By late afternoon, the highland track reaches a small roadside shrine with a roof of weathered tiles. Its plastered walls are cracked, but the shade is dry and cool.
No offerings, footprints, or fresh ashes mark the place. Daria watches the road while Sofia and Angela spread the cloth, hemp cord, and damaged sandals beneath the eaves.
Petar
The villages east of Samsun keep to themselves. Some are Orthodox, some mixed, but none will welcome armed strangers or people suspected of flight.
Petar
Trabzon lies beyond difficult country. The roads climb and fall through forests, and Ottoman garrisons guard the castle and the approaches. We must avoid the main road.
Sofia stitches a torn hem with hemp fiber. Angela reinforces her sandal, while Julia counts the remaining fruit and folds the coarse cloth around their smallest supplies.
Daria
We have lost food, cord, and strength, but we still have water and concealment. Rest briefly, repair what we can, then choose the next track.
Petar
Every mile east makes home less possible, but turning back would place us among the same roads and men we escaped.
✓ Quest Accepted
Reach Trabzon
“Makeda plucks a plant from the ground and starts chewing on it. Noting the surprised looks, she says, "It's hodan, a wild plant that grows everywhere here. It's best cooked, but you can eat it raw. Tastes like cucumbers. You can probably find some more if you look around."”
SUCCESS (Fair Survival, rolled +1)
At the shrine’s edge, Makeda crouches beside the cracked wall and plucks a broad-leaved plant from the damp ground. She brushes away the soil and bites into it.
Makeda
It is hodan, a wild plant that grows everywhere here. It is best cooked, but you can eat it raw. It tastes like cucumbers. You can probably find more if you look around.
The others stare at her with open surprise. Makeda chews calmly, while the plant’s pale roots and green leaves rest in her hand.
Sofia
I have seen it near the fields, but I never knew it was safe to eat. I will look along the shrine wall.
Angela
If it grows everywhere, it may stretch the fruit farther than we expected. I will search beneath the road bank.
Sofia and Angela spread out beneath the eaves, examining the weeds without disturbing the road. Julia watches their hands, while Daria keeps her attention on the track.
Daria
Gather only what you recognize. We rest briefly, then move east before the light fails.
“"There's lots of stuff you can eat, nettles, dandelions, I don't know what all. And of course, nuts and berries. Don't pick any mushrooms unless you know what you're doing. I don't."”
SUCCESS (Fair Survival, rolled +1)
Makeda
There are nettles, dandelions, and other plants we may eat. Look for nuts and berries too, but do not pick mushrooms unless you know them.
Makeda points along the shrine wall and beneath the road bank, naming the plants she recognizes. Her warning settles the group’s attention on safe food rather than unfamiliar growth.
Sofia
I know nettles and dandelions. I will gather the young leaves, and we can cook them when we have a fire.
Angela
I can identify some berries, but not every plant here. I will leave anything uncertain, especially the mushrooms.
Sofia finds nettles near the stones, while Angela gathers dandelion leaves and several familiar berries from the road bank. Julia adds a small handful of hazelnuts beneath the trees.
Daria
Good. Keep the gathering close to the shrine and leave no trampled patch. We move east as soon as the food is wrapped.
The edible plants join the remaining fruit beneath the coarse cloth. No mushrooms are touched, and the group leaves the shrine with a safer, slightly fuller food bundle before the light fails.
✓ Quest Accepted
Establish the next safe route toward Trabzon
+ New Item Acquired
Foraged food
“"We need to find a campsite, preferably one where we can light a fire. I wish we had a pot to cook some of this stuff."”
SUCCESS (Fair Survival, rolled +0)
Makeda leads them off the road beneath a stand of firs, following a shallow hollow until the trees close overhead and the ground rises behind them.
Makeda
We need a campsite, preferably one where we can light a fire. I wish we had a pot to cook some of this stuff.
She finds a dry shelf beside a trickling spring, screened by roots and brush. An old ring of stones marks a charcoal burn, offering a sheltered hearth and dead wood nearby.
Daria
This will do. The road cannot see us, and the ridge hides the smoke if we keep the fire small.
Makeda clears damp leaves from the stones and gathers the remaining kindling. The work snaps one brittle branch loudly across the hollow, then silence returns without an answering voice.
Sofia
We can boil the greens in the clay jar, if we keep it from the hottest coals. It will take longer, but it may serve.
The group settles into the concealed campsite. Angela wraps the food, Julia collects water, and Daria watches the ridge while Makeda builds a small, smokeless fire from the shrine’s remaining dry fuel.
“If she runs out of fuel, Makeda can take some dead branches from the trees; they should burn well. "I had forgotten about the jar. But don't put it in the fire, it may crack. Here's what you do: Put whatever you want to cook in the jar with some water. Then find some small stones and clean them. Heat the stones in the fire and drop them in the jar one by one, until the water reaches the right temperature."”
SUCCESS (Fair Survival, rolled -2)
The small fire consumes the shrine’s dry fuel faster than expected. Makeda leaves the hearth, gathers dead branches from the firs, and returns with an armful, snapping one twig sharply underfoot.
Makeda
I had forgotten the jar. Do not put it in the fire, or it may crack. Put the greens and water inside instead.
She sets the clay jar beside the coals, then selects small stones, scrubs them clean with spring water, and lays them among the flames. One stone burns her fingertips; she withdraws quickly and wraps them in cloth.
Makeda
Heat the stones, then drop them into the jar one by one until the water reaches the right temperature. This is how we cook without a pot.
Sofia
I understand. The jar stays above the coals, and the stones provide the heat from within.
