The hermit plants his staff in the snow and points to the black notch in the ridge. Below it, a narrow watchpost clings to the rock, half lost in blowing white.
Hermit
Take that cut, and you avoid their eyes. But I guide no one for free. Tell me why the ledger matters to you.
The Inquisitor
He is asking for leverage, not charity. If he knows the watchposts, we need him.
The Inquisitor tightens his grip on the ledger, then eases it up where the hermit can see the seal. Wind snaps fresh snow across Enanita's boots, and the ridge ahead vanishes and reappears in gray bands.
Meren
There are watchers up there. If we walk blind, they ring the path before we reach the spire.
The hermit does not look away from Enanita. His gaze stays fixed on the ledger, waiting for the answer that will decide whether they climb by stealth or by force.
✓ Quest Accepted
Reach the Magistrate's stronghold
✓ Quest Accepted
Get past the watchers
“Can I slip past the watchers while they are distracted?”
YES (Likely, rolled 27)
The Hermit gestures toward a narrow, wind-scoured chimney in the rock face, pointing out how the shifting snow obscures the line of sight for the watchers stationed on the ridge.
Hermit
The gale picks up every hour, and their focus is entirely on the main trail. If you move when the ice falls, they will see nothing but the storm.
Enanita
The rhythm of the falling ice matches the gaps in their patrol.
“I slip into the chimney between the patrol gaps”
SUCCESS (Great Stealth, rolled -1)
Enanita times the next lull in the wind and slips into the chimney, her boots finding thin shelves of ice.
The rock narrows around her shoulders, and the ledge vanishes behind a curtain of white.
Above, the watchers stay fixed on the main trail, their shapes blurred by drifting snow.
Enanita braces one hand against the stone and pulls herself higher, quiet as a shadow between gusts.
Hermit
Good. Keep low there, and the ridge will hide you.
Meren
If she clears the bend, the watchers lose the line entirely.
A sharp crack of falling ice echoes above the chimney mouth, and the hidden path opens farther into the dark.
Quest Complete
Get past the watchers