Ragnar enters the brewer's cellar as the roadside priest completes a chalk-and-ash circle around a stranger's body. Candle flames bend inward, toward the corpse.
the roadside priest
Do not cross the circle. The dead one carried a warning meant for the village of Bellwether, and the road is already too slow.
The stranger's travel cloak lies stiff with rain, one gloved hand closed around a broken seal. No message remains visible, but the priest's satchel bulges with something carefully wrapped.
the roadside priest
Bellwether faces danger before sunrise. I need someone strong enough to reach it, someone who can pass where frightened men would turn back.
Above, boots hammer across the inn floor. Angry voices demand the corpse, calling the priest a grave-thief and threatening to drag him upstairs themselves.
the roadside priest
They fear what the body proves. If they seize it, the warning dies with the truth. I can hold this ward briefly, but not forever.
The cellar door jolts in its frame. A fresh crack races through the wood, and dust sifts from the hinges as the priest looks toward Ragnar, waiting.
✓ Quest Accepted
Keep the priest free to pursue Bellwether's rescue
✓ Quest Accepted
Reach Bellwether
“I draw my weapon and hold the cellar door against the mob.”
SUCCESS (Good Strength, rolled +0)
Ragnar draws his weapon and plants his broad frame against the cellar door. The cracked planks shudder under the mob's next assault, but hold firm beneath his strength.
the roadside priest
Good. Keep them there, and Bellwether may yet have a chance.
Upstairs, the pounding falters. Through the wood come muttered curses, then the scrape of several blades being drawn.
the mob leader
Half giant, step aside. That corpse belongs to the village watch.
Ragnar's weapon catches the candlelight beside the door's iron latch. His weight settles into the threshold, sealing the cellar from the men above.
the roadside priest
They will not listen to reason while fear speaks for them. Give me a moment to finish the ward.
Behind Ragnar, the chalk circle brightens with a dull blue glow. The broken seal in the stranger's hand trembles, and the cellar fills with the scent of cold rain.
Quest Complete
Keep the priest free to pursue Bellwether's rescue