At dusk, Alice Crowley reaches the village inn beneath a bruised violet sky. Beyond the palisade, siege fires stain the horizon, and wounded defenders crowd the common room.
The innkeeper, a broad-shouldered middle-aged woman with iron-gray braids and a green wool dress, bars one chamber door while armed villagers cluster nearby.
The Innkeeper
Keep your voices low. No one dethrones a usurper by announcing it to the whole village.
Behind the locked door stands a dragon wearing human shape: a tall adult man with bronze skin, ember-bright eyes, and black hair threaded with copper.
The Scarred Villager
That creature is the usurper's envoy. If the gates fall, he will choose who survives.
The Dragon in Human Form
I hear every whisper, little rebels. Choose your next words with care.
A low roar rolls through the chamber door. Every conversation dies. Then the lock begins to turn, one heavy click at a time.
✓ Quest Accepted
Survive the dragon's emergence
Director's note
She is a battle junkie
“Alice Crowley stood up and narrowed her single dawn colored eye. A veteran adventurer she was not one to shy away from a potential threat. As a matter of fact she smiled widely in excitement.”
Alice Crowley rises among the hushed villagers, her small frame straightening as platinum hair slips over her scarred face. Her single dawn-colored eye narrows toward the turning lock.
The chamber door opens inward, revealing the dragon in human form in human shape. Bronze skin catches the firelight, and ember-bright eyes settle upon Alice's widening smile.
The Innkeeper
Easy now. Standing tall is not the same as striking first.
The dragon in human form steps across the threshold, tall enough to loom over the nearest villagers. Heat follows him into the common room, drying the damp chill from the evening air.
The Dragon in Human Form
At last, someone here looks at danger without trembling. Tell me, scarred mage, are you another servant of the usurper?
The Scarred Villager
She came alone, and she has not sworn to him. If your allegiance can be bought, envoy, name your price.
The dragon in human form's gaze moves from the villager to Alice, measuring the room's courage. Outside, distant siege horns groan beneath the violet sky.
“Alice let's out a soft sigh. Despite her humble personality she speaks with the tone of a noble. "—My only allegiance is with magic." The mage crossed her arms over her subtle chest.”
FAILURE (Great Willpower, rolled -3)
Alice lets out a soft sigh and crosses her arms over her slight chest. Her posture remains modest, but her voice carries the measured authority of a noble.
Alice Crowley
My only allegiance is with magic.
The declaration settles over the common room, too quiet to rally the villagers and too absolute to reassure them. Several hands tighten around spearshafts.
The Dragon in Human Form
Then you offer me no allegiance at all. Magic has no banner, no village, and no bloodline to defend.
The Scarred Villager
She need not kneel to anyone. If you mean to aid us, envoy, answer plainly.
The dragon's ember-bright eyes remain fixed on Alice, but the warmth draining from his expression makes the chamber feel colder than before. His claws flex once at his sides.
The Dragon in Human Form
Plainly, then: I will not aid a cause whose champion refuses to choose what her power protects. Decide what stands before you, mage, or stand aside.
Quest Complete
Survive the dragon's emergence