Taydo steps into the small, overgrown clearing surrounding the hedge witch's cottage. The air is thick with the scent of ozone and sweet, cloying nectar. Near the doorway, a figure draped in charcoal robes stands motionless, his gloved hands glowing with a faint, pulsing violet light.
The Stranger in Black
He is large, even for a creature of the earth. I must ensure the boy remains undisturbed by his arrival.
At the Stranger's feet, a small child lies curled on the grass, his skin shimmering with a faint, iridescent dust that suggests fey interference. The Stranger in Black turns slowly, his face hidden beneath a deep, shadowed cowl.
Taydo
The magic clinging to the child is flickering, unstable.
The Stranger in Black
Stand back, druid. This heir does not belong to your forest, and his passage is already bought with blood.
The Stranger taps his staff against the earth, causing the violet light to intensify. A ripple of dark energy expands outward from the child, threatening to lift the boy from the ground and vanish him into thin air.
+ Scene Quest Added
Protect the child from the Stranger in Black
“Intimidate the stranger, saying " leave this place! This child has done nothing to deny her the protections of the guardians of this forest, but you are violating is sacred grounds"”
SUCCESS (Legendary Intimidation, rolled -1)
Taydo
Leave this place! This child has done nothing to deny him the protections of the guardians of this forest, but you are violating these sacred grounds.
Taydo slams the butt of his druidic staff into the forest loam. A shockwave of deep, rhythmic resonance tears through the clearing, snuffing out the violet light like a candle in a gale.
The Stranger in Black
The earth itself rejects my command. This druid is far more powerful than the rumors suggested.
The Stranger in Black
You are a fool to spill blood for a relic, but if the forest demands this toll, I shall withdraw... for now.
The stranger stumbles back, his robes flickering as he loses his connection to the weave. He retreats toward the treeline, leaving the child alone in the grass.
Taydo
The magic was tied to his staff, not the child. He remains a threat, but the immediate pressure has broken.
Quest Complete
Protect the child from the Stranger in Black