The dust-covered merchant remains behind at the Guild while Corrin reaches the Sea of Trees with two companions. Blue pines close over the road, their shadows cool and fragrant.
The burly warrior is a broad-shouldered young adult man with a shaved head, russet beard, and scarred arms beneath a worn leather harness. His battle axe rests easily across one shoulder.
The Guild healer, a slender young adult woman with warm brown skin and dark braids threaded with blue cord, carries a white-cloth satchel and watches the forest with calm attention.
The Burly Warrior
Bram Holloway. I keep trouble off the healer and the locksmith. Point me toward the trail.
the Guild healer
Mira Vey. I mend what Bram fails to prevent, preferably before it becomes expensive.
Crushed ferns and parallel drag marks lead between the roots. A torn dull-green scarf clings to a thorn, its damp fabric proving the thieves passed recently.
Ahead, the trail divides around an abandoned merchant cart bearing the dust-covered merchant's seal. Its rear lock hangs open cleanly, untouched by force, while one branch disappears into thicker pines.
✓ Quest Accepted
Recover the merchant’s stolen goods
✓ Quest Accepted
Identify the route toward the stolen cargo
“Corrin examines the merchant cart for clues.”
SUCCESS (Superb Perception, rolled -1)
Corrin crouches beside the abandoned cart, using his keen senses to read the dim interior where the blue-pine shadows conceal finer marks. He studies every edge and seam.
He unfolds his thieves' tools and slips a narrow pick into the open rear lock, testing its scratches without disturbing them. The mechanism bears careful, practiced handling rather than haste.
the Guild healer
The lock was opened cleanly. Whoever did it knew exactly what they wanted.
Corrin traces a faint smear beneath the latch and finds pale spice dust mixed with splinters. A crate was dragged out recently, then hauled toward the thicker pines.
His sharpened vision catches a second clue beyond the cart: three partial boot prints, one deep and uneven, pointing toward the branch marked by broken fern stems.
The Burly Warrior
So the limping thief went that way. Good. That narrows our choices.
Quest Complete
Identify the route toward the stolen cargo