Gerdur's Mill sits under a low, iron sky, the sawmill breathes with wet timber, and the Sleeping Giant throws a thin strip of warmth across the yard. By the stack of split logs, Rae Olson Daughter stands planted like a warding stone.
Between her and the mill, a woodcutter shakes so hard his boots scuff the mud. He grips a blade with an obsidian edge that catches no light, only swallows it.
Rae Olson Daughter
Waylan Grey, don't let him take it. That sword isn't an heirloom, it's bait.
Rae Olson Daughter
I can feel rot in it, old sorcery, meant to feed on the trees around this place.
Hrolf
It's my father's blade. You're lying. You all want to steal it from me.
The man yanks the sword closer to his chest. At once, the shadows under the mill eaves stretch long and thin, then gather at their tips like claws.
Waylan Grey
The light is thinning fastest near the blade.
Rae shifts her stance, one hand raised, ready to strike or soothe. The woodcutter bares the obsidian edge toward you, and the dark under the boards begins to move.
✓ Quest Accepted
Stop the woodcutter from taking the obsidian-edged sword
“Step between the woodcutter and the mill to block the shadows.”
SUCCESS (Great Agility, rolled +1)
Waylan Grey slides into the gap before the mill boards, cutting the shadows off from the sword with his own body. The dark shapes hesitate, thinning at the edges where his presence blocks their reach.
The woodcutter stumbles to a stop behind him, blade still clenched to his chest. Rae Olson Daughter lowers her raised hand a fraction, eyes fixed on the sword instead of the man.
Hrolf
No, wait. I never meant to bring it this far. My father said to bury it if it ever drank light.
Rae Olson Daughter
Then why keep carrying it? Tell him the truth, now.
Hrolf
He swallows hard, staring at the obsidian edge. 'It was found in the old root cellar, wrapped in ash and hair. The blacksmith said it had been in the ground too long to be ordinary.'
At the confession, the blade gives a faint, hungry pulse. The shadows under the mill boards recoil, then creep toward the village path instead.
Rae Olson Daughter
That is blight-work. Not a family relic. If it leaves your hands, it can find the trees.
Quest Complete
Stop the woodcutter from taking the obsidian-edged sword