Waylan Grey and the others leave the grove, the wrapped blade heavy between them. Ahead, the main road climbs toward the distant Throat of the World, clear enough to feel like a promise and a warning.
A small patrol of Kingdom soldiers blocks the way. Their boots are planted wide, spears low, eyes fixed on bundles, packs, and Waylan’s burden. One soldier watches the cloth wrappings as if he already knows what is hidden there.
The Sergeant
Hold there. No traveler passes without inspection. What have you got under that cloth?
Rae Olson Daughter
A dangerous thing, bound for a safer place. If you mean to do your duty, let us through.
The Sergeant
Safer places are often where contraband is meant to disappear.
The blade gives a faint hiss through the wrappings. Smoke curls up, thin as a warning finger, and Hrolf tightens his grip before the sound can grow.
Hrolf
It is the cause of the trouble. We carry it to the mountain to sever it.
At that, the patrol stiffens. The road stays blocked, but the path ahead is plain now, if they can convince the soldiers to let them take the blade to its ending.
✓ Quest Accepted
Get past the patrol
“did i see or spot a possible way around teh patrol”
SUCCESS (Good Perception, rolled -2)
Waylan angles his gaze off the road, past the soldiers and toward the ditch line. A booted track slips through the grass where the patrol has not packed the earth, leading to a narrow fisher path under the wall.
Waylan Grey
There is a side way, if the wall bend stays clear.
He shifts one step, testing the sightline. From here, the wrapped blade is hidden by Rae’s shoulder and the tall spear shafts, but the smoke thread betrays a faint curl above Hrolf’s hands.
Waylan catches the patrol’s attention with his movement, and one soldier turns sharply toward him. The line closes ranks at once, but the gap by the wall is now plain to see.
The Sergeant
You there. Eyes on the road. No wandering off.
Waylan has his bypass, a brush of trampled grass and shadow beside the stonework, yet the cost is a fresh warning from the sergeant and a second pair of eyes on the bundle.
Rae Olson Daughter
Then keep your eyes sharp, Sergeant. We are already in your keeping.
“Rea we must get past the patrol, it's not advisiable to fight them take Hrolf go”
FAILURE (Good Persuasion, rolled -1)
Waylan Grey
Rae, we must get past the patrol. Fighting them is not advisable. Take Hrolf and go.
The quiet appeal lands badly. The Sergeant steps across the mouth of the wall path, barring it with his shield while two soldiers angle their spears toward the bundle.
The Sergeant
No. No one leaves the road until I see what you are carrying.
Hrolf
The blade must reach the mountain. If they open the wrappings here, its smoke will draw every eye in the Hold.
Hrolf shifts toward the fisher path, but the spear line closes before his first step. Smoke slips from the cloth and curls between the iron points.
Rae Olson Daughter
Sergeant, your inspection may endanger everyone near it. Let us pass under guard, and keep the wrapping sealed.
The Sergeant studies Rae, then taps the bundle's stained cloth with the rim of his shield. His soldiers hold the road and the side path alike.
The Sergeant
Under guard, then. Set it on the stones, and step away. Refuse, and this road stays closed.
“you will curse us all Sgt Danica already looked at it the Greybeards at the Throat maybe the only cure”
FAILURE (Good Persuasion, rolled -1)
Waylan Grey
You will curse us all if you open it here. Danica has already examined the blade. The Greybeards at the Throat may be the only cure.
The warning reaches the patrol, but not as a plea. The Sergeant hears a dangerous relic and an unverified destination, while smoke threads from the wrappings again.
The Sergeant
You name healers I cannot question and a mountain sanctuary beyond my authority. That is not proof. It is cause for inspection.
His shield lowers. Two soldiers step inward, narrowing the space around Hrolf instead of the path. The bypass is no longer merely blocked, it is controlled.
Hrolf
If I set it down, the binding may fail. I will not let fear choose my name again.
The Sergeant points to a flat stone beside the road. One soldier extends a gloved hand toward the bundle, while another keeps his spear trained on Hrolf.
The Sergeant
Set the wrapped blade on the stone. Step away. If it truly threatens the Hold, my men will see it before it reaches the mountain.
“run for the bypass”
SUCCESS (Great Agility, rolled +3)
The Sergeant's attention fixes on Hrolf and the reaching glove. That is enough. Waylan Grey breaks for the wall's narrow bypass.
He slips between the ditch stones before the spear line can turn, boots finding the fisher path's packed earth instead of loose gravel.
A startled shout follows, but the patrol cannot close the gap without abandoning Hrolf and the smoking bundle. Waylan Grey reaches the far side of the roadblock.
The path bends behind a jut of old wall and hides him from the soldiers. Beyond it, the mountain road is open, and faded ranger marks show this route was once used to reach the high trails.
Rae Olson Daughter
Waylan, the patrol is watching Hrolf. If the path is clear, give us a sign.
Behind the wall, the Sergeant orders his men to hold position. Smoke curls above the wrappings as Hrolf remains trapped at the road's edge, while Rae waits for Waylan's signal.
Quest Complete
Get past the patrol
Skill Upgrade: Persuasion Good→Great