Three days after the chapel dispute, Alexandra cuts across the path near the village gate, one hand lifting her skirt from the mud. She watches Bren pack his final supplies with a hunter’s focus, waiting until no mayoral ears are near.
Alexandra
You leave quietly, seminarian. I wondered if you would try to slip away before I found you.
Bren pauses with his satchel open. The gate behind her stands half-shadowed in the afternoon light, and the road beyond it feels suddenly narrower.
Alexandra
My father keeps his clerks close, but he does not hear everything. I wanted a word with you alone, about Northmere, and about you.
Bren Riverglade
She has been waiting by the gate.
Alexandra steps nearer, chin raised, eyes bright with restless intent. Her smile is sharp, but not unkind.
Alexandra
Tell me true, Bren Riverglade, are you bound for duty, or are you simply running from this place?
✓ Quest Accepted
Define my boundaries with Alexandra
“"I have been bidden to take the North road for my pilgrimage. I know of no need to run from here."”
SUCCESS (Superb Willpower, rolled +1)
Bren Riverglade
I am bidden to take the North road for my pilgrimage. I know of no need to run from Northmere.
Alexandra
Then you do leave by command, not by fear. Good. I would rather hear the truth than chase shadows.
Alexandra eases back a half-step, letting the gate and the road sit between them like a measured line.
Alexandra
Still, you were in the chapel when my father was talking debts and witness. That is no small thing. Men in this village like to hide behind duty when they mean to vanish.
Bren Riverglade
I will not promise what I cannot give. I go to serve, and I mean to keep to that road.
Alexandra
That is a boundary, at least. Plainly spoken.
Her smile thins into something more thoughtful. The packed earth creaks under her shift of weight, and the open gate frames the road beyond like an unmade choice.
Alexandra
Then tell me this, Bren Riverglade, when Northmere calls you back in memory, what will you answer it with?
Quest Complete
Define my boundaries with Alexandra
“"Northmere has treated me well, even your father once he heard my account. I hope to return with gladness if our goddess wills it." Looking at Alexandra: "There is beauty in this place."”
SUCCESS (Superb Willpower, rolled -1)
Bren Riverglade
Northmere has treated me well, even your father when he heard my account. I hope to return with gladness, if our goddess wills it. There is beauty in this place.
Alexandra
Gladness, then. That is a kinder word than duty, and rarer here than rain in summer.
Alexandra lets the words settle. Her gaze drifts past Bren to the gate road, then back again, as if weighing what kind of man chooses gratitude over boasting.
Alexandra
My father does not often spare praise lightly. If he spoke well of you, he had reason.
Bren Riverglade
She is listening more closely now.
A cart rattles far off on the village lane, but neither of them turns. The hedge stirs in the wind, and the open gate keeps the road visible between them.
Alexandra
You say you return, if Omera wills it. That sounds honest. It also sounds like a man who knows he may be called elsewhere before then.
Alexandra
Tell me plainly, Bren Riverglade, what place does Northmere still hold for you?
✓ Quest Accepted
Define what Northmere means to Bren
“"I do not know. Perhaps I could be called to help Father Hallowell at the chapel. Or perhaps I would only return as a visitor. I can only know after completing my pilgrimage to conclude my studies."”
SUCCESS (Superb Willpower, rolled -1)
Bren Riverglade
I do not know. Perhaps I am called to help Father Hallowell at the chapel, or perhaps I return only as a visitor. I can say little more until my pilgrimage is done and my studies are complete.
Alexandra
That is plain spoken enough. Most men dress uncertainty in grand words, but you leave yours bare.
Alexandra studies him in silence for a breath, and the wind tugs at the gate rope between them. Her expression eases, though her eyes stay sharp.
Alexandra
So Northmere is not your home in the way a hearth is home. It is a place that has held you kindly, and may hold you again.
Bren Riverglade
That is close to the truth.
The cart noise fades down the lane. Alexandra folds her arms loosely, less like a challenger now and more like someone weighing a honest answer.
Alexandra
Then I will take that answer. If you return, I should like to know whether Northmere kept faith with you, or merely passed you along.
Quest Complete
Define what Northmere means to Bren
“"If I return, it would please me to tell you of it."”
SUCCESS (Superb Willpower, rolled +0)
Bren Riverglade
If I return, it would please me to tell you of it.
Alexandra
Then I shall hold you to that. Northmere is too small for strangers to stay strangers for long.
Alexandra lets her arms fall open, no longer braced to block the path. The wind lifts a strip of hair across her cheek, and she does not bother to smooth it away.
Alexandra
Tell me plain, Bren Riverglade, when you think of leaving, do you leave with regret, or with relief?
Bren Riverglade
She asks it as if the answer matters to Northmere.
Beyond them, the empty road lies pale under the failing light. The gate rope creaks once against the post, then stills.
Alexandra
I would rather hear your own measure of the place than the village's. It is kinder, and harder to fake.
✓ Quest Accepted
Tell Alexandra whether Northmere kept faith
“"I came to what seemed a quiet haven, to pay my respect to the chapel while on pilgrimage. And though I came under suspicion, when my account was given your father accepted it without judging me a liar. And Father Hallowell's kindness I do regret leaving behind. A quiet life in a place like this, I could gratefully accept, if our goddess wills it."”
SUCCESS (Superb Willpower, rolled +2)
Bren Riverglade
I came to what seemed a quiet haven, to pay my respect to the chapel on my pilgrimage. And though I came under suspicion, your father accepted my account without calling me a liar. Father Hallowell's kindness I do regret leaving behind. A quiet life here, I could gratefully accept, if our goddess wills it.
Alexandra
So he speaks plain. Not fleeing, then, but measuring the road against the village and finding both wanting in different ways.
Alexandra
That is answer enough to mean something. Northmere can be hard on honest men, but it keeps the faithful close enough to see.
She folds her arms loosely now, not as a barrier, but as if she is holding the words carefully. The evening air has cooled, and the empty road lies still behind Bren.
Alexandra
You speak of my father and Father Hallowell together, as though they are part of the same measure. Did the chapel here give you peace, then, or only decent witness?
Bren stands with his text lowered at his side. The gate rope gives a soft, final creak, and Alexandra waits without pressing closer.
Alexandra
If you would rather not answer in the road, I can walk with you to the bend. I would hear more of what Northmere has made of you, if you will let me.
Quest Complete
Tell Alexandra whether Northmere kept faith