The sheriff’s office smells of dust, lamp oil, and old paper. Sunlight cuts through slats in the blinds, striping the floor like jail bars.
Atsumu Miya steps in, staff at his side, spellbook tucked close. Behind the desk, there is no sheriff, only a wall of notices and a ticking clock mounted high near the door.
A coach driver spins toward him, hat crushed in one fist, the other stabbing at a wanted poster pinned crooked to the board.
The Coach Driver
That pass is being robbed right now. I need you to ride out, fast, before they silence the witness in the coach.
He talks in a rush, but his eyes keep snapping up to the clock tower outside the window, not the watchless wrist he keeps rubbing.
Atsumu Miya
The clock tower is the signal.
The Coach Driver
Sheriff’s gone, and I can’t wait on him. Will you help, or do I lose that coach for good?
The room holds its breath. Outside, the tower bell starts to move toward its next strike.
✓ Quest Accepted
Help the coach before the robbers silence the witness
“Does the driver know how many men are holding up that coach?”
YES (Likely, rolled 18)
The Coach Driver
There are three of them, all armed with repeaters. They think they have the drop on the guard, but they are sloppy.
Atsumu Miya
Three men. He knows their count and their weapons, yet he acts like he is the one being hunted.
“Is the driver part of the robbery?”
YES, BUT (Even, rolled 49)
The driver is indeed in league with the bandits, though he is merely a pawn coerced by threats against his own family.
“I press the driver for the robbers' names”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled +2)
Atsumu Miya
The names. Say them.
The Coach Driver
Hollis Pike, Ben Tarver, and a man they call Chalk. I never got the last one’s real name.
The driver swallows hard, keeping his eyes on the floor as if the words cost him something.
The Coach Driver
They’re holed up by the clock tower. Pike runs the mouth, Tarver handles the guns.
The Coach Driver
If they think I talked, my family pays for it.
Outside, the tower bell gives a dull, iron note through the barred window, and the driver flinches toward the sound.
“I head for the clock tower”
SUCCESS (Good Agility, rolled +1)