Adventure of Kerson 1

Kerson travels alone along the road beyond the riverside settlement. Saelith and Taren remain safely with her sister, while the forest closes around the bandit-haunted stretch.

Beside a leaning milestone, Patch steps from the trees. Her long red hair catches the afternoon light, and her easy smile contrasts with the careful way she studies him.

She falls into step at a respectful distance, matching his pace without asking permission. Her gaze flicks toward his weapons, then briefly to the coin pouch beneath his cloak.

Patch’s smile remains inviting, but her attention returns to the road ahead and the place where his money rests. She waits beside him, leaving the offer open.

Kerson keeps his gaze on Patch’s eyes and speaks firmly. She studies him in turn, her smile sharpening as the road winds beneath the trees.

As Patch answers, two fingers briefly brush the pouch beneath Kerson’s cloak. He catches the movement, but one purse string has already been loosened.

Kerson calmly opens his purse and places a large, generous measure of gold into Patch’s waiting hand. The coins gleam between them in the afternoon light.

Patch weighs the payment by feel, then tucks the coins securely beneath her coat. Her playful smile remains, but her attention turns fully toward the road and its surrounding trees.

She steps ahead and studies the muddy verge, locating faint hoofprints beneath the older road traffic. With a small gesture, she indicates a narrower track descending between the trees.

Kerson follows Patch onto the descending track. She keeps several paces ahead, moving with deliberate confidence as her red hair and coat draw the eye between the trees.

Her pace remains steady, but each turn gives him another calculated glimpse of her figure. The performance is too measured to be accidental, and her hand never strays far from the hidden coins.

Patch reaches a screen of hazel and stops beside a faint hoofprint crossing the track. Beyond it, the bandits’ trail runs south through the trees, concealed from the watched road.

Kerson follows Patch without speaking, placing each step in the softened impressions she leaves behind. His attention returns to the trail whenever her deliberate movements invite his eyes elsewhere.

He keeps his expression professional and his gaze brief, though Patch’s showy turns occasionally draw it toward her figure before he redirects it to the trees.

Kerson continues behind her as the hazel screen gives way to a concealed hollow. Fresh hoofprints, boot marks, and crushed fern reveal the bandits’ camp route clearly.

A thorn catches Kerson’s cloak and tears a narrow strip from the hem. The small rip makes him pause, but Patch does not turn or slow.

Patch slips into the trees, and Kerson follows quietly through the concealed route. His distraction remains hidden, though the torn cloak marks the cost of keeping pace.

Patch leads Kerson through dense firs to the forest’s edge. Below, a crude bandit camp occupies a hollow around a low, carefully banked fire.

Kerson settles behind a mossy root and peers between branches. Four mounted bandits sit near the fire, while a fifth stands watch beside the horses.

Beyond the camp, a canvas lean-to shelters sacks, tied bundles, and a child’s blue cloth caught on a thorn. The bandits’ stolen supplies lie gathered in one place.

One bandit checks the road while another sharpens a blade against a stone. None looks toward the forest. Their number, camp, horses, and escape routes are plainly visible.

Patch slips through the eastern pines while Kerson crosses the hollow’s edge, using the firelight and shifting branches to conceal his approach. The sentry turns toward a distant hoofstep.

Patch reaches him without a sound. A swift strike drops the sentry behind the horses, and she catches his weapons before they can clatter against the stones.

Kerson enters the camp’s edge in the same breath. His blade flashes through the firelight, disarming the nearest rider, then he drives the others back from their mounts before they can draw together.

The four remaining bandits lie subdued around the banked fire, their weapons scattered beyond reach. The lean-to stands open, revealing stolen provisions, the child’s blue cloth, and a sealed Stormwind dispatch bearing a broken crown.

Kerson lifts the child’s blue cloth from the thorn. Dust darkens its edge, but the small crescent stitching matches the bead found beside the stream.

Kerson sets the cloth beside the stolen bundles and turns toward the subdued bandits. Firelight catches his sword as he advances without haste or hesitation.

The executions pass in grim silence, away from the fire’s center. When Kerson lowers his blade, none of the five bandits remains to threaten the road.

Patch searches the camp while Kerson wipes his sword clean. The sealed Stormwind dispatch rests among the stolen goods, its broken-crown mark facing upward.

Kerson offers her a trusting glance, then steps aside from the stolen bundles, leaving the choice plainly in her hands.

Patch studies his face, searching for a trap or reluctant condition. Finding neither, she opens the nearest bandit purse and pours its coins into her palm.

She weighs the coins, then secures them beneath her coat without sleight of hand. Her playful smile remains, but her attention settles more seriously on Kerson.

Kerson tosses the sealed dispatch into the active campfire as though it were forgotten kindling. The parchment catches, and the broken-crown seal blackens in the flames.

Wax snaps in the fire with a sharp pop. A plume of bitter smoke rolls across the hollow, stinging Kerson’s eyes and marking the camp’s position beyond the trees.

The dispatch collapses into glowing ash before any writing can be recovered. Patch watches the embers, then looks back to Kerson with renewed appraisal.

Kerson places the agreed remainder of her reward into Patch’s hand, then adds a few extra coins. His gesture is deliberate, and his voice remains quiet.

Patch closes her fingers around the coins and studies him across the dying fire. The teasing smile lingers, but her attention turns more searching.

She pockets the payment beside the bandits’ coins, then retrieves her pack and checks the forest road. The camp falls quiet as Patch prepares to leave with Kerson.