A low, roofless stone shelter appears among the firs, its walls mottled with lichen. The fugitives slip inside without lighting a fire, leaving the shepherd’s hollow hidden behind the ridge.
Sofia unwraps the bread, dried cheese, and onions, dividing them into careful portions. Julia lowers herself against the wall and rests her injured ankle while Daria watches the eastern slope.
Petar
East of here, the villages grow more Christian, but none are safe by nature. A charcoal camp may trade for salt; a miller may ask fewer questions than an innkeeper.
Petar crouches near the entrance, speaking softly. Angela keeps the food beneath her cloak, while the charcoal burner’s elder son studies the fir line for signs of pursuit.
Petar
Trabzon is too dangerous. Its roads carry soldiers and officials. We should seek shepherds, charcoal burners, or a village priest, and offer work before we ask shelter.
Julia
My ankle can carry me, but not quickly. If we must choose, food and concealment matter more than distance today.
The shelter gives them shade but no water, and the clouds are thickening above the ridges. The group waits for Makeda’s priorities before choosing the next eastern path.
✓ Quest Accepted
Secure water for the survivors
“"This place offers no shelter. But there might be water nearby. Whoever lived here surely needed water."”
SUCCESS (Good Survival, rolled +2)
Makeda leaves her pack inside the roofless shelter and studies the ground beyond its lichen-stained wall. Fir roots run downhill, darkened by dampness beneath the needles.
Makeda
Water should collect below the shelter, where the slope gathers rain.
She follows the roots into a shallow ravine, moving quietly beneath the branches. After a short descent, she hears a faint trickle under stones and moss.
Makeda clears the moss with both hands and uncovers a narrow spring running from the hillside. The water is cold, clear, and steady enough to fill their vessels.
Petar
Well found. It is hidden from the eastern track, and no fresh boot marks disturb the bank.
Petar joins her while Daria signals the others forward. Sofia brings the clay vessels, and Angela guards the path as Julia rests against a fir.
Daria
We drink here and fill everything. Then we move before anyone follows the sound of water.
“"Good. Soon we will need to find some shelter for the night."”
SUCCESS (Good Reasoning, rolled -1)
Makeda
Good. Soon we will need to find some shelter for the night.
Makeda fills the last clay vessel, then climbs above the spring to search the firs. She keeps low, reading the slope for smoke, tracks, and places hidden from the eastern path.
Behind a screen of roots, she finds an abandoned charcoal platform with a roofed lean-to tucked against the hillside. Its dry floor and intact rafters will shelter all of them.
A dead branch snaps beneath Makeda’s pole, loud in the quiet woods. She freezes, then sees no movement below, though the sound may have carried toward the track.
Petar
That will serve. We can reach it without crossing open ground, and the spring lies close enough for water.
Daria leads the others up in single file. They carry the filled vessels into the lean-to, brush away old ash, and conceal the approach with loose fir branches.
Daria
No fire tonight. We have shelter, but that branch announced us. We leave before first light.
Learn the remaining dangers on the route ahead
Quest Complete
Secure water for the survivors
Skill Upgrade: Survival Good→Great