Bren leaves the chapel grounds behind and crosses into the little yard by his hut. Evening light warms the stones, and the herb beds along the path give off a crushed, green smell.
He pushes open the hut door. Inside, the one-room space is dim and close, with a stool, a narrow cot, and bundles of travel gear pressed against rough timber walls.
Alexandra sits on the stool as if she has been there a while, straight-backed and waiting. Her gaze catches Bren at once, sharp as a blade in low light.
Alexandra
You took your time.
Bren Riverglade
Why are you here?
Alexandra
Because Northmere is not finished with you, and I do not think you are finished with me either.
The hut feels smaller around them, all quiet air and old choices. Outside, dusk settles over Willowford Chapel grounds, while inside Alexandra keeps her place and waits for Bren's answer.
“I sit on the cot beside Alexandra. "What further trouble would Northmere have me stir in its borders? As for you, I am glad our paths have crossed again."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +0)
Bren lowers himself onto the cot beside Alexandra. The mattress gives with a soft creak, and the small hut seems to settle around the two of them.
Bren Riverglade
What further trouble would Northmere have me stir in its borders? As for you, I am glad our paths have crossed again.
Alexandra
Trouble has a way of finding the honest ones first. And I am glad too, Bren, though I would rather it be under kinder circumstances.
She leans forward, elbows on her knees now, her sharpness easing into something quieter. The darkness outside deepens, but inside the hut her attention stays fixed on him.
Alexandra
Northmere is uneasy. People remember the hearing, even when they pretend they do not. Your name still carries weight there.
Alexandra
And if you are wondering whether I came only to warn you, I did not. I wanted to see whether you would still speak plainly when no clerk was listening.
Her mouth tightens with a faint, tired smile, and the question hangs between them like an open hand.
✓ Quest Accepted
Set a boundary with Alexandra
“"I followed the truth in obedience to my goddess, I did not mean to simply perform for the clerical record. What would you have me speak plainly of now?"”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled -1)
Bren Riverglade
I followed the truth because Omera calls for it, not for the clerk's record. If I speak plainly, it is because I mean it.
Bren lets the words settle in the hush of the hut. The cot creaks once as he straightens, and the religious text rests steady against his knee.
Alexandra
Good. Then speak as Bren, not as a statement to be filed away.
Alexandra
Tell me what you carry when the hearing is over. Not the papers, the cost.
Her gaze drops briefly to his satchel, then returns to his face. The small hut feels quieter for it, as if even the dusk is listening.
Bren Riverglade
I carry the knowledge that truth can wound as well as heal. I have not yet learned how to set it down cleanly.
Alexandra
That is more honest than most men give me in a season.
Alexandra
Stay a little longer, then. I would hear what else you will say without being asked twice.
Quest Complete
Set a boundary with Alexandra
“"What else might I say? I am a seminarian, and I was not yet ten feet outside my door when I got swept away by events to Northmere. I did not go looking for ledgers and corruption. I still hope to complete my studies and take holy orders. To go to the sick and heal. Can I still be Bren the healer? Or am I now Bren the records master?"”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +2)
Bren Riverglade
What else can I say? I am a seminarian. I was swept toward Northmere before I had gone ten feet from my own door. I did not go hunting ledgers and corruption. I still mean to finish my studies and take holy orders, to go to the sick and heal... but can I still be Bren the healer, or only Bren the records master?
The words leave him plain, without polish. His shoulders ease only after they are spoken, as if some hidden knot has finally been named.
Alexandra
You can be both, if you are brave enough to let one lesson sharpen the other.
Alexandra
A healer who learns what harm looks like in ledgers may be harder to fool. A records man who remembers the sick may be less cruel.
She glances toward the doorway, where dusk thins into the cottage wall, then back to him with a small, steady nod.
Alexandra
But if you want a boundary, say it plainly. I can hear more, or I can stop asking. Which is it, Bren?
✓ Quest Accepted
Hear Alexandra out further
“"I do not wish to hold this burden alone. You may hear more, ask what you would know."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +0)
Bren Riverglade
I do not wish to hold this burden alone. You may hear more, and ask what you would know.
