The Stranger stops watching the army and turns on Grachus. Their calm drops away, replaced by hard, measured command.
A hidden seal glints beneath their cloak, caught in the gray light. They hold it up like proof, not a plea.
The Stranger
You were never seeing bandits. You were seeing a test.
Behind them, the army comes to a halt in perfect unison. The road goes still, packed with spears, shields, and siege carts.
The Stranger
I am one of their scouts. High enough to watch, and report. The raid was meant to measure this village.
Grachus
The army was already judging the walls.
The silence settles heavier than the march ever was, and the village below suddenly feels far too small.
✓ Quest Accepted
Confront the Stranger about his betrayal
“Ask the stranger what the army wants with the village, of they intend to hurt anyone in the village I will kill every last one of them.”
SUCCESS (Fair Willpower, rolled +1)
Grachus
What does the army want with this village? If they mean to hurt anyone inside, I kill them all.
The Stranger
They want to know who yields, who hides, who stands. A village that bends is useful. A village that breaks is a lesson.
The Stranger
As for harm, that depends on resistance. I speak for reports, not mercy.
Grachus's threat hangs in the dust. The Stranger does not flinch, but the riders in the distance begin to stir behind their shields.
The Stranger
You understand me now. I am not your ally. I am the hand that marked this wall.
Below them, the village wall looms hard and pale, with the exhausted horse shifting nervously at the road edge. Grachus's knuckles, cut and dust-streaked, flex on the hilt as the truth settles between them.
The Stranger
So decide, swordsman. Do you strike a scout, or make me talk?
Quest Complete
Confront the Stranger about his betrayal