Dusk bleeds over the burial mound, turning the stone steps black and the grass copper. Bjor Ravenhelm reaches the rise just as three grey wolves tighten their circle below.
At the entrance, a child trembles with a wooden toy clutched to his chest. His sobs crack the still air, and the wolves lift their heads toward the sound.
One wolf prowls left, another cuts right, and the third crouches low, eyes bright and fixed on the mound.
Bjor Ravenhelm
The child is cornered.
Bjor's boots scrape stone as he closes the distance, cloak snapping in the wind.
The Child
Please, don't let them take me.
The nearest wolf bares its teeth and takes a step up the slope. The others follow, pressing the ring inward.
The Child
Hurry... what do I do?
✓ Quest Accepted
Protect the child from the wolves
“Draw my axe and roar to draw the wolves' attention away from the boy.”
SUCCESS (Good Willpower, rolled +3)
Bjor Ravenhelm hauls his axe free in one clean motion, and his roar splits the dusk. The nearest wolf flinches sideways, ears flat, while the others check their charge and turn toward him instead of the child.
The ring loosens. Grey Wolf 3 gives ground at the base of the mound, and the child staggers back through the stone entry, suddenly less exposed.
One wolf answers with a low snarl and bunches its shoulders, but it keeps its eyes on Bjor, not the boy.
The child scrambles behind the threshold stones, nearly losing the wooden toy, then clamps it to his chest again.
Bjor Ravenhelm
They take the bait.
Wind combs the grass between them. For the first time, the wolves are the ones hesitating, and the child has a narrow path to safety.
Grey Wolf 2 edges in a half-step, testing Bjor's stance, while Grey Wolf 1 circles for an angle that opens the mound entrance behind him.
“I drive the wolves back from the threshold”
SUCCESS (Great Melee Combat, rolled -1)
Bjor slams in with axe and shoulder, cutting the wolves off from the stones. Grey Wolf 2 skids back, claws tearing the turf, while Grey Wolf 1 veers wide to avoid the bite of his blade.
The gap at the threshold opens fully. The child darts deeper inside the mound, and the toy knocks once against the stone as he gets clear of the mouths at the entrance.
Grey Wolf 1
Too close. The man holds the line.
Grey Wolf 2
Tested, and refused.
Bjor’s axe bites into the earth between them with a dull thunk, buying the distance he wants, but the force jars his grip and stings his palms.
Both wolves halt at the lip of the slope, hackles raised, no longer able to reach the child without passing through Bjor first.
From inside the mound, the child’s breathing turns ragged but steadier. The wolves wait, circling the opening, their eyes fixed on Bjor’s blade.
Quest Complete
Protect the child from the wolves
Attribute Upgrade: Willpower Good→Great