The invitation settles between them like a cup set carefully on a table. Bren stays where he is, but the hard line of his shoulders loosens, and the cottage feels less like a hiding place.
Alexandra
Good. Then I will ask plainly.
Alexandra
When you stood between seals and ledgers, what frightened you most, the lies, or what telling them would cost you?
She shifts a step closer to the cot, not crowding him, only making room for the answer. Outside, evening darkens the wall-planks, while inside the little room remains still.
Alexandra
And do not spare me the small truths, either. What part of this have you not said aloud to anyone?
Bren lets the silence stand long enough to be honest. The boundary is his to keep, yet Alexandra waits within it, attentive and unhurried.
Quest Complete
Hear Alexandra out further
“"I thought about what would happen if I kept the lie. I thought that maybe if I protected the temple, pretended not to see what I had seen, then I could continue my pilgrimage and nothing would change. But one secret leads to another, and I fear what I would become."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled -1)
Bren Riverglade
I think of what happens if I keep the lie. If I pretend not to see, I might keep walking my pilgrimage, but one secret leads to another. I fear what I become then.
The words leave him cleanly, without ornament. The small room seems to take them in at once, as if the rafters themselves are listening.
Alexandra
That is plain enough. And it is not a small fear.
Alexandra
So you feared not only being caught, but becoming the sort of man who can live with it.
She lowers her hand and studies him in silence, her gaze steady on his face, not the papers beside him. The cottage grows quieter for it.
Alexandra
Then tell me this. Where does your boundary lie, Bren Riverglade, before truth turns into a burden you no longer mean to carry alone?
Bren hears the question land, and he keeps his place on the cot. Alexandra does not press closer, but she does not look away either.
“"I am still asking myself that question. I do not know what it would look like to share my burdens with another. Before these troubles, a simple life of solitude seemed appealing."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +0)
Bren Riverglade
I am still asking myself that question. I do not know what it would look like to share my burdens with another.
Bren Riverglade
Before these troubles, a simple life of solitude seemed appealing.
The admission settles between them, plain and unadorned. Bren does not dress it up, and that honesty gives it weight.
Alexandra
Simple, perhaps. Safe, too. But not always merciful.
Alexandra
You speak as if solitude were a room you chose once and then forgot to leave.
She shifts from the doorway to the small table, fingers brushing the edge of the Lord Mayor's travel note where it lies half tucked beside Bren's satchel.
Alexandra
Was it comfort you wanted, or just fewer eyes on you while you were still becoming yourself?
“"I thought I wanted comfort, but when the time came I chose truth. So perhaps it is closer to the second."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +2)
Bren Riverglade
I thought I wanted comfort, but when the time comes, I choose truth. So it is closer to that.
The words leave Bren plain and steady, and the little room seems to make space for them. The travel note, half in shadow, rests between them like a witness.
Alexandra
That sounds less like hiding, and more like choosing your own shape before anyone else names it for you.
Alexandra
He did not choose ease. He chose a harder sort of honesty.
She eases her hand off the table, then folds both hands together at her waist, watching him with a new, careful softness.
Alexandra
When you sought solitude, were you fleeing people, or the version of you they might have forced on you?
Bren Riverglade
I think I was trying to become myself without an audience.
✓ Quest Accepted
Speak plainly with Alexandra about his fears
“"An audience demands performance. Whatever I am, I do no want to lose my true self."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +1)
Bren Riverglade
An audience can shape a man, but it does not have to name him.
Bren lets the thought settle, and the cottage feels less like a stage and more like a room again. The travel note and his satchel sit in the dimness without accusation.
Alexandra
Then say what remains when the audience is gone.
Bren Riverglade
What remains is that I do not want to lose myself by trying to be seen well.
Alexandra
Good. That sounds like a boundary, even if you have not called it one yet.
She lowers herself onto the stool by the table, turning the Lord Mayor's travel note flat with one finger, careful as if it might bruise. Her expression softens into something almost solemn.
Alexandra
If you are willing, I would rather hear the part of you that does not perform.
Quest Complete
Speak plainly with Alexandra about his fears