Sofia fills the jar with greens, berries, and water while Angela tends the fire. Makeda transfers the heated stones one at a time; the water begins to steam, and the meal is secured despite the spent fuel and her stinging fingers.
“Makeda sniffs at the pot. "I like the smell of that, but we will have to let it cool awhile before we can eat. I am teaching you things they teach all the little girls in Abyssinia, my homeland. I fear I will never see it again."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Oratory, rolled -3)
Makeda
I like the smell of that, but we will have to let it cool awhile before we can eat. I am teaching you things they teach all the little girls in Abyssinia, my homeland. I fear I will never see it again.
Makeda leans over the steaming jar and inhales. The last dry branches have burned down to embers, leaving the camp with little fuel for another fire.
Sofia
Then we will remember what you teach us. Your homeland is far away, but its knowledge has kept us fed tonight.
Angela
You speak of Abyssinia as if every child there learns to survive. I would like to hear more while the food cools.
Julia
A homeland can remain alive in memory, even when the road makes return impossible.
Daria
Eat first, mourn later. At dawn we gather wood and continue east, carrying what Makeda has taught us.
“"I have only a child's memories of Abyssinia, but life there was simpler. Most people were peasants or herders. Everyone was Orthodox, but the church was different from the one here; I can't really tell you much about it. There was only one city, Gondar, but it was a fine, big city. It was unlawful to own Christian slaves, but you could sell them to Muslims, which is how I ended up here."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Oratory, rolled +0)
Makeda
I have only a child's memories of Abyssinia, but life there was simpler. Most people were peasants or herders. Everyone was Orthodox, though our church was different from yours, and I cannot explain much about it.
Makeda
There was only one city, Gondar, but it was a fine, big city. It was unlawful to own Christian slaves, though Christians could be sold to Muslims. That is how I ended up here.
The steaming greens cool beside the embers. No one interrupts Makeda; beyond the fire, the firs hold their darkness, and the hidden camp remains undisturbed.
Julia
A law that forbids ownership, yet permits the sale, protects neither the Christian nor the child taken from her home.
Sofia
Gondar sounds grand indeed. I had never heard of a city where the people were all of one faith, even if the church differed.
Angela
You remember enough to tell us where you began, and enough to explain the road that brought you here. That is not little.
Daria
The past can wait until daylight. Eat while the food is warm, then sleep. At dawn we gather wood and move east.
“"That sounds like good advice. Anyway, talking about Abyssinia makes me feel sad."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Oratory, rolled -2)
Makeda
That sounds like good advice. Anyway, talking about Abyssinia makes me feel sad.
Makeda lowers her eyes from the cooling jar. The last embers consume the final dry branch, leaving no fuel for another fire tonight.
Sofia
Then we will not press you. Eat what you can, Makeda, and let the memories rest until morning.
Angela
Sadness does not make the memory worthless. But Daria is right about one thing: we need our strength before dawn.
Julia
A country remembered through childhood may hurt more sharply than one remembered clearly. You need not explain it further.
Daria
Enough talk. The jar is warm, the fire is spent, and the road east will still be there at first light. Sleep while the watch holds.
“Makeda reaches into the pot and pulls out a handful of hodan mixed with thistles and samples it cautiously. "Not bad, but it's a terrible mess. When we have the time, I'll show you how to make wooden spoons." Eating done, she curls up and goes to sleep.”
SUCCESS (Great Perception, rolled +2)
Makeda reaches into the warm clay jar and lifts a handful of hodan tangled with thistles. Steam curls around her fingers as she examines the rough mixture.
Makeda
Not bad, but it is a terrible mess. When we have the time, I will show you how to make wooden spoons.
She samples the greens cautiously, chewing through the thistles, then accepts the meal as edible. The others watch, quiet around the dying embers.
Sofia
Wooden spoons would make a great improvement. For tonight, the jar has served us well.
Daria
Then sleep. I hold the first watch, and no one wastes strength talking until morning.
Makeda wipes her fingers on the coarse cloth, curls beneath the shelter of the fir roots, and settles beside the warm jar. Around her, the camp grows still.
Daria watches the dark ridge while Sofia, Angela, Julia, and Petar arrange themselves close to the fading hearth. The hidden camp passes into the night without disturbance.
“Makeda rises, stretches and has a piece of fruit for breakfast. "We are eating more food than we are gathering. We will have to do something about that. But first, Petar, tell us what you know about Trabzon."”
FAILURE (Good Reasoning, rolled -2)
At first light, Makeda rises beneath the fir roots and stretches the stiffness from her limbs. She takes a piece of fruit from the bundle, but its skin has split and sourness turns her stomach after one cautious bite.
Makeda
We are eating more food than we are gathering. We will have to do something about that. But first, Petar, tell us what you know about Trabzon.
Makeda sets the spoiled fruit aside. The remaining pieces are fewer than yesterday, and the group can no longer rely on them for another full day.
Petar
Trabzon is a garrison town centered on a mighty castle. Its harbor and roads are watched, and soldiers question travelers who lack papers.
Petar
The country eastward is difficult, with forests, steep valleys, and scattered villages. But old paths lead inland above the main road, toward shepherd country.
Petar points east through the firs. His warning closes the hope of simply reaching Trabzon by the coast, but opens a concealed inland approach where food might be found away from the garrison.
Daria
Then we leave the fruit for emergencies and search the hills for roots, nuts, and streams. The road to Trabzon will not feed us.
Quest Complete
Establish the next safe route toward Trabzon
Attribute Upgrade: Perception Great→Superb