The tent flap jerks wide, and cold morning light spills over the open iron box on the floor. The friar goes white at once.
Hugh
You there, the steward wants the men guarding the chapel cargo at once. No delay.
He is a hard-jawed man with rain on his cloak, but his eyes flick to the silver and back to Garindan, measuring the room in a glance.
Hugh
And if that box is what I think it is, then you are all already late.
The Friar
They have found me. Holy saints, they have found me.
The Knight
Name yourself, guard. If you mean us no harm, speak plain and quickly.
Hugh
Hugh, of the outer ward. I was sent because the steward mistrusts his own shadows. He said a strong man with a shield would be needed, and that sounded like you.
Hugh shifts aside to make room, one hand still on the flap, giving Garindan a clear path and a warning look toward the tent opening behind him.
✓ Quest Accepted
Bluff past the steward's guard
“I kick the iron box shut and stand tall to face Hugh.”
SUCCESS (Superb Strength, rolled +0)
Garindan drives his boot into the iron box. The lid slams shut with a dull clang, and the exposed silver vanishes from sight.
He straightens in one hard motion, shield settling at his side, sword low but ready.
Hugh
Good. Keep it shut. The steward's men are waiting, and they do not like delays.
The Friar
If they see me here, I am ruined.
The Knight
Then we go at once. Hugh, lead on, before the camp starts asking why you came alone.
Hugh holds the flap wider, but his stare lingers on Garindan's stance, as if weighing whether this room has become safer or far more dangerous.
Outside, boots crunch on damp ground, close enough to make the next choice immediate.
“I let Hugh lead while I stay ready”
SUCCESS (Good Agility, rolled +4)
Garindan moves out under Hugh’s lead, sword low, shield half-raised, and the tent mouth swallows the four of them into cold dawn air. Hugh keeps just ahead, glancing back once to be sure Garindan stays with him.
Hugh
Stay close. If anyone asks, you are here on the steward’s business.
Garindan keeps pace without breaking formation, his stance ready for a cut or a shove, yet the path opens cleanly before them. Men outside part at Hugh’s look, more wary of his certainty than of Garindan’s sword.
The Knight
Good. Let them see us as expected.
At the first line of waiting guards, Hugh lifts a hand and speaks before they can challenge them. One of the men steps aside at once, and another turns his head toward the steward’s pavilion, uneasy.
Hugh
Late word from the chapel cargo. The steward wants it checked now.
That name does the work. The guards’ posture loosens, and Garindan catches the smallest opening in their ranks, a clear lane through the camp. The steward’s men are still watching, but they are watching Hugh, not him.
Ahead, the steward’s pavilion comes into view, and one guard there starts forward, hand already lifting for a stop.
“I angle toward the pavilion under guard cover”
SUCCESS (Good Agility, rolled -2)
Garindan angles with Hugh’s cover, slipping into the guard’s blind side as the pavilion looms larger. One man squares up to stop him, but Hugh’s lifted hand and brisk stride keep the moment from hardening into a challenge.
Garindan reaches the pavilion line cleanly, close enough to hear canvas creak and boot leather scuff. The guard’s stare follows him, then flicks away, accepting the cover story by force of timing.
The cost lands at once, a mailed shoulder clips Garindan’s shield rim in the press, jolting his arm and making the metal ring.
Hugh
Steady. Keep moving, before he changes his mind.
The Knight draws a short, satisfied breath at the steward’s pavilion, his attention sharpened by the name Hugh used. Garindan is under the guard’s shadow now, but the way in is open.
The Knight
The steward is listening now.
At the pavilion entry, the waiting guard turns fully toward Garindan, hand still half-raised, as if deciding whether to let him pass or speak.
Quest Complete
Bluff past the steward's guard
Attribute Upgrade: Agility Good→Great