The road climbs between wet hedges. Behind Robert, the French remnant follows in a ragged file, while the villagers remain guarding their bridge and carts.
A mud-spattered middle-aged man emerges from a drainage lane, leading a trembling pack mule. Étienne Vaucelles, a human man with pale skin and a crooked nose, is lean, brown-haired, and hollow-cheeked, wearing a soaked gray smock; blood darkens one sleeve.
Étienne Vaucelles
My lord, stop them! The English have seized Saint-Loup ahead. Men-at-arms search every company on the road.
Étienne waves urgently toward the rise. The mule shies from the passing horses, and the blue-surcoated rider accompanying Robert catches its bridle before it can turn into the ditch.
Étienne Vaucelles
They have barred the churchyard gate and taken the mill storehouse. I know it, because the cracked saint’s hand lies beneath the vestry step, where our boys hide apples.
The Blue-Surcoated Rider
That is a village man’s detail. Yet your blood says the English were not content merely to search.
Étienne glances down at his sleeve, then toward the distant roofs. The column slows around Robert, horses snorting in the rain, awaiting his decision.
✓ Quest Accepted
Establish the truth of Étienne's warning
“*I raise my hand to halt the column. The English are no longer on our tail, yet I wish to avoid leading these men to enemy territory* "You there." *I pointed to the Rider* "Take another with you to scout ahead, avoid the open road and avoid any conflict. The rest of us will take shelter in the tree line."”
SUCCESS (Fair Reasoning, rolled +0)
Robert raises his hand, and the ragged column checks its pace beneath the wet hedges. Horses snort softly as men turn toward him.
Robert de Fiennes
You there. Take another with you and scout ahead. Avoid the open road and any conflict. The rest of us will shelter in the tree line.
The blue-surcoated rider nods. He chooses a young adult man with a narrow build, freckled cheeks, and a green wool cap beneath his mail coif.
The Blue-Surcoated Rider
Aye, my lord. We will keep low, skirt the road, and return before the column moves.
The two riders lead their horses off through the dripping brush, avoiding the rise and the distant roofs. Their progress costs precious minutes, and Saint-Loup’s far side remains uncertain.
Robert guides the others into the tree line. Men dismount among dark trunks and wet leaves, holding reins close while Étienne settles his trembling mule beside them.
Étienne Vaucelles
If the scouts find the mill watched, there is an old hollow beyond the orchard. It may hide us, though I cannot swear it is clear.
“"These men are exhausted, we must find shelter before nightfall so we may regain our lost strength." *I groaned as I dismounted, my knee still aching. After I dismount I remove my bascinet, the aventail swaying freely beneath it as I hold it under my arm*”
SUCCESS (Good Investigation, rolled +1)
Robert dismounts with a guarded step, his bruised knee aching as his boot meets the wet ground. He removes his bascinet, the aventail swaying freely as he holds it beneath one arm.
Étienne Vaucelles
The hollow, my lord. If we reach it by the orchard, the trees will hide men and horses until night.
Robert studies the slope, orchard, and drainage lanes. A sunken track bends behind the trees toward a reed-choked hollow, concealed from the road and close enough for the exhausted column.
The Blue-Surcoated Rider
The way is clear. Saint-Loup’s gate is watched, but no English patrol looks into that hollow.
The blue-surcoated rider and his young adult man return through the dripping brush. At Robert’s direction, the men lead their horses down the sunken track without raising a voice.
The hollow receives them beneath alder and hazel, its bank hiding the road. Cloaks spread over damp leaves, horses are tethered under cover, and the column finally settles to regain strength.
Étienne Vaucelles
You have found us a place, my lord. With quiet and darkness, these men may stand again.
Quest Complete
Establish the truth of Étienne's warning
Attribute Upgrade: Reasoning Fair→Good
“"Pardon me." *I said to Etienne as I turned to face the men* "I know many of you are in service to other houses, if you wish to leave I will not stop you. But hear this, rest with us for the night and regain your strength, at dawn the rest of us will seek friendly company."”
SUCCESS (Good Diplomacy, rolled +0)
Robert de Fiennes
Pardon me. I know many of you serve other houses. If you wish to leave, I will not stop you. Rest here tonight; at dawn, we seek friendly company.
