Thadeus gets the farmhouse door open and eases Elizabeth inside. Dust lifts in the thin light, and the living room smells like old wood and dry rot.
He finds the sagging couch, clears a spot with his hand, and lays her down gently. The springs creak under her weight.
Thadeus Jovanović
Stay there for now. Don’t try to move.
Elizabeth gives him a tired look, one hand pressed to her side, but she settles back against the worn fabric.
Elizabeth Bathory
Bossy. Understood.
Thadeus kneels beside her and starts checking her injuries in the quiet room. Outside, the wind moves through the dead corn, but inside there is only the soft rustle of cloth and their breathing.
Elizabeth Bathory
When you’re done with that, tell me what you saw out there. I want the whole truth.
“Thadeus kisses Elizabeth's forehead, "I don't see any serious injuries, but we need to get you in a more comfortable bed." Elizabeth's eyes lock onto Thadeus's eyes, "Our bed?" Thadeus smiles, "Yes, our bed." Thadeus tells Elizabeth he'll be right back, and that he's going to find the truck and bring it around to the farmhouse. Elizabeth smiles back to Thadeus in understanding, and closes her eyes, allowing herself to relax.”
Thadeus brushes a kiss to her forehead, checks her face once more, and eases back with a small, relieved smile. He says she does not look seriously hurt, and that he is going to get her somewhere softer.
Elizabeth Bathory
Our bed?
Thadeus Jovanović
Yes, our bed. I’ll be right back, I’m bringing the truck around.
Elizabeth smiles, lets her eyes fall shut, and finally lets her shoulders loosen into the couch as the room stays quiet around them.
“Thadeus leaves the farmhouse and walks through the cornfield, lost briefly in its size, then spots the red of Elizabeth's truck in the distance, untouched by the the events from last night. He drives it through the field, right up to the front door of the farmhouse, and renters the living room, kneeling back down to Elizabeth.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Agility, rolled +1)
Thadeus slips out into the cold field, the farmhouse shrinking behind him. Corn hems him in on both sides, then the red truck is there, parked intact and waiting in the weeds.
He reaches it fast, climbs in, and turns the key. The engine catches, low and steady, cutting through the hush around the broken fields.
Mud spatters as he drives straight back to the farmhouse, bumper nosing up to the front door. The living room windows glow faintly while the rest of the yard stays dark.
Thadeus gets out, crosses the porch, and slips inside with the truck still ticking behind him. The couch, the lamp, and Elizabeth waiting in the dim room come back into view.
He kneels beside her again, one hand braced on the floor, his posture careful and grounded. Outside, the field wind presses at the walls, and somewhere beyond it, the silence feels watched.
“Thadeus delicately picks Elizabeth up from the couch, walks over to the truck and carefully gets her into the passenger seat, her eyes still closed. Thadeus thinks, "She's fast asleep, let's keep it that way for now." He carefully buckles her into the seat, then hops back into the driver seat. Thadeus backs the truck up and starts driving out of the field, stopping briefly to take one more last look at what remains of the SoD cathedral, before hoping back on the road and taking the long journey back to his home.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Agility, rolled +0)
Thadeus slides both arms under Elizabeth and lifts her cleanly from the couch, careful with every step as her head settles against his shoulder.
Thadeus Jovanović
She's fast asleep, let's keep it that way for now.
He carries her outside and sets her gently into the passenger seat, the truck’s cab holding the cold better than the farmhouse ever could.
Thadeus buckles the belt across her and checks the latch twice, then climbs into the driver’s side and grips the wheel.
The truck backs through the weeds, tires crunching mud, and the farmhouse falls away behind him as the field opens wide.
He eases to a stop and looks back once. Beyond the broken corn and rubble, the cathedral’s collapse leaves a dark scar in the earth.
Then he pulls onto the road. In the rearview, a faint glint flickers at the field’s edge, and the empty dark behind them feels less empty than it should.