DethStryder reaches the small-town jail as dusk settles over the crooked roofs. Through the barred entry, a traveling bard, a lean young adult woman with russet hair and a green cloak, sings softly beside a collapsed messenger.
the traveling bard
Hush now, little flame. Let the road remember you kindly.
The song keeps the cell's other occupants rigidly quiet. The messenger's hand closes around a bloodstained token, while the bard shields it beneath her palm.
the jailer
No one enters the corridor. Strangers have been asking for that messenger since sundown.
The jailer, a broad elderly man in a patched brown surcoat, has barred the corridor with an iron crosspiece. His keys tremble as footsteps gather outside.
the traveling bard
I will not surrender it. Without this token, the messenger's honor dies with the road's last witness.
A heavy blow jolts the cell door. Dust sifts from the lintel, and the prisoners finally break their silence with startled breaths as someone outside strikes again.
✓ Quest Accepted
Protect the town from the attackers
✓ Quest Accepted
Secure the bloodstained token
“Protect the town”
SUCCESS (Great Willpower, rolled -2)
DethStryder slips through the dusk-shadowed alley behind the jail, glowing tattoos muted beneath her cloak. She reaches the town bell rope before the attackers breach the door.
She yanks hard. The bell's thunder rolls across crooked roofs, summoning shutters, lanterns, and wary townsfolk while the gathered assailants scatter from the sudden alarm.
the jailer
By the old stones, that bell saved us! Hold the corridor, bard. I am not opening this door.
One attacker looses a crossbow bolt toward the bell tower. DethStryder twists aside, but it tears through her sleeve and leaves a shallow cut along her upper arm.
She answers from concealment, sending an arrow into the cobbles beside the fleeing group's leader. The warning strikes close enough to end their advance, and none dares approach the jail.
the traveling bard
Whoever guards this town from the dark, take my thanks. The messenger still breathes, and the token remains ours.
DethStryder
The bell rope is frayed, and my arm is bleeding.
Quest Complete
Protect the town from the attackers