The market square boils with noise, carts, haggling, and muddy boots. Source Code moves with the crowd near the outer stalls, staff in hand, spellbook close.
A mercenary captain cuts through the press with a grim, knowing smile. Behind him, rough men drift to the square's edges, not striking, just sealing the exits.
The Mercenary Captain
You picked a bad road for good news. I escaped bandits, but the dead still keep their accounts.
He stops near a shuttered well, hand resting on his hilt. Merchants glance up, then look away too fast.
The Mercenary Captain
I promised a relic back to a dead man's kin. I meant to keep that vow. Will you help me honor it?
One of the men at the far gate shifts aside, opening a clear sightline to the only narrow way out. The captain's smile does not warm.
The Mercenary Captain
Are you ready to fulfill the promise I made for you?
✓ Quest Accepted
Expose the mercenary captain's deception
“Can I use my spellbook to reveal the relic he is hiding?”
NO, BUT (Even, rolled 53)
The pages of the spellbook remain stubbornly blank, offering no insight into the captain's hidden burden. The magic refuses to pierce the mundane deception.
“Is the captain hiding a forged promise?”
NO (Even, rolled 86)
The captain's demand is genuine, rooted in a debt that is as real as the steel at his hip. No forgery exists to be found.
“I call out his men to break ranks”
SUCCESS (Fair Intimidation, rolled +0)
Source Code’s voice cuts across the square, and the men at the exits twitch. One by one, their shoulders loosen. A boot shifts back. A spear tip dips.
The Mercenary Captain
Careful now. You hear him, lads. One more order, and I start naming debts.
The captain’s threat lands, but it lands thin. Several mercenaries are already looking past him, not at Source Code, and the market’s murmur swells around that crack.
The Mercenary Captain
He knows enough to shake them. Damn him. Keep them steady.
Source Code’s spellbook slips against his palm as he holds the moment. The page edge nicks his thumb, a small, bright sting, and blood darkens the margin.
The Mercenary Captain
You men there, hold the line. Unless you want the whole square hearing what I promised your families.
That does it. A pair of mercenaries exchange a look, then step aside just enough to break the ring. Through the gap, festival colors and open streetlight spill in, and the captain’s mask of control shows a hairline crack.
“I slip through the opening into the street”
SUCCESS (Fair Agility, rolled -1)
Source Code slips into the gap as the mercenaries split their line. His shoulder brushes a cloak, his thumb smears blood on the spellbook, and he is through before the captain can clamp the ring shut again.
The nearest men turn too late. One reaches after him, but only catches air as festival noise and streetlight swallow Source Code beyond the square.
The Mercenary Captain
After him! No, hold. Hold the square!
His own command stutters the line. A few men freeze between orders, and the broken exit widens another step under their hesitation.
The Mercenary Captain
He runs because he has nothing left to say. You all saw that.
But the square has seen the gap, the blood on the book, and the captain’s strain. The muttering crowd takes the sight and runs with it, turning his warning into doubt.
Source Code reaches the street, free of the ring at last, while behind him the captain stands trapped in his own failing command.
Quest Complete
Expose the mercenary captain's deception
Skill Upgrade: Intimidation Fair→Good