Dawn reveals a narrow ravine below the ridge, hidden from the main road by dripping firs and broken stone. Octavius, Tessa, and Patter descend on foot, while Merris remains tethered at the sheltered camp.
Guard Tessa
There. The waterline has been disturbed recently. Not by weather, and not by the deer.
Tessa kneels beside a moss-darkened stone. A rope anchor has been repaired with fresh fibers, its knot carefully hidden beneath the dripping bank.
Octavius
The repair is meant to hold weight, not merely mark the crossing.
Guard Tessa
Boot marks lead from the anchor toward that cut between the stones. The path should be unused, but someone has kept it open.
Patter lowers his nose to the damp trail, then freezes with one forepaw raised. Beyond the firs, the ravine bends toward the ridge, concealing the road from anyone above.
Guard Tessa
We can follow the marks, examine the anchor, or return for Merris before going farther. Your reading of the ground decides our first step.
✓ Quest Accepted
Identify who is using the maintained crossing
“I doubt we'll find much in the knots that can help us. Waiting here could be a waste of time, as there's no promise whoever fixed this now will come back in the next few hours." I follow the trail with my eyes for a moment then look back to Lady Tesssa. "I think we should follow whoever left this trail before the forest erases it.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Survival, rolled +1)
Octavius
I doubt we’ll find much in the knots. Waiting here could waste time, with no promise whoever fixed this will return soon. I think we should follow the trail before the forest erases it, Lady Tessa.
Octavius follows the faint impressions with his eyes, separating boot pressure from rain-softened animal tracks. The route bends beneath the firs, where scraped moss and bent fern stems preserve a quiet passage toward the ridge.
Guard Tessa
Then we follow now. I will mark our return path, and you read what the ground still offers.
Tessa slips a pale thread around a low branch before moving on. Patter pads ahead with his nose close to the damp earth, while Octavius keeps the repaired anchor behind them in sight until the ravine conceals it.
The trail crosses a shelf of stone and descends through dripping fern. Fresh heel marks appear where the passage narrows, then lead to a concealed ledge overlooking the lower road and its eastern approach.
Guard Tessa
There is the use of it. Whoever maintains that anchor can watch the road unseen, and move between the ravine and ridge without using the checkpoint.
They reach the ledge together. Below, the road lies clear between the trees, while the hidden path behind them offers a second approach to the ridge. Tessa studies the route, and Patter settles beside Octavius’s boots.
“That's the immediate use.. If we can figure out who's using it, that can help us find out -why- as well.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Survival, rolled -2)
Octavius studies the heel marks, then follows them along the ledge’s edge. One impression carries a narrow split in the sole, repeated wherever the user placed weight on wet stone. Nearby, a dark thread clings to thornbushes, matching the marshal’s office cloth used on Hadrik Seln’s outer coat.
Octavius
The route is being used by Hadrik Seln, not merely maintained for someone else.
He crouches beside the ledge and traces the freshest passage back toward the concealed cut. The evidence is enough to identify Hadrik’s route, but reaching the overlooked marker forces Octavius across loose shale; his left knee scrapes hard against stone.
Guard Tessa
That cloth is from his office coat, and the sole mark repeats along the approach. You have found his hidden passage, Octavius. He used it to watch the eastern road without reporting the movement.
Tessa kneels beside the torn thread while Patter sniffs the shale, then lifts his head toward the ridge. The route now connects Hadrik directly to the concealed overlook and the unreported traffic below.
Guard Tessa
We have the who, and this explains the why. Hadrik needed a private view of travelers and reports before shaping the orders that redirected them. We should document this before we disturb anything else.
Quest Complete
Identify who is using the maintained crossing
New Gift: Masterful Route Assessment