Runty carries the warm luminous egg from the ravine while Vaelith bears the other three within their living cradle. Mara and Oren walk beside them as the restored light fades along the trail.
The valley falls behind, replaced by unfamiliar pinewood. Moss cushions the roots, thick branches shelter the ground, and several quiet hollows offer places where a camp might be made.
Mara
This hollow is sheltered from the wind. We could make camp beneath those pines and keep the eggs out of sight.
Near the hollow, several twigs lie freshly snapped. Shallow boot prints cross the moss and vanish between the trunks, evidence of someone recently passing through the woods.
Oren Vale
Someone came this way not long ago. The tracks are too faint to tell us who, but they do not lead toward the open valley.
Vaelith
The eggs need rest, and so do we. I can keep the cradle warm while you choose the safest ground.
The forest remains still except for whispering needles and the soft pulse of four eggs. The possible campsites wait around the sheltered hollow, while the fading trail disappears deeper into the pines.
✓ Quest Accepted
Identify who passed through the pinewood
“I inspect the boot prints and snapped twigs for signs of who passed.”
SUCCESS (Great Perception, rolled +1)
Runty crouches over the moss, examining each boot print and broken twig without disturbing them. Vaelith keeps the warm eggs close while Mara and Oren watch the trees.
Perception separates fresh impressions from older woodland tracks: four travelers passed recently, moving in a careful file. Their boots are armed-road issue, and one heavier tread leads the others.
Reads Wards works through the snapped twigs, revealing faint residue where a searching charm brushed the branches. The spell was deliberate, not a hunter’s ordinary passage.
Oath-Bound makes Runty test the evidence against the company’s safety before accepting the first answer. The bent twigs, spacing, and boot marks agree: the hunters came this way seeking the eggs.
Oren Vale
The hunters’ leader walked first, and the others followed his line. They are searching, not traveling. We should assume they know the trail exists.
Vaelith
Then this hollow is only safe if we leave no sign of the eggs. Your reading has given us warning before they reach us.
The tracks angle around the hollow toward a narrow western game path, confirming the intruders’ direction. The company now knows where the hunters went and that their search is close.
Quest Complete
Identify who passed through the pinewood
“I say "We need to find a place to hide the egg and rest because it's starting to get dark."”
SUCCESS (Superb Willpower, rolled +1)
Runty
We need to find a place to hide the egg and rest because it’s starting to get dark.
Runty’s will holds steady against the deepening dusk. Oath-Bound makes him weigh concealment against abandoning the hunters’ trail, while Passwise Judgment distinguishes protection from flight.
Vaelith
There is a hollow beneath the oldest pine. Its roots form a chamber, and I can veil the eggs’ light within it.
Vaelith leads them off the game path to a root-walled hollow screened by ferns and stone. Mara clears a narrow sleeping space, while Oren checks the surrounding ground for fresh signs.
Mara
This will hide us from the path. We can rest here without leaving the eggs exposed.
Oren Vale
The hunters’ trail passes west of us. No one has entered this hollow tonight, and I’ll watch the approach while we settle.
Vaelith settles the living cradle beneath the roots and draws its glow inward until only a muted green warmth remains. The group has a concealed resting place before darkness fully covers the pines.
“I say, "One of you look for firewood the other looks for food, Vaelith and I will stay here while I try to start a fire."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Reasoning, rolled +1)
Runty
One of you look for firewood, the other looks for food. Vaelith and I will stay here while I try to start a fire.
Mara
I’ll find food. Oren, choose dry wood and return before the light fades.
Oren Vale
Understood. I’ll keep to the hollow’s edge and leave no trail toward the path.
Mara slips between the ferns toward berry shrubs, while Oren searches beneath the pines for fallen branches. Vaelith remains beside the hidden cradle, veiling its muted glow.
Runty arranges dry needles, bark, and thin twigs beneath the roots. Reasoning finds the safest air gap, while Oath-Bound makes him check that the flame cannot reach the eggs or expose the hollow.
Passwise Judgment distinguishes a useful cooking fire from a beacon. Runty shields the spark with flat stones, and a small steady flame takes hold without casting light beyond the roots.
Mara returns with gathered roots and dark berries as Oren brings a quiet armful of dry wood. The concealed fire accepts their offerings, and the camp is supplied for the night.
“We all sit by the fire. I ask "So we've all have been traveling together for a while. What's each of our stories before we started this adventure?"”
SUCCESS (Good Diplomacy, rolled +1)
Runty
We have traveled together for a while. What are each of our stories before this adventure began?
They settle around the small fire, with the hidden cradle behind them. Diplomacy softens Runty’s question, while Passwise Judgment keeps it open rather than prying, and the others answer honestly.
Mara
I inherited the inn from my mother and spent years learning which travelers lied, which needed shelter, and which dangers were best met quietly. The map came to me through old family hands, and I kept it hidden until the hunters forced the matter into the open.
