The Marines drag ammunition crates into a rough shelter beneath the staging area's harsh emergency lights. The wounded soldier sits against one crate while a medic, a young adult woman with dark braided hair and a compact build, wearing a dusty blue-gray medical jacket and red-stained gloves, tightens his bandage.
Grant, Cpl. Bawer, the wounded Marine, and the soldiers who carried the crates remain inside the barricade. Outside, abandoned vehicles mark the sealed corridor where others stayed behind.
Cpl. Bawer
We hold here until everyone can move. Pulling out now turns the street into a funnel.
Around them, exhausted Marines check magazines and listen. Impacts thud against the barricade, each one shaking dust from the overhead beams.
Grant Dunn
Bawer, keep the shelter organized. Nobody wastes ammunition unless those barriers give way.
Grant checks his rifle, then steps closer to Rhea. The scar beside his left eye catches the stark light as his voice drops beneath the distant snarls.
Grant Dunn
I need a quiet answer. What do you know about Rhea Dunn, and why do you think she reached this area?
✓ Quest Accepted
Give Grant a complete account of Rhea Dunn
“I give Grant everything I know about Rhea Dunn and why she came here.”
FAILURE (Fair Reasoning, rolled -1)
Rhea Chelo
I tell Grant everything I know about Rhea Dunn and why I came here.
Rhea keeps their voice low, giving Grant the name, the connection, and the reason for reaching this staging area. The surrounding gunfire makes the account fragmentary.
Grant Dunn
That is not enough for me to find her. I need where she was last seen, not only why you came looking.
A fresh impact rattles the shelter. Grant studies Rhea’s face, then lowers his rifle slightly, treating the missing details as uncertainty rather than betrayal.
Grant Dunn
Rhea Dunn was working triage at the north clinic when communications failed. If she left, the evacuation route would have taken her toward the municipal garage.
The answer gives the conversation a usable direction, but Grant’s original question remains only partly answered. The north clinic and municipal garage become separate points on the map.
Grant Dunn
When this barrier moves, you can help us reach that route. Until then, stay close and tell me if you remember anything more.
Quest Complete
Give Grant a complete account of Rhea Dunn