The eastern path carries Jannie ahead with Gandolf, Scooter, and Jennifer. Beyond the black pines, trees abruptly thin around scorched earth and shattered wagons.
A massive adult dragon, male and broad-winged, with a horned skull and amber eyes crouches across the trail, its scales dark beneath ash and its jaws breathing slow coils of smoke. The wreckage bears a crest matching a landmark on the secured map.
Scooter
Gilmax. The Destroyer of Villages. The map's landmark is here, and so is his territory.
Gandolf stops with his staff half-raised. Jennifer angles herself between Scooter and the nearest wagon, while the dragon's smoke drifts low over the ash.
Gandolf
Do not mistake a guardian for a beast to be challenged. Whatever clue lies in those ruins, it has survived beneath his eye.
Gilmax
Small travelers, you walk upon my ashes. State your purpose before the next breath becomes your last warning.
Jennifer
The crest is no accident. Jannie, the path ends at him, but the relic's trail may begin in those wagons.
✓ Quest Accepted
Get past Gilmax
“I tell Gilmax that we are looking for the lost relics and need to pass it if he dose not let us go we will fight and kill him and take all the gold he has”
FAILURE (Good Willpower, rolled +0)
Jannie Welcome
We seek the lost relics. Let us pass, or we will fight, kill you, and take every piece of gold you guard.
Jannie’s threat crosses the ash, but Gilmax does not retreat. His amber gaze weighs the four travelers, and smoke thickens between his teeth.
Gilmax
You offer murder for treasure as though either were yours to promise. I have buried armies beneath these stones. Your threat does not move me.
The dragon lowers his horned skull until one amber eye fills Jannie’s view. The road remains barred, but his claw shifts from a half-buried wagon.
Gilmax
Yet you seek what lies below. The crest marks an ash gate beneath that wagon. Enter there, and you may find your relics without crossing my road.
Jennifer
An entrance, then. Jannie, his refusal leaves us a choice, not a dead end.
Gilmax folds his wings around the trail like a living wall. The overturned wagon and its ash-darkened crest offer the only visible route forward, while the dragon watches for a different kind of courage.
“I tell Gilmax that we are looking for the lost relics and need to pass it if he dose not let us go we will fight and kill him and take all the gold he has”
FAILURE (Good Willpower, rolled +0)
“I tell Gilmax that we are looking for the lost relics and need to pass it if he dose not let us go we will fight and kill him and take all the gold he has”
FAILURE (Good Willpower, rolled +0)
Jannie Welcome
We seek the lost relics. Let us pass, or we will fight, kill you, and take every piece of gold you guard.
The threat crosses the ash, but Gilmax does not yield. His amber gaze hardens, and one vast claw presses into the overturned wagon, cracking its charred boards.
Gilmax
You offer murder for treasure as though either were yours to promise. I have buried armies beneath these stones. Your threat does not move me.
The claw tears free a section of wreckage instead of striking. Beneath it, a black stone arch glimmers with the same crest marked on the secured map, its narrow passage descending into darkness.
Gilmax
There is your passage. Enter the ash gate, and search below. Cross my road or touch what I guard, and your promised battle begins.
Jennifer
The threat failed, but the gate is real. Jannie, we can take the relic trail beneath the wagon without challenging him here.
Gandolf studies the exposed arch while Scooter grips the satchel and edges toward its ash-choked threshold. Jennifer waits beside him; Gilmax remains a smoking wall behind the road.
“I tell Gilmax that we are looking for the lost relics and need to pass it if he dose not let us go we will fight and kill him and take all the gold he has”
FAILURE (Good Willpower, rolled +1)
Jannie Welcome
We seek the lost relics. Let us pass, or we will fight, kill you, and take every piece of gold you guard.
The threat rolls across the ash, but Gilmax remains still. His amber eye narrows, and smoke coils from his jaws as one claw crushes the wagon's charred side.
Gilmax
You offer murder for treasure as though either were yours to promise. I have buried armies beneath these stones. Your threat does not move me.
The dragon tears away the broken boards instead of striking. Beneath them, a black stone arch bears the map's crest, its narrow passage descending into darkness beneath the wagon.
Gilmax
There is your passage. Enter the ash gate and search below. Cross my road or touch what I guard, and your promised battle begins.
Jennifer
The threat failed, but the gate is real. We can take the relic trail beneath the wagon without challenging him here.
Gandolf studies the exposed arch while Scooter tightens his grip on the satchel and edges toward the ash-choked threshold. Jennifer waits beside him; Gilmax remains a smoking wall behind the road.
“Thank you we will not take your gold and we will be on are married way and you can count on us coming back with something for you when we are done”
SUCCESS (Good Reasoning, rolled +2)
Jannie Welcome
Thank you. We will not take your gold, and we will be on our merry way. You can count on us bringing something for you when we return.
The promise settles over the ash more gently than the threat did. Gilmax’s smoke thins, and the dragon lifts his claw from the ruined wagon without blocking the black arch.
Gilmax
Gold is the least interesting tribute a traveler can bring. Return with something worthy, and I may remember your courtesy.
Behind Jannie, Gandolf lowers his staff. Scooter slips beneath the wagon toward the ash gate, while Jennifer keeps watch on the dragon and the open road.
Gandolf
A fair exchange, child. His patience grants us passage, and your word gives our return a purpose.
Jennifer
Then let us find what deserves to be carried back. The darkness below will not search itself.
The party enters the black stone arch. Ash falls from the wagon’s broken ribs as Gilmax watches them descend, his vast silhouette guarding the trail behind.
Quest Complete
Get past Gilmax
Attribute Upgrade: Willpower Good→Great