The orchard edge settles into a rare hush. Elidi stands by the path, the crushed apple beneath her foot darkening into the dust. The Elder leans on his staff, no longer braced for a blow, only waiting.
The Elder
You watched longer than any of us. Tell me true, giantess, what do you see when you look at our village?
A few villagers inch closer from the road and hedges. Their faces are careful now, curious despite themselves, as if her answer might explain their own fear back to them.
Elidi
Elidi says she sees a place built to shelter people, and a road that carries more than feet. She says the orchard smells of rain, even in the dry dust.
The Elder
A strange answer... but not a false one.
The Elder
Rain in the dust. Aye. We have been waiting for that smell since last spring.
His shoulders ease. One villager lets out a small, embarrassed laugh, and another glances from Elidi to the apple trees as though seeing both for the first time.
The Elder
Stay a little longer, if you will. There is water in the shade, and questions enough for a kinder hour.
✓ Quest Accepted
Share a little longer with the villagers
“Elidi recounts the sights she's seen.”
SUCCESS (Mediocre Diplomacy, rolled +1)
Elidi lets the question settle, then speaks in a low, careful voice about the road, the fields, and the small homes gathered close like children around a fire.
She tells them she has seen people carry kindling at dawn, seen birds argue in the hedges, and seen how even a wary village still leaves room for bread, shade, and one another.
The Elder
He listens with his staff braced lightly in both hands, then nods once, as if each simple sight is a stone set into a wall.
A Villager
You notice the little things. That is rarer than you think.
A few shoulders loosen. The embarrassing laugh returns, softer now, and the hedges no longer seem like a line of hiding places.
Another Villager
If you can smell rain in dust, then perhaps you ought to tell us when the sky changes again.
The Elder gives a faint, approving huff, but Elidi's careful recounting costs her the last warmth of the afternoon sun as a cloud slides over it, cooling her stone skin.
Quest Complete
Share a little longer with the villagers
Skill Upgrade: Diplomacy Mediocre→Fair