Oren Vale
I served the village watch for most of my adult life. Mara and I grew up together, argued over nearly everything worth arguing about, and still trusted each other when the hunters came. I know roads, gates, and how frightened people behave when steel appears.
Vaelith
Before your road reached my mountain, I guarded the springs, roots, and ancient stores entrusted to my keeping. My eggs were laid beneath that stone, and generations of my kind preserved the covenant beside me. I have known duty longer than I have known wandering.
Firelight moves across their faces. Mara’s account carries a keeper’s caution, Oren’s a watchman’s patience, and Vaelith’s measured words reveal a life shaped by guardianship rather than roads.
Mara
And you, Runty? You have told us what you protect, but not what first set you walking beyond your tribe.
“I say, "Well as my name suggest I was the smallest and weakest of my tribe. My birth family loved and excepted me, but the tribe never did. When my parents came back from raids they would always bring me books, learn how to read before I could talk. At age, when I came of age to join a raid that's when things started to change for the better. We had just finish a raid and were scavenging the remains, we had found a metal door that no one could break. I recognized the door type and how to pick the lock. We found a bunch of seeds and grain. We brought it back to the tribe and I taught them how to plant and farm the crops. They dubbed me Runty of the Seeds, likely as a joke but I didn't care it was them finally excepting me. When I reached age 21 the tribe chose a handful of us to travel and make our own tribes. I was one of the ones chosen. That day I realized that my gifts needed to be shared and help unite people no matter race. Also find so one to love and share with."”
SUCCESS (Good Diplomacy, rolled -2)
Runty
Well, as my name suggests, I was the smallest and weakest of my tribe. My birth parents loved and accepted me, though the tribe never did. They brought me books from their raids and taught me to read before I could talk. When I came of age, I joined a raid. We found a metal door nobody could break, but I recognized its lock and opened it. Behind it were seeds and grain. I taught my tribe to farm, and they called me Runty of the Seeds. Maybe it was a joke, but I did not care. They finally accepted me. At twenty-one, I was chosen to travel and help found another tribe. I realized my gifts should be shared, to unite people of every race. I also hope to find someone to love and share my life with.
Diplomacy lets the tale cross the fire as an offering rather than a boast. Passwise Judgment keeps its sharp edges honest: the wound of rejection, the lock opened, and the choice to share all remain in their proper places.
Mara
Then you did not merely leave home, Runty. You carried its best answer with you. I believe that. But now I will expect you to speak for more than yourself when our road brings strangers to us.
Oren Vale
That is a fine purpose, and a dangerous one. People may welcome your grain while distrusting the orc who brings it. If you want unity, you will have to keep earning it in every village we reach.
Vaelith
Your first gift was knowledge, and your second was departure. I understand the cost of carrying a covenant beyond the place that raised you. I will trust your purpose, but I will remember your promise to protect what depends upon it.
The confession wins their trust, but it also gives them a claim upon Runty: Mara names him a voice for the company, and Oren’s warning makes that duty public. The fire burns low as the hidden eggs pulse behind the roots.
“I say, "You guys get some rest, I'll take first watch."”
SUCCESS (Great Perception, rolled -2)
Runty
You guys get some rest, I'll take first watch.
Runty settles near the hollow’s entrance, keeping the fire screened and the hidden cradle behind him. His attention takes in the western path, the pines, and every dark gap between roots.
Oath-Bound keeps him from treating watchfulness as permission to abandon the eggs or the company; he checks their shelter, the muted light, and each sleeping position before facing outward.
Passwise Judgment separates ordinary forest movement from signs of pursuit. Runty finds no fresh approach, but the old boot trail remains too faint to identify how near its makers may be.
Mara
Then I will sleep while you watch. Wake me if the trail changes, not merely when an owl complains.
Oren Vale
I’ll take the second watch. Keep your eyes on the western path, and leave the rest to the dark.
Vaelith
The eggs are quiet beneath the roots. Your vigilance gives them rest, Runty.
“I keep watch.”
SUCCESS (Great Perception, rolled +2)
Runty keeps watch at the hollow’s entrance, the screened fire behind him and the western path spread between dark pines. The forest offers only wind, needles, and distant night birds.
His promise to protect the sleeping company makes him turn back repeatedly, checking the hidden eggs, the roots, and each resting figure before resuming his outward watch.
Runty
The western trail has fresh signs, but none from tonight.
Reads Pursuit separates the old armed-road prints from newer disturbances: a bent fern, a heel pressed into damp moss, and a broken twig farther west. They belong to the same searching party, now moving away from the hollow.
The hours pass without an approach. Each time sleep tugs at his focus, the promise brings his attention back to the cradle’s muted glow and the silent path beyond.
By the first paling of the sky, Runty has kept the camp unseen and learned the hunters are no longer closing in from the west. The hollow remains secure.