Rain ticks against the inn’s warped shutters as Runty enters. Behind the counter, a young adult woman, lean-built with freckled cheeks and a crooked nose with russet hair, a weathered blue dress, and a silver tooth pulls a folded map from beneath the boards.
The parchment is stained by age and water, its inked trail winding toward a sketched mountain crowned with a dragon’s curling silhouette. The barmaid keeps one hand over its edge.
Mara
You there. Keep your eyes open, little traveler, and your hands quicker than theirs.
Four armed hunters force through the crowded doorway, scattering patrons and dripping rainwater across the rush-strewn floor. Their leader plants a gauntleted hand on the counter.
Armed Hunters
Hand over the map, woman. That dragon’s hoard belongs to the first who claims it.
Mara
Belongs? You have not even found the mountain, much less survived its door.
Runty
The map remains within reach.
✓ Quest Accepted
Help the barmaid escape the hunters
“"Leave the kind lady be. I do not wish to fight this day, but I will if you hurt her." *Said calm yet sternly*”
FAILURE (Good Willpower, rolled -2)
Runty
Leave the kind lady be. I do not wish to fight this day, but I will if you hurt her.
Runty’s calm words carry across the rain-muted room. His oath-bound warning leaves him no room to soften it, yet the hunters hear more promise than threat.
Armed Hunters
A brave little oath for a small orc. Step aside, and perhaps she keeps all her fingers.
The leader leans over the counter instead of retreating. One hunter circles toward Runty, boots scraping the rushes, while the others keep their hands near their weapons.
Mara
That is enough. He has offered peace, and you have answered with a threat.
The hunters laugh, but the room has shifted against them. The barmaid folds the map beneath her arm and steps back from the counter, placing it beyond their immediate reach.
“Jump and put him in a choke hold”
SUCCESS (Good Athletics, rolled +1)
Runty springs over the rushes and catches the hunters’ leader from behind, his forearm locking across the man’s throat before the gauntlet can reach the barmaid.
The leap succeeds, but Runty’s shoulder slams hard against the counter. His oath-bound warning leaves no room to retreat while the threatened harm remains imminent.
Armed Hunter 2
Get this whelp off me!
The leader claws at Runty’s arm, boots scraping uselessly across the wet rushes. Runty tightens the hold just enough to keep the man pinned without crushing his breath.
Mara
Hold him, little traveler. Do not let the others reach their steel.
The other hunters freeze around the room, hands hovering near their weapons. With their leader trapped against Runty, the map remains secure beneath the barmaid’s arm.
Armed Hunter 2
Call them off, woman, or this turns bloody.
“"If you all leave, I will release you! If you don't, I will snap your neck!"”
SUCCESS (Good Willpower, rolled +3)
Runty
If you all leave, I will release you. If you do not, I will snap your neck.
The oath in Runty’s voice permits no gentler bargain. His bruised shoulder burns against the counter, but his hold stays firm, and the leader hears certainty rather than bluster.
Armed Hunter 2
Lower your weapons! We leave the map and the inn. Do as he says.
The three free hunters slowly withdraw their hands from their weapons, then back through the rain-dark doorway. None risks looking away from Runty’s locked arm.
Mara
That is wise. Keep walking, and do not make him repeat himself.
Only when the last hunter clears the threshold does the barmaid nod. The immediate threat has passed, and the folded map remains safe beneath her arm.
Runty releases the leader. The man stumbles forward, rubbing his throat, then follows the others into the rain without another word.
Quest Complete
Help the barmaid escape the hunters
Attribute Upgrade: Willpower Good→Great
New gift: Reads Pursuit