Darago pushes open the root-cellar door, and cold, damp air spills up at him. Earth walls, hanging roots, and a single lantern glow in the cramped dark.
In the corner, a stranger lies bound and gagged, twisting against the ropes. A half-orc stands over him, broad as a stump and still as stone.
The Half-Orc Outcast
You came.
He turns fully toward Darago, grim-faced, then jerks his chin at the captive.
The Half-Orc Outcast
This one has run from me for years. Tonight, he ends.
His hand dips to his belt, then he offers Darago a weapon, the metal dull in the lantern light.
The Half-Orc Outcast
Take it. Stand with me, or stand aside.
✓ Quest Accepted
Confront the aggressor
“Why are you hurting them?”
FAILURE (Poor Persuasion, rolled -1)
Darago
Why are you hurting them?
The words hang in the cellar, small against the damp walls. The half-orc does not answer at once, only lowers the offered weapon a little, as if weighing Darago instead of the question.
The Half-Orc Outcast
Hurting him? I have chased him through three winters, through lies and borrowed names. You ask me why now?
The Stranger
Muffled, frantic eyes fix on Darago, the ropes biting tighter as he twists.
The Half-Orc Outcast
He took from me. He sold my kin to break his own trail. I did not drag him here for sport.
He plants the weapon point-down near his boot, not yet surrendering it, but no longer pressing it into Darago's hands.
The Half-Orc Outcast
If you will not stand with me, then say what kind of justice you want in this room.
Quest Complete
Confront the aggressor