Artania reaches the mountain pass as smoke coils across the narrow road. Two wagons burn beside the cliffs, while wounded guards lie scattered near merchants in dust-stained robes.
Bandits surround the caravan, blades and bows trained on the travelers. A merchant clutches sealed ledgers and a lacquered chest marked with foreign royal sigils.
Callan Vey
Those ledgers and gifts are protected by treaty! Take them, and you may rekindle every old rivalry between the kingdoms!
The bandit leader turns from the wagons. She is a broad-shouldered middle-aged woman with weathered brown skin, cropped black hair, and a rust-red cloak pinned over battered leather armor.
Veyra Holt
You there, traveler! Leave this pass, and keep breathing, or prove whose side you are on.
Her followers shift to watch Artania, forming a loose half-circle without advancing. Behind them, firelight glints along the wagon chains and sealed diplomatic packages.
Callan Vey
Please! The Capital cannot afford another crisis. If you have any honor, do not let them carry those seals away.
✓ Quest Accepted
Secure the diplomatic packages for the Capital of Arch
“I step between the bandits and the diplomatic packages. Saying to the leader, “You have already won the battle, hurt no one else.” Or I cannot guarantee that I will not intervene.”
FAILURE (Great Willpower, rolled -2)
Artania steps between the bandits and the diplomatic packages, placing himself before the wagon chains as smoke drifts low across the pass.
Artania Nero Thornson
You have already won the battle. Hurt no one else, or I cannot guarantee that I will not intervene.
Veyra Holt
A brave warning, traveler, but you stand in the wrong place.
At her raised hand, the half-circle closes around Artania. Two bandits hook their blades beneath the wagon chains and drag the sealed packages farther from his reach.
Callan Vey
Do not provoke them! Those seals are the only thing preventing war!
Veyra Holt
No one else needs bleeding. Step aside, and the merchants keep their lives. Stay there, and you become part of the bargain.
The bandits now hold the packages between themselves and the merchant, while several bows turn toward Artania. His warning has spared no one, and retreat no longer leaves the caravan unchallenged.
“I see. I feign putting my hands up and whistle high and loud. Calling my large wolf-like companion Al to disrupt their formation. At the same time I summon my magic and cast a wave of force forward, attempting to stir up some dust for cover.”
SUCCESS (Superb Magic, rolled +0)
Artania lifts his hands as though yielding, then releases a high, piercing whistle that cuts through the smoke and echoes off the cliffs.
From beyond the burning wagons, Al, a large gray wolf-like companion with an adult male build, amber eyes, and a scarred muzzle, charges into the pass. The bandits recoil and their half-circle breaks apart.
At the same instant, magic gathers around Artania. A forceful wave rolls forward, sweeping loose grit and ash across the road in a churning veil.
Veyra Holt
Hold formation! Do not lose the packages!
The command vanishes into coughing and confusion. Al darts between startled legs, driving the nearest bandits away from the chains without striking them.
Callan Vey
The dust! Move while they cannot see!
The diplomatic packages remain sealed, but the bandits no longer form a barrier around them. Smoke, dust, and sudden motion give Artania the cover he sought.
“I rush forward grabbing the diplomatic packages. Dragging them back towards the merchant. Then in my right hand I draw my blade and in the left I use my magic to summon a shield to my arm.”
SUCCESS (Superb Magic, rolled -1)
“I rush forward grabbing the diplomatic packages. Dragging them back towards the merchant. Then in my right hand I draw my blade and in the left I use my magic to summon a shield to my arm.”
SUCCESS (Superb Magic, rolled -1)
Artania rushes through the swirling ash, seizes the sealed diplomatic packages, and drags them across the road toward the merchant as bandits stumble aside.
The lacquered chest scrapes over stone but remains intact. Artania reaches the merchants and pulls the treaty-marked bundles safely behind their wagon.
His blade flashes into his right hand. In his left, blue-white magic folds into a broad shield, its translucent rim humming against the smoke.
Veyra Holt
Take them back! Do not loose an arrow while that spell stands between us!
Al plants himself between Artania and the nearest attackers, snarling through his scarred muzzle. The bandits halt, uncertain, their formation broken.
Callan Vey
You have saved the seals! Keep that shield raised, traveler. The pass is not secure yet.
Veyra Holt
You have chosen the treaty over your own safety. Then we settle this properly.
Get past the bandits
Quest Complete
Secure the diplomatic packages for the Capital of Arch
Skill Upgrade: Magic Superb→Legendary