Elidi towers at the village edge, her mossy stone skin catching the morning light. Timber houses crouch below her like toys, and the market stalls sit abandoned in the dust.
Villagers freeze midstep. A dropped basket spills apples across the road. Every face tilts upward toward the giantess in silence.
One elder pushes through the gap in the crowd. He plants himself in Elidi’s path, trembling, ceremonial staff braced in both hands.
The Elder
Great one... keep your feet still. Please. Our homes are small, and your shadow is vast.
He swallows hard and raises the staff higher, not as a weapon, but as if words alone might hold her back from taking another step.
The Elder
Tell me your purpose here. If you mean peace, speak it plainly.
Elidi
The staff is ceremonial, but the fear is real.
✓ Quest Accepted
Win the villagers’ acceptance
“"I am merely walking the dream, small one. My intentions are not to hurt you."”
FAILURE (Mediocre Diplomacy, rolled +1)
Elidi
I am merely walking the dream, small one. My intentions are not to hurt you.
The Elder
Your voice is gentle, great one, but gentleness does not make a ruin less ruinous.
The elder’s knuckles blanch on the staff. Around him, a few villagers trade uneasy looks, yet none run. Apples lie bright between Elidi’s feet and the stall shadows.
The Elder
If you mean peace, then prove restraint. Step no nearer the homes, and let us see your hands clear.
He glances, despite himself, at the fallen apples, then at the empty space beside the road where Elidi could stand without crowding the village. His fear is not gone, but it has found a shape.
The Elder
There is a field stone by the orchard path, old as the mill. Stand there a moment, and speak again if you still wish to be known.
“Elidi merely walks on where she is directed, keeping away from the homes.”
SUCCESS (Poor Agility, rolled +1)
Elidi turns from the road and takes the path by the orchard, each careful step set wide between the fallen apples. She keeps her spear low and her shoulders angled away from the cottages.
The field stone waits beside the path, half sunk in grass, with the village left behind her. A few apples roll in her wake, soft thuds against her feet.
The Elder
That is the distance I asked for. Keep it, and the homes will keep their shape.
Elidi reaches the stone without crowding a single threshold. One apple bursts under her heel, its juice darkening the dust.
The Elder
Steady... yes. Steady enough for me to see it.
The elder’s grip eases on his staff. Two villagers inch from the stalls, watching her from behind him instead of fleeing the road.
The Elder
Stand there a moment longer, great one, and let the village judge what it sees.
“Elidi just stands there. It gives her a moment to observe them right back, anyhow.”
SUCCESS (Good Perception, rolled +0)
Elidi stands still in the orchard light, vast and quiet beside the field stone. She lets her gaze move over the road, the stalls, and the faces peeking past the elder, taking in who flinches and who leans forward.
The Elder
You see them, then. Good. They see you too.
One villager tightens both hands around a basket handle, but does not run. Another lowers her eyes, then looks back up at Elidi’s stillness as if testing whether it will break.
The Elder
We called this road ours because we feared what would cross it. Yet you have crossed it without touching the homes.
Elidi’s motionless watching costs her a little, a pebble grinding under her heel shifts her balance, and she has to settle her weight again. The sound is small, but it carries, and every face sharpens toward her.
The Elder
Stand so a little more can be seen of you. Not a lunge. Not a trick. Just... let them judge the shape of their fear.
The villagers do not flee. They stay, uneasy and intent, while the elder waits for Elidi’s answer and the whole edge of the village holds its breath.
“Elidi stands tall.”
SUCCESS (Fair Willpower, rolled +0)
Elidi straightens to her full height and lets the orchard light catch the planes of her stone skin. The road seems to shrink around her, but she does not move to prove it.
The Elder
Good. That is enough for them to see you, and enough for me to see you truly.
A murmur runs through the watchers. One woman lowers her basket. A boy peeks out, then stays peeking.
The Elder
You have the patience of a standing stone, giantess. Many men would have taken that for stubbornness, or threat.
The elder’s mouth softens at the corners, but his eyes stay bright and measuring. His grip slips a little on the ceremonial staff.
The Elder
Tell me, Elidi, when you walk these roads, what do you seek from us?
“"From you? Nothing. I was merely passing through. Observing. That is all."”
SUCCESS (Mediocre Diplomacy, rolled +4)
Elidi
From you? Nothing. I am merely passing through, observing. That is all.
The words settle over the road like dust after a cartwheel. The elder’s shoulders ease, and his staff tilts from warning to balance.
The Elder
Then you are a traveler, not a claim. That is a mercy.
A few villagers exchange glances, and the tension in their mouths loosens. The boy steps fully into view beside the orchard fence.
The Elder
If you only watch, you may watch openly. No need to lurk at the road’s edge.
He turns his head toward the homes and lifts two fingers in a small, steadying signal. Several figures stop retreating and remain where they stand.
The Elder
Tell me, then, giantess, what have you seen on this road that our own eyes miss?
Quest Complete
Win the villagers’ acceptance
Attribute Upgrade: Agility Poor→Mediocre
