The cramped guardroom smells of lamp smoke, damp wool, and ink. A middle-aged sergeant, a broad-shouldered man with a square jaw, thinning brown hair, and a faded red coat finishes writing William’s account while Phillips and Otsí:io wait nearby.
The Gate Sergeant
That is entered. The number taken from the village remains uncertain, but the raid and the French connection will be carried forward.
Hoofbeats strike the yard outside. A young man, lean and freckle-faced with sandy hair showing beneath the cap in a weather-stained brown riding coat enters beneath a blue wool cap, carrying a leather dispatch case and leading a lathered bay horse.
The Mounted Dispatch Rider
From Albany, Sergeant. The officers there say these travelers are to be sent east under proper papers, with provisions if the stores allow.
The Gate Sergeant
Albany can furnish papers, supplies, and a safer road toward Portsmouth than these frontier tracks. You will leave at first light.
The sergeant sands the page and folds it beneath a seal. Phillips checks the salvaged bundle, while Otsí:io watches the rider and the shut gate without speaking.
William Rogers
The wound burns beneath the torn sleeve, but the backsword remains at my side.
✓ Quest Accepted
Secure official papers and provisions for the journey
✓ Quest Accepted
Reach Portsmouth with the Mohawk warriors
“we will go to Albany for supplies and documents. after that I will travel with the Mohawk their way so I can learn their ways and languages. Their leader tells me we can get there in 12 days at an Indian jog.”
SUCCESS (Good Agility, rolled -2)