale, dying light.
“Looking around, I laugh. "You are eager for death it seems. SO BE IT!!!" I bellow. I swing my sword in an arc landing a killing blow on Haldor and his men”
SUCCESS (Legendary Melee Combat, rolled +2)
Xarsthos
You are eager for death it seems. SO BE IT!!!
Xarsthos moves like a shadow caught in a storm. His blade sings, a silver blur against the grey, churning graveyard light. Before Haldor can even raise his spear, the nomad’s steel carves a lethal arc through the air. Haldor’s eyes widen as the strike lands true, the mercenary collapsing into the loose, shifting soil as his lifeblood stains the earth. With a pivot that defies the sinking ground, Xarsthos carries his momentum into the surrounding ranks. Each swing is precise, clinical, and devastating. Steel clashes against rusted mail, and within seconds, the mercenaries lie scattered among the ancient headstones.
Xarsthos
That was too easy. The stench of necromancy hangs heavy here, thicker than the dust.
The graveyard falls into a sudden, deafening silence. Bera stands frozen behind him, her gaze fixed on the fallen men as dust swirls around Xarsthos’s boots.
Bera
He did not even blink. Who is this man that fights like a storm?
Quest Complete
Survive the mercenary ambush
Attribute Upgrade: Willpower Great→Superb