Heavy oak doors groan as Edrick steps into the tavern. Stale ale, smoke, and wet wool hang in the air. Conversation thins at the sight of his sword and his size.
In the far corner, a widow sits alone beneath a guttering lamp. A blood-stained parchment lies open before her, pinned by two pale fingers. A dagger rests beside her hand.
The list is fresh.
The Widow
You came quickly. Good.
Her gaze lifts and fixes on Edrick with cold, measured focus. She does not reach for the dagger, yet her hand stays close enough to claim it in a blink.
The Widow
Tell me, knight, are you here to take a seat... or to take a life?
Around them, mugs pause in midair. The room waits, tense and quiet, while the widow’s fingers tap once against the bloodied page.
✓ Quest Accepted
Learn where the beast is
“Does the parchment reveal the beast's current lair?”
NO, AND WORSE (Likely, rolled 97)
Edrick leans in to inspect the parchment, but the ink is nothing more than a list of names, each crossed out with a jagged, frantic stroke. The beast's lair is nowhere to be found, and the final name on the list is Edrick's own.
Edrick
This is not a map, it is a hit list.
“I ask the widow where the beast is”
FAILURE (Fair Reasoning, rolled -1)
Edrick
Where is the beast?
The Widow
You ask that like a man who still thinks names matter.
She drags the dagger point across the hit list, stopping over Edrick’s crossed-out name.
The Widow
It went east, where the old road sinks into the black marsh. That is where it feeds, and where I lose it.
The Widow
If you want it, follow the drowned stones past the mill ruins.
Edrick
The mill ruins mark a route, not a lair.
Her smile fades into something flatter, almost tired, as the tavern keeps its breath held around them.
Quest Complete
Learn where the beast is
“I press her for the marsh route”
FAILURE (Poor Intimidation, rolled -1)
Edrick presses in, voice low and hard. The Widow does not flinch, but her fingers tighten around the dagger until the knuckles pale.
Edrick
Give me the marsh route. The real path.
The Widow
You still think there is one clean path through a place that eats horses whole?
She taps the hit list with two fingers, then drags the blade away from it, as if the names have already cost her more than blood.
The Widow
Drowned stones. Then count three leaning willows, if the flood has not taken them. Leave the east bank at the dead eel tree.
The Widow
If you miss the eel tree, the bog circles you back to the mill ruins, and the thing knows you are lost.
Her eyes lift to Edrick's face, flat with warning and exhaustion both, as the tavern stays silent around the table.
✓ Quest Accepted
Survive the Widow's attack
“I turn to leave the tavern and head toward the mill ruins.”
SUCCESS (Good Agility, rolled +3)