Sheltered in a crook of stone, the party gathers close around a palm-sized fire that burns blue-white and does not smoke. The wind worries the ridge beyond them, but here it only sighs. Lucas Broadleaf kneels near the warmth while the others settle in a loose ring, all of them finally unbowed for a moment.
Valerius
I spent years naming that mountain duty. It feels smaller now, beside what it cost.
Kaelith
Smaller, yes. Heavier too. We carried it well enough to this fire, at least.
The Dragon in Human Form
A god freed is never a simple thing. Yet this one speaks of promises, not hunger. That is a rare mercy.
Ser Edrin Valcayne
Mercy is a thin cloak on a mountain. Still, it has kept Lucas alive so far.
The blue flame throws soft light across the open warrant, the flawed seal still plain beneath the courtly fraud. No one reaches for it now. The paper lies between them like a problem already half-solved.
Lucas Broadleaf
The seal is false. The truth was hidden in plain sight.
Valerius
When we leave this ridge, I would like to tell the rest plainly. All of it. No omens, no riddles, only what I know.
The fire crackles brighter for a heartbeat, and the circle of companions eases into the glow, listening. For the first time in many miles, nobody asks Lucas to hurry.
“"before we descend we should make inventory of all of our skills and supplies no what exactly we can bring to bear in whatever situation occurs, I am a deft enough hand at the intellectual and diplomatic pursuits while my physique and Constitution are lacking." Lucas says and looks at his impromptu retinue to expound upon their own strengths and weaknesses.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled -2)
Lucas Broadleaf
Before we go down, we should take stock, skills, supplies, what each of us can bring to bear. My mind and tongue are my sharpest tools, not my muscles.
The blue flame steadies as Lucas lays the matter out, and the little circle tightens without breaking. The warrant stays open at the center, but now it shares space with planning instead of dread.
Ser Edrin Valcayne
Then I will begin. I know roads, seals, warrants, and the habits of frightened men. If words can carry us through a gate, I will speak them.
Valerius
I know old vows, hidden places, and the shape of lies wrapped around family history. I can tell which truth is brittle, and which will hold.
Kaelith
I know the mountain, weather, and what it costs to keep walking when the cold bites hard. I have food for the road, a spare cloak, flint, and cord in my pack.
The Dragon in Human Form
I bring patience, force if it becomes necessary, and a useful eye for weakness. Also, I have more strength than all of you would prefer to test at once.
One by one, they name what they have, and what they lack. The air feels less like a threshold and more like a table spread for decisions, with Lucas at its head.
“"Kaelith, as one of the divinity I know you are but recently freed but do you have knowledge and control of your portfolio?"”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled +0)
Lucas Broadleaf
Kaelith, since you are newly freed, do you know your own office well enough to guide it? Do you have true knowledge and control of what you are?
Kaelith
I do, more than I expected to. I remember the shape of what I am, the old duty, the old season, and the way my power answers when I call.
Kaelith
The memories are not all equal. Some feel lived, some feel inherited, but they do not feel чужд to me.
Kaelith lifts one hand above the blue fire, and frost-light gathers obediently around her fingers before fading into warm steam.
The Dragon in Human Form
That is a useful answer. Not every god wakes with their hands still on the reins.
Valerius
Then we may trust that she can choose, at least some of the time. That matters more than most bargains do.
Ser Edrin Valcayne
And if her choice is hers, then our road is simpler than I feared. Better a companion with a will than a miracle with none.
Kaelith
I can choose. And for now, I choose to walk with you and tell you what I remember.
Lucas Broadleaf leaves A sheltered mountain ridge above a snow-patched road behind and arrives at Graystone estate.
“I'm wise enough to take counsel from my peers so let's hear from each of you in turn, I believe getting to my sister's estate and leveraging the Margrave authority to present our evidence, resupply, possibly improve our armaments and at the very least not have us hunted and accosted by every constabulary and bounty Hunter along our way is our best course of action. Thoughts?”
SUCCESS (Great Agility, rolled +1)
Graystone estate breathes winter quiet, its stone courts silvered with old frost and lampglow. The others gather where a sheltered brazier burns low, and Lucas takes the center with the ease of a man used to being listened to.
Lucas Broadleaf
We have enough for guesses. Let us hear each of you, plainly, before we choose our road.
Valerius
Then I begin with the old shape of this house. If we reach the estate under Graystone authority, people will still recognize the seal, even if they fear the name.
Ser Edrin Valcayne
And I know how to make that seal speak in a hall. Evidence, witnesses, and timing, those are the blades that do not bleed on the road.
Kaelith
I can guide us by memory and by weather. I know where we may rest, where roads are watched, and where old warding still answers my touch.
The Dragon in Human Form
I prefer the certainty of force, but force is only useful if it arrives fed, armed, and in one piece. This estate can grant all three.
As they speak, a steward’s forgotten side-cupboard is found standing open behind the brazier, packed with dry cloak-clasps, trail rations, whetstones, and a wrapped bundle of oilcloth maps.
Kaelith
Then your thought is sound, Lucas. We go as claimants, not fugitives, and we go prepared.