Robert turns from Étienne to the gathered men. Beneath the alder branches, weary faces lift from cloaks and saddles, weighing the offer against the danger beyond the hollow.
The Blue-Surcoated Rider
You give them freedom, my lord, and ask only that they trust your word until dawn. That is a fair bargain.
Étienne Vaucelles
They will stay. But the village will hear that armed men hide here, and its people may blame you if the English discover us.
A few soldiers exchange uneasy glances. One quietly loosens his sword belt, yet none leads a horse toward the sunken track; the column settles more firmly beneath the trees.
The Blue-Surcoated Rider
Then the favor is recorded. If Saint-Loup suffers for sheltering us, these men will remember whose protection they accepted.
Étienne Vaucelles
I will watch the orchard path while they sleep. At first light, I can guide you toward the friendly houses, if any still dare receive us.
“"I will stand watch as the men sleep, Lord knows they need it. Keep scouts along the roads to alert us of any approaching men, French or English we must be cautious, who know where loyalties may lie after the events of today." *As I finished speak, I placed my bascinet back on my head and mounted my horse*”
SUCCESS (Good Perception, rolled +3)
Robert de Fiennes
I will stand watch while the men sleep. Keep scouts along the roads and warn us of any approaching French or Englishmen. We must trust no loyalty lightly.
Robert replaces his bascinet and mounts. His bruised knee protests under the saddle, but he settles near the hollow’s eastern bank, where the road and orchard lie visible through rain-dark branches.
The Blue-Surcoated Rider
I will take the northern road. The young man can watch the rise toward Saint-Loup and signal from the old ash.
The Young Man
I know the ground there. No rider will pass unseen if he keeps to the road.
The blue-surcoated rider and the young man move out on foot, leading their horses until the trees conceal them. Étienne takes the orchard path, while the sleeping soldiers settle into guarded silence.
Robert’s watch reveals more than the road: beyond the alder bank, a narrow shepherd’s track runs west toward the friendly houses, hidden from both Saint-Loup and the main route.
Étienne Vaucelles
My lord, I heard no alarm, but that western track is sound. At dawn it can carry the column away from every patrol I know.
✓ Quest Accepted
Reach the friendly houses
“Are there currently English patrols between us and the houses?”
NO (Unlikely, rolled 77)
Rain whispers through the alder leaves. From the hollow, the western shepherd’s track lies empty between the hedges, with no English shapes moving toward the houses.
Étienne Vaucelles
There is no patrol on it, my lord. I watched the bends and heard only water running in the ditches.
Étienne remains at the orchard edge, one hand on his mule’s bridle. The track stays concealed from Saint-Loup and the main road, offering the column a quiet passage.
Robert de Fiennes
The way to the houses is open, and no English patrol lies between us and it.
The Blue-Surcoated Rider
Then the western path is our safest road at dawn. We can move before Saint-Loup knows the hollow is empty.
The sleeping men stir as the report passes softly from cloak to cloak. Tension eases, though hands remain near sword belts and bridles.
Étienne Vaucelles
The houses may still fear us, but no English eyes will guide them to this place tonight.
“*As the night passes on, I keep watch over the men, glancing occasionally towards the empty country roads*”
SUCCESS (Good Perception, rolled +0)
Night settles over the hollow. Robert remains mounted above the sleeping men, sweeping his gaze from the western track to the orchard and the dark country roads beyond.
Robert de Fiennes
The western track remains empty, but rain and darkness conceal the far bends.
Hour by hour, no rider or torch approaches. The quiet confirms Étienne’s report, though the constant rain blurs distant sounds and forces Robert to watch longer than intended.
Étienne Vaucelles
My lord, the orchard path is still clear. I heard nothing from Saint-Loup.
Robert’s attention returns to the hollow. The men sleep beneath damp cloaks, hands near their weapons, while tethered horses shift softly among the alder roots.
The Blue-Surcoated Rider
The northern road is quiet as well. If the English have searched nearby, they have not found this ground.
Toward dawn, the rain thins. Robert has kept watch without alarm, but the eastern road remains uncertain beyond the veiled hedges, its distant turns hidden from sight.
“"When the men wake we will head for the houses, God willing we find shelter, food, and company." *I said with a silent sigh as I watched the men stir*”
SUCCESS (Fair Agility, rolled +1)