The First Companion
We should go before we wear the house thin with grief. Brandon Dubois, thank you for standing with us.
The Second Companion
Aye. May your road stay clear, and may his name never be forgotten.
The two men bow their heads, pull their cloaks close, and step out into the Holden night, the door opening on a gust of biting cold.
The Mentor's Wife
Take his sword. He would want it in your hands, where it can still do good.
She places the weapon back into Brandon Dubois's care, her fingers lingering a moment longer than needed before she lets go.
Then she turns toward the dark hearth and the dim room, leaving Brandon alone with the embers, the returned blade, and the weight of his next road.
+ Story Quest Added
Keep the returned sword safe
+ New Item Acquired
returned sword
“I inspect the sword for marks”
SUCCESS (Good Perception, rolled +0)
Brandon turns the sword under the hearth glow, letting the blade catch a thin line of light. Along the fuller, he spots a tiny nick near the hilt, and a faint, old etching hidden beneath dried wax.
Brandon Dubois
The mark is deliberate, not wear.
His thumb brushes the grip, and a loose wrap slips aside. Beneath it, a maker's sigil is pressed into the leather, half obscured but unmistakable.
The Mentor's Wife
He asked the smith for that sign when he had it reforged. Said it would remind him who stood beside him.
She pauses by the dark hearth, looking back at the blade rather than at Brandon, her face softened by memory and fatigue.
The Mentor's Wife
If you carry it, carry that too. He meant it for more than mourning.
The wake-house settles around them, quiet but no longer empty. Outside, the open door breathes in cold night air, and the sword rests steady in Brandon's hands, its hidden mark now known.
Quest Complete
Keep the returned sword safe