Before anyone leaves the pass, a wounded woman emerges behind the black-painted markers. Mara Vey, a lean woman with a narrow, weathered face, is a young adult with sun-browned skin, cropped dark hair, and a torn ochre supply uniform; blood darkens her sleeve.
Mara Vey
Stop. The scouts are already on the road. That message identifies the wrong target.
Her hands tremble as she raises them, but one fist stays closed. A fresh kunai wound shows beneath her cuff, and a strip of black marker paint clings between her fingers.
The Masked Challenger
You came through the markers without triggering the watchers. Who sent you, Mara?
Mara Vey
No one sent me. I watched three of them pass the lower bend. They are hunting the courier, but the seal names a different road.
The Courier
That cannot be. I copied the route exactly as it was given to me.
The masked challenger shifts between Mara and the courier, blade lowered but ready. Dust whispers along the pass, while the sealed message remains in her gloved hand beside Ren.
✓ Quest Accepted
Identify the genuine target of the scouts’ attack.
“I inspect the sealed message for clues to the genuine target.”
FAILURE (Good Perception, rolled -1)
Ren’s scarlet eyes track the sealed message in the masked challenger’s gloved hand. He studies its folds, wax, and visible markings from where he stands, careful not to reach across her blade.
Ren Uchiha
The seal is intact, but I cannot read the route from here.
The Masked Challenger
Do not mistake restraint for permission, Leaf shinobi.
She angles the message against her body, denying him a clearer view. The courier’s copied route remains inaccessible, and Mara’s black-painted strip offers no direct comparison.
Mara Vey
The target is not written plainly. Look at the road signs, not the seal. The scouts marked the true route themselves.
The masked challenger glances toward the lower bend, then closes her fist around the message. Inspection has yielded only distance and contradiction, while the painted markers become the nearest usable clue.