Klen reaches a broad river crossing beneath a bruised sky. A squat goblin trader, an elderly green-skinned male with a bent nose, yellow teeth, and a red patched cloak, stands beside a stranded barge.
Crates, rugs, brass charms, and sacks lie scattered across the ford as brown water rises around two terrified pack mules. A dark trail disappears beneath the current.
the goblin trader
You there! Stop staring and lend your hands! My beasts will drown, and the fugitive's trail will vanish!
The goblin wades knee-deep among his goods, dragging at a rope harness while the barge grinds against submerged stone. Each surge steals another bundle downstream.
the goblin trader
He crossed here, curse him. A god's displeasure follows his footprints, and now every soul near this river is marked for ruin!
Beyond the ford, reeds shiver though no wind blows. For one instant, pale ripples form a line toward the far bank, then break apart beneath the rising water.
the goblin trader
Choose quickly, dark-eyed one! Save the animals, search the water, or watch the river swallow everything I own!
✓ Quest Accepted
Cross the river
““No.” I say as i jump from crate to crate as i attempt to cross the river”
SUCCESS (Great Agility, rolled +2)
Klen
No.
Klen springs onto the nearest floating crate, then another, his small frame balancing lightly as brown water bucks and twists the cargo beneath him.
A sack bursts under one landing, spilling dark grain into the current. Klen does not pause or reach for it; he uses the shifting wreckage as stepping stones.
the goblin trader
No? You leave my beasts and my goods to the river, then? Cursed, selfish little shadow!
The final crate rolls hard beneath Klen's foot, but he turns with its motion and leaps. He lands on the far bank among dripping reeds, safely beyond the crossing.
Behind him, the barge tears loose with a groan. The pack mules cry out as the goblin trader clings to their harness, while the river swallows the last visible trace of the fugitive.
the goblin trader
May the marked ruin find you first, dark-eyed one!
Quest Complete
Cross the river