Nanera steps back into the dojo’s warmth. Incense curls through lamplight, and children’s laughter drifts in from the yard beyond the open doors.
Ardis waits near the low tea table, sleeves rolled, one hand resting beside a clay pot. He looks up at her with quiet relief.
Ardis
You’re home. The pavilion sent enough chill for one day.
Nanera sets her bamboo staff by the wall and settles into the mat across from him. Her wedding ring catches the firelight as she eases her weight down carefully.
Nanera
Brenth says the water is wrong in the bamboo groves. I want to check it before it reaches the village.
Ardis
Then we check it together, as soon as you’re ready. The children can stay here, safe and laughing, while the grownups worry for a while.
The tea is steeping. Outside, the children’s voices rise and fall like small birds, and the dojo feels steady around her.
Ardis pours the tea and slides a cup toward Nanera, his expression softening into a familiar, steady smile. For a breath, the whole room simply rests.
✓ Quest Accepted
Investigate the upper bamboo pool
“i check on my children”
SUCCESS (Fair Perception, rolled +2)
Nanera rises with the tea and crosses to the open doors. The courtyard light spills across her hands as the children play in small bursts of motion and giggles.
Nanera
They are all here.
She pauses at the threshold, just long enough to count heads and watch the younger ones stay inside the ring of older siblings. No one strays far.
Ardis
They’ve been asking if you’ll come look at their practice stances.
One child notices Nanera first and straightens as if caught being studied, then grins and tries the posture again with exaggerated care.
Ardis
I told them a patient teacher can spot the small mistakes better than anyone.
Nanera sees it at once, a loose foot here, an eager shoulder there, and the whole cluster of children seems suddenly brighter for being seen.
Ardis
Stay a moment with them, if you like. They calm down when you watch.
“I check the upper bamboo pool now”
SUCCESS (Fair Agility, rolled +1)