The quiet lane opens onto the old ferry path beyond the market. Scrub crowds the ruts, abandoned carts lean against a weathered cooper’s shed, and fresh boot marks descend toward the river.
Bren carries the wrapped red wool from Iven’s room. Beside the shed, flattened grass and a discarded strip of gray cloth show where someone recently changed clothing.
Bren
The tracks are fresh, but whoever made them knew enough to leave the market unseen. That makes the ferry crossing more useful than the red scarf alone.
No pursuer appears between the scrub and the river. Water glints beyond the reeds, while the shed’s broken latch hangs open and a single dark button rests in the dust.
Bren
Iven stays behind with the bakery and the safer story. It is only us here, and we can still turn back before the path narrows.
Bren
The trail is clear enough to follow, but clarity is not the same as safety.
Bren
Do we examine the shed first, or follow the boot marks toward the ferry?
“I cautiously look into the shed”
SUCCESS (Legendary Perception, rolled -2)
Kynes approaches the cooper’s shed slowly, keeping to the scrub and testing each board before placing his weight. The broken latch gives a soft creak beneath his hand.
Inside, dust veils a workbench, empty barrels, and a discarded gray coat. Beneath the bench lies a leather purse containing three silver pieces, a baker’s receipt, and a ferry token stamped with a red scarf’s knot.
Kynes
The shed was a changing place, not a hiding place.
A splinter catches Kynes’s palm as he lifts the coat, drawing a thin line of blood. The small injury is clean, but his touch disturbs dust across the floor.
Bren
You found something, and the shed heard you find it. We should take the token and leave before anyone checks the noise.
The receipt names a ferry crossing before nightfall and bears the mark of a riverside stall. Outside, reeds whisper in the wind, but no footsteps answer.
Bren
The ferry is our stronger lead now. We can follow it openly, or watch the crossing from cover before committing ourselves.
✓ Quest Accepted
Reach the ferry crossing
“"fucken splinters." I take the silver coins. " Let's head to the ferry." I suck the blood off my palm. And look at Bren. "What you kissen it" I tease”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled +1)
Kynes pockets the three silver coins and folds the ferry token into his palm. The shed remains quiet as he turns toward the reed-lined path.
Kynes
Fucken splinters. Let’s head to the ferry.
He sucks the blood from his palm, then wipes away the remaining dust and splinter fragments. Bren watches the small injury with restrained concern.
Kynes
What are you kissing?
Bren
Your palm, apparently. Though if you wanted me to kiss it, you could ask without blaming the shed.
Bren’s mouth quirks as she takes the wrapped red wool and follows him from the shed. Together they leave the discarded coat behind and take the boot-marked path toward the ferry.
Bren
The crossing is before nightfall. We watch the riverside stall first, then decide whether the red scarf has already gone aboard.
Reeds brush their legs as the river widens ahead, carrying the last gold of evening. The ferry bell sounds once through the distant mist.
+ New Item Acquired
Three silver coins
+ New Item Acquired
Ferry token
“We approach the ferry as ordinary travelers”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled +0)
Kynes and Bren follow the reed-lined path at an unhurried pace, packs sitting naturally on their shoulders. They keep the wrapped wool and ferry token among ordinary travel goods.
The ferry landing emerges through the mist. A broad-shouldered middle-aged man with weathered brown skin, a salt-streaked beard, and a blue wool coat tends the rope beside a flat wooden barge.
Bren
There is the crossing. Keep your pace ordinary, and let the token stay hidden unless someone asks.
They join two farmers waiting beside stacked baskets, offering no explanation beyond the quiet presence of travelers bound along the river road. The ferryman gives them a brief, uninterested glance.
the ferryman
Crossing before dusk. Two coppers each, unless you have goods that need separate space.
Bren pays for both places from their travel purse. The ferryman accepts the coins, loosens the rope, and gestures them aboard without questioning their destination.
Bren
We are across the first threshold without drawing notice. Now we can watch the riverside stall before deciding whether to follow the red scarf.
Quest Complete
Reach the ferry crossing
Skill Upgrade: Survival Great→Superb