Azritha Stormborn reaches a narrow mountain pass above Eastmarch, where black pines claw through the snow and Windhelm’s distant watchfires glimmer beneath a bruised sky. The Wounded Survivor limps ahead, iron chain scraping over stone.
A horn sounds between the cliffs. Stormcloak soldiers emerge from the trees, bows drawn and axes ready. The pass closes around Azritha Stormborn and the survivor.
The Wounded Survivor
Do not burn it. The seal is proof, whatever they claim.
The manifest’s broken Imperial seal pulses faintly in Azritha Stormborn’s hand. Blue light crawls across the paper, illuminating a second line of writing beneath the forged dispatch.
A tall figure in a fur-lined cloak rides into the pass. Ulfric Stormcloak dismounts without haste, his gaze fixed on the seal and then on Azritha Stormborn.
Ulfric Stormcloak
That mark was not broken by battle. It was broken by design. Someone wanted this execution to look Imperial, and wanted the blame to fall elsewhere.
Ulfric takes one step between Azritha Stormborn and the drawn bows. Around him, the patrol lowers its weapons by inches, but no one relaxes. His protection is shelter, and a political snare.
✓ Quest Accepted
Secure safe passage through the Stormcloak patrol
“I hold up the manifest and ask Ulfric for safe passage.”
SUCCESS (Good Diplomacy, rolled -1)
Azritha Stormborn
I hold the manifest higher. “Ulfric Stormcloak, grant me safe passage through your patrol.”
The blue-lit seal throws Azritha Stormborn’s request across the snow like a challenge. The nearest bows lower fully, though their strings remain taut.
Ulfric Stormcloak
“You have it. No Stormcloak blade will bar your way, and no soldier will seize that dispatch.”
Ulfric turns and raises two fingers. His patrol parts, opening the mountain trail toward Eastmarch. Safe passage is granted, but every watching face marks the favor.
The Wounded Survivor
“Then let them see the seal clearly. Hiding beneath Imperial colors will make you look like his agent.”
Ulfric Stormcloak
“From this hour, they will call you Stormcloak-held, whether you want the title or not. Take the eastern trail. At Windhelm, ask for the House of the Red Wolf.”
The patrol steps aside. Its suspicion follows Azritha Stormborn into the pass, while Ulfric’s shelter narrows every safer road beyond it.
Reach the House of the Red Wolf
Quest Complete
Secure safe passage through the Stormcloak patrol