The brush snaps hard to Parthus's left. A ragged man stumbles out of the trees, one hand pressed to his side, the other flung wide for balance.
He takes one look at the Surrendered Bandit and goes pale. Then his knees buckle, and he drops onto the path with a wet gasp, searching Parthus's face for mercy.
Robert
Wait. Please. I am hurt. There were three of us, then there were none. Help me, lord, I beg you.
The merchant father jerks his family back a step. The woman gathers the child tight against her skirts. Even the child stares, silent and round-eyed.
The Surrendered Bandit
Hold, man. Do not fear us. You stand before Parthus now, not your old captains.
Robert
Parthus? You are the one who broke our line. Then it is true. The road is lost to us.
The scout swallows hard, pain and fear wrestling on his face. His gaze flicks from Parthus's shield to the bandit at his side, measuring whether he has fallen among enemies or found a worse kind of hope.
✓ Quest Accepted
Test the bandit's oath against his old comrade
“I name the bandit Robert. Robert we must tend to your former comrades wounds. Keep watch while I administer aid. I say to the merchant family fetch water and start a small fire in a clearing to boil water. I say to the scout remain calm and complacent I will heal what I can for now and offer respite.”
SUCCESS (Fair Healing, rolled -1)
Parthus kneels beside the scout and works fast, pressing cloth to the wound and checking the man’s breathing while he speaks low, steady commands to the others.
Parthus
Robert. We tend your former comrades’ wounds. Keep watch while I do this.
Parthus
You two, fetch water. Find a clear place and start a small fire to boil it.
Parthus
You stay calm. I will heal what I can and give you respite.
The Surrendered Bandit
Aye. I hear you, Parthus.
Robert
He is here. My captain, he was close behind me. If he finds me with you, he will think I have broken.
The scout’s face tightens as Parthus finishes the dressing. The bleeding slows, but the bandage comes away stained, and the name hangs between them like a blade. Behind Robert, the cloth strips twitch in the breeze, pointing north while the forest holds its breath.
“I have fulfilled my vow to protect the weak, now and forever. By your word of peace you may travel with us. But we must make haste. First we must deliver this family to their new safe haven.”
SUCCESS (Great Willpower, rolled +3)
Parthus rises with the scout’s weight settled, and the little company closes ranks around him. The cloth markers swing above the path ahead, northward and clear, as if the woods themselves have accepted the road.
Parthus
I have fulfilled my vow to protect the weak, now and forever. By your word of peace you may travel with us. But we must make haste. First we must deliver this family to their new safe haven.
At once, the woman tightens her grip on the child, and the merchant father moves to the front without argument. The surrendered bandit steps in beside the scout, taking some of the man’s weight before he can fall again.
Robert
My captain will not stop if he thinks I fled. He expects me to bleed and break, not stand in a holy man's path.
The scout looks toward the north, then sharply away from the blood on the leaves. In that moment he lifts his chin and turns his back on the sound of his old command.
The Surrendered Bandit
Then let him see me choose again. I stay with Parthus. I guard this family.
He tears a strip from his own sleeve and knots it over the scout’s dressing, an extra binding against the jolt of travel. The child watches him do it, and the woman’s gaze softens by a fraction.
The group sets off beneath the marked branches. By the time the trees open, a low mill building waits beyond the ford, and the north road falls behind them without pursuit.
Quest Complete
Get the merchant family safely to the mill
Attribute Upgrade: Willpower Great→Superb
Quest Complete
Test the bandit's oath against his old comrade
Skill Upgrade: Healing Fair→Good