Moonlight flashes off the rider’s blade. The horse stands rigid in the frost, breath steaming, as the stranger’s helpful tone falls away into something sharp and hungry.
The Stranger Rider
So, the scroll is real. King Wulf will pay dearly for what your king hides.
The words hit like ice. Brandon Dubois now knows this is no chance meeting. Iska’s reach has crossed into Holden, and the message from King Eren Sharp is already in danger.
The Stranger Rider
Hand it over, and I let you live long enough to remember my mercy.
Brandon Dubois
He knows about the seal.
The rider shifts his weight, blade angled toward Brandon Dubois and the road beyond, as if measuring whether blood or silence serves him better. Behind Brandon, the wake-house door stays shut and the village lies dark.
To reach High Point, Brandon Dubois must hold the line here and keep the scroll from Iska’s grasp.
+ Story Quest Added
Keep the hidden scroll from Iska
“I draw my sword and stand my ground”
SUCCESS (Great Melee Weapons, rolled +3)
Brandon Dubois draws steel in one clean motion, the blade ringing pale under the moon. Frost scatters at his boots as he plants himself between the rider and the road.
The scroll stays hidden.
The Stranger Rider
There you are. I was hoping you would prove worthy of the trouble.
The rider’s horse snorts and sidesteps, uneasy beneath its master’s shift in balance. Brandon’s sword is up now, steady and ready, and the first opening in the ambush is his.
The Stranger Rider
You are slower than the king’s secrets, knight. Hand it over, and I may still ride away bored.
From the wake-house doorway, the Mentor's Wife leans into the dim light, one hand pressed to the frame as she watches Brandon’s blade hold the line.
The Mentor's Wife
Do not let him near it, Brandon. He came for the scroll.
Quest Complete
Keep the hidden scroll from Iska