Snow lashes the black stones ahead, and Brandon Dubois reaches the jagged monoliths that mark the northern path. The lantern behind him is nearly lost in the storm.
He sees the carvings at last, lines of names cut deep into the obsidian-like rock. Fallen soldiers from an old border war, remembered where the road narrows and the wind never softens.
Brandon Dubois
These stones are a grave without bodies.
The Hooded Figure keeps to the rear, silent and watchful, letting the history do its work. The road ahead seems to close around Brandon like a blade.
Valerius
Do you still mean to carry the king’s scroll to High Point, knowing what waits there?
Brandon’s hand stays near his sword as he faces the stones, then the road beyond them. The hidden scroll rests safe beneath his armor, and the storm drives on, as if urging him forward.
“I turn to the hooded figure and speak. "The realm is soon to fall in the chaos of war. If whatever in this scroll can prevent that, then yes, I will bring the scroll to the king or die trying."”
SUCCESS (Good Willpower, rolled +0)
Brandon Dubois
The realm is close to war. If this scroll can help stop it, I bring it to the king, or I die trying.
The words leave Brandon in the teeth of the storm, plain and steady. Snow snaps across the road, and the weight beneath his armor feels suddenly heavier for having been named aloud.
Valerius
A bold vow. Most men dress fear in finer cloth.
The hood dips toward the carved stones, then back to Brandon. The lantern swings once, and its weak light crawls over the names cut into the black rock.
Valerius
Those names were men who thought duty would spare them. Some died at the border. Some died carrying messages too important to fail.
Brandon Dubois
The stones carry more than names. They carry warnings.
Brandon keeps his sword hand calm, but the other tightens under his cloak, feeling the hidden scroll press cold against his chest.
Valerius
Then take care, Brandon Dubois. A promise can hold a kingdom together, or drag a good man under with it.
“I ask the hooded figure who they serve”
SUCCESS (Fair Diplomacy, rolled +2)
Brandon Dubois
Who do you serve?
The question cuts through the wind and lands cleanly. Brandon keeps his stance, but the hooded figure stills, lantern held low beside the black stone.
Valerius
I serve no king cleanly enough to boast of it. I serve the road between oaths, and the men ruined by them.
The lantern lifts a little, showing carved names in the monolith behind them. For a moment, the storm seems to hush around the stones.
Valerius
I served under banners once. I learned how quickly a promise becomes a weapon when clever hands reach for it.
Brandon Dubois
The answer is not a riddle. It is a warning.
Valerius
If you carry that scroll to High Point, carry it with your eyes open. The dead here would tell you the same, if dead men still had breath.
“I press on toward High Point”
SUCCESS (Great Agility, rolled -1)