The hooded figure stands exactly where Brandon left Valerius, lantern raised against the white dark. The pulse is wrong, too steady, too deliberate, and the pines answer with a faint answering gleam.
Brandon Dubois
Valerius. The lantern is a signal.
Brandon closes the distance through drifting snow. The hood falls back, and Valerius’s face is hard with calculation, not surprise. Their free hand hovers near a hidden cord at their belt.
Valerius
You were never meant to see the lantern's pattern, Brandon.
From the treeline, two Iskan scouts answer the signal with brief flashes of metal. The road behind Brandon feels suddenly narrower, as if the night itself is closing ranks.
Valerius
Move, if you want to live. Or stand there and learn how far this road reaches.
The trap is no longer hidden. Valerius is not guiding Brandon to safety, but feeding his path into an ambush.
✓ Quest Accepted
Escape Valerius's ambush