Thick branches knot overhead, turning the Dark Forest dim and close. Ahead, a narrow ravine cuts between mossy stones; behind, snapped twigs and soft footfalls draw nearer through the undergrowth.
Rellian Blackblade
There. Down into the ravine, and keep low.
Rellian points toward the descent, then checks the route with a soldier's stillness. A fallen tree sprawls across the narrow passage, its torn roots blocking the safest footing.
Fresh tracks press the damp earth behind you, overlapping one another and coming steadily closer. Somewhere beyond the brush, metal gives a faint, careful click.
Rellian Blackblade
The tree is no longer an option. We can climb, circle wide, or meet them here. Choose quickly.
Ambrose
The tracks are fresh enough that the hunters have not passed.
The forest holds its breath around the concealed route. Behind the cover, several figures move in a staggered line, searching without yet seeing you or Rellian.
Eastern Assassins
Spread out. They are close.
✓ Quest Accepted
Escape the assassins
“(circle wide)”
SUCCESS (Great Athletics, rolled +1)
Ambrose slips from the ravine's edge and circles wide through the denser timber, placing each foot on roots and leaf-shadow instead of open earth. The route bends beyond the searching line.
Rellian Blackblade
Good. Keep the stones between us and them.
Rellian follows in Ambrose's wake, moving only when the branches stir. The assassins enter the ravine behind them, their boots scraping loose soil as they search the abandoned route.
Eastern Assassins
The trail turns here. Check the ravine mouth.
Ambrose and Rellian reach the far side of the ravine unseen. Ferns close behind them, masking the broken stems and preserving a clear woodland path eastward.
Rellian Blackblade
They have missed us. Move on, and do not give them a reason to look twice.
undefined / undefined
A sharp horn call breaks from the eastern timber, startling birds into the gray canopy. Rellian stops mid-step, one hand lifting for silence.
Rellian Blackblade
That is no hunter's signal. Someone else has found the trail.
The call answers itself from farther east, then again from the ravine behind you. The assassins are no longer searching blindly; their net is closing.
Eastern Assassins
Eastward! Cut them off before they reach the old road.
Rellian's gaze fixes on a low ridge concealed by firs. Beyond it, the land drops toward the old road, while the nearest voices fade into hurried movement.
Rellian Blackblade
We have moments, not distance. The ridge gives cover, but the road may hold their second line.
A gust sweeps through the branches, carrying the smell of smoke from somewhere beyond the ridge. Rellian waits, leaving the choice to Ambrose.
Director's note
Head to the ridge
Ambrose leads them toward the low ridge, slipping between fir trunks and keeping the smoke at their backs. Damp needles soften every step, while the old road remains hidden beyond the rise.
Rellian Blackblade
Keep close. The ridge will show us whether the road is guarded before we commit to it.
Rellian follows beneath the fir boughs, one hand near his blade. Behind them, the horn sounds again, nearer now, and several voices spread through the ravine.
Eastern Assassins
They have turned east. Search the trees and watch the ridge.
The slope steepens. Ambrose reaches the crest first and crouches among thorny brush, gaining a narrow view of the old road below.
Rellian Blackblade
There. Smoke rises beside the road, but I see no wagons. We can cross before their line reaches this side.
Below, a thin column of smoke curls from a concealed fire near the road's bend. No sentry moves beside it, yet fresh boot marks darken the muddy verge.