Nob Hill crouches under a cold sky, its broken stones slick with old rain. Boffo Hardbottle climbs the ruin with the border token wrapped tight in his hand.
At the top, a hooded man sits beside a tiny fire that gives off no smoke. He looks up at once, sharp-eyed and still.
The Stranger
That token matters more than you were told. Orcs hunt it because it opens the way.
Boffo Hardbottle
It's mine by right of taking. Tell me what you know of it.
The Stranger
A border sign, old and hidden. With it, they can move across the Shire edge unseen, and strike where the roads do not watch.
The Stranger's hand shifts closer to his sword, not in threat, but in readiness. Behind him, the ruin wall frames a dark stretch of moorland, as if the land itself is listening.
The Stranger
If the token is carried openly, the hunters will come faster. If it is destroyed, they lose their guide.
✓ Quest Accepted
Learn the border token's purpose
✓ Quest Accepted
Gain the Stranger's trust
+ New Item Acquired
border token
“"Then we should destroy it without delay." He places the token on a flat stone and draws his sword.”
SUCCESS (Fair Strength, rolled -1)
Boffo sets the token on a flat stone and brings his sword down once, hard. The carved border splits with a sharp crack, and the wrapped sliver of wood skids apart across the wet rock.
The Stranger flinches at the sound, then leans in to study the broken pieces. One chipped edge shows a painted mark beneath the oilcloth, like a road sign cut in half.
The Stranger
Now they lose their guide. That is the best mercy we can give the border.
Boffo's blade bites the stone as it completes the stroke, and a thin spark jumps from steel to flint. The little fire gutters, then steadies again in the windless cold.
The Stranger
I should have spoken sooner. The raiders are not guessing, they are moving by this sign toward the farms and the mathom house.
The broken token lies between them now, harmless and ruined, but the confession hangs heavier than the ruin's damp air. Far off, faint shouts still drift from the moor.
The Stranger
So, Bounder, do we carry this news to Greenfields together?
Quest Complete
Learn the border token's purpose
Quest Complete
Gain the Stranger's trust