By late afternoon, Brannik emerges from the forest road, exhausted but resolute. He carries the abandoned red sash in one fist instead of wearing it, mud drying across his boots.
The road enters a weather-beaten hamlet. Townsfolk pause outside crooked doorways, watching the scarred leader approach beside Flerpy while the fallen thugs remain behind beneath the dripping pines.
The Scarred Leader
I followed tracks left by men tied to the hunters. They led here, through the rain and over the old ridge.
Uneasy murmurs pass among the townsfolk. Brannik stops before the well, shoulders sagging from the road, yet his grip closes firmly around the red sash.
The Scarred Leader
But I will go no farther until you explain what truly imbued us both. I abandoned one life for your cause, and I will not follow a mystery blindly.
Flerpy Dingflap
The red sash is damp, but no longer bears the weight of his rank.
The Scarred Leader
Tell them, Flerpy Dingflap. Let the whole hamlet hear what binds us, before another blade finds us in the dark.
“I was tasked by a dying fairy-imp, she gifted me with this power in exchange for avenging her death and the deaths of those innocent magical creatures to come if he isn't stopped, but not until the pouch deems us ready. I will open the pouch and it will help you understand the true wonders of this magic.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Oratory, rolled +1)
Flerpy Dingflap
A dying fairy-imp tasked me with avenging her death, and the deaths of innocent magical creatures yet to come if the defiler is not stopped. She gifted me this power, but the pouch would not open until it deemed us ready. Now it has.
Flerpy draws out the large pouch and opens its cord. A handful of powder rises instead of falling, swirling in amber sparks above his palm as the hamlet watches in stunned silence.
Flerpy Dingflap
This is the true wonder of the magic. Watch, Brannik. Watch, all of you.
The Scarred Leader
The pouch answers him as though it has a will. Gods preserve us, this is older than any hedge charm.
The powder streams gently around Flerpy and Brannik, settling on the red sash without staining it. Every crooked well-stone catches a different impossible color.
Townsfolk
The little sorcerer speaks true! The old magic has chosen them!
The Scarred Leader
Then I understand enough. I will stand beside you until this defiler is found, and I will tell every road and paymaster what I once served.
The pouch closes beneath Flerpy's fingers as the last sparks fade. Around the well, fear gives way to wary wonder, and Brannik lifts the red sash from the mud.
Quest Complete
Explain the truth to Brannik and imbue him