The air in the cellar is thick with the scent of fermented hops and damp earth. Beneath the low, timbered ceiling, a single lantern casts long, flickering shadows over the barrels.
Haldor
Look closely, ranger. The ink is still wet, and the trail it marks leads straight into the heart of the Deepwood.
Mystkyller
The map is a crude forgery, yet the landmarks match the ancient groves I swore to protect.
Mystkyller
Who commissioned this survey, Haldor. The trees do not permit such measurement without a price.
Haldor
A man with deep pockets and a colder heart, Mystkyller. He does not care for the sanctity of the woods, only for the lumber he can haul out before the snows fall.
Mystkyller
The industrialist is moving faster than the council anticipated. If I do not intercept this path, the oldest boughs will be gone by month’s end.
Haldor
He is waiting by the North Gate, and he has guards who are paid to kill anyone who asks too many questions. Do you take the paper, or do you leave it to the rot?
+ Scene Quest Added
Intercept the industrialist at the North Gate
+ New Item Acquired
Ink-stained map
“I take the map as proof and rush to get help intercepting him at the north gate”
SUCCESS (Good Reasoning, rolled +0)
Mystkyller
The parchment feels cold against my palm, but the ink burns with intent. I will see that the council sees this betrayal before the axe hits the first trunk.
Mystkyller
I cannot risk a direct confrontation alone, yet I must secure this evidence while Haldor distracts the scouts.
Mystkyller pivots, his boots scraping the damp cellar floor. He tucks the map into his tunic and leaps for the trapdoor, his movements fluid and precise.
Haldor
If you are caught with that, tell them you stole it from a drunkard. Do not mention my name, ranger.
Haldor
If he survives the gate, perhaps the woods still have a fighting chance.
The heavy wooden lid creaks open as the ranger surges upward, disappearing into the dim light of the alleyway.