The tavern settles into a softer hush as the family clears the empty bowls. Fresh berry cordial replaces them, glowing ruby-red in the hearthlight while Al rests beneath the bench.
Brunna Coppervein
Ashdown taught me that a strong shield does not make a journey safe. An expedition lost three days to a whiteout, and one companion nearly vanished between two steps.
Brunna turns her cup slowly, the fire catching silver in her hair. Maelin remains quiet, and Odelia folds her hands near the bread, offering attention without interruption.
Brunna Coppervein
We found him by listening for his hammer against the ice. Since then, I trust preparation, clear signals, and companions who admit when the road has beaten them.
Brunna Coppervein
What sort of adventurer do you hope to become, Artania? Not the guild title. The person beneath it.
Maelin Voss
Let him answer in his own time. Some truths arrive only when nobody reaches for them.
Healer Odelia Marr
There is no wrong answer at this table, lad. Whatever road you choose, remember that surviving it is part of serving those who walk beside you.
“I want many things. My whole goal was to become an adventurer, but I feel like I have barely begun. I want to help people, have adventure, see new places, and have a good battle every once in a while.”
SUCCESS (Fair Diplomacy, rolled -2)
Artania Nero Thornson
I want many things. Becoming an adventurer was my whole goal, but I feel like I have barely begun. I want to help people, see new places, have adventures, and enjoy a good battle now and then.
The words leave Artania more plainly than he intended. His fingers tighten around the cordial cup, tipping it enough to spill a ruby thread across the tablecloth.
Maelin Voss
That is more than a title, lad. Helping people gives the road purpose, new places give it breadth, and a good battle reminds you to stay honest about your limits.
Brunna Coppervein
You will have battles. Earn the right to choose which ones, and remember that protecting companions matters more than looking impressive.
Healer Odelia Marr
Then you have begun already. You helped strangers on the road, protected a pasture, and brought your friends to this table. Let the rest come one journey at a time.
Maelin blots the spilled cordial with a napkin while Brunna raises her cup and Odelia smiles. Beneath the bench, Al thumps his tail against the tavern floor.
Maelin Voss
To Artania, then. May your adventures be wide, your battles worthwhile, and your compassion never become an afterthought.
✓ Quest Accepted
Build meaningful connections with guild allies
“Alright, story time from yours, truly. I take a small upturn of the corner of my mouth. I told Hessa a little bit about my childhood, I will tell you three a different part. Would you like to hear how I met Al? I understand if stories are not your thing.”
SUCCESS (Fair Diplomacy, rolled +2)
Artania Nero Thornson
All right, story time from yours truly. I told Hessa a little about my childhood, but I will tell you three a different part. Would you like to hear how I met Al? I understand if stories are not your thing.
A small upturn touches Artania’s mouth. The hearth crackles softly, and beneath the bench Al lifts his head at the sound of his name.
Maelin Voss
I would like that very much. The beginning of a partnership belongs in the ledger of a life, even if I never put it on paper.
Brunna Coppervein
Tell it, lad. I have heard enough of your courage on the road to wonder where this wolf first decided you were worth following.
Healer Odelia Marr
Of course we want to hear it. Stories shared over a warm table are never wasted, especially when they explain a friendship.
Maelin settles her cup beside the cordial, Brunna leans forward with both forearms on the table, and Odelia gives Artania her full attention.
Al
Rrrowl.
Quest Complete
Build meaningful connections with guild allies
“Alright, I focus intently on the beginning of my story. With my good hand I weave a magic projection, while narrating the tale. I was around ten years old when I first laid eyes on this here big, softy of a wolf.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Magic, rolled -1)
“I say that I was practicing hunting, and tracking in the forest. When I came across a huge bear corpse. I had not yet seen what had killed it.”
FAILURE (Fair Diplomacy, rolled -3)
“I say that I was practicing hunting, and tracking in the forest. When I came across a huge bear corpse. I had not yet seen what had killed it.”
SUCCESS (Fair Diplomacy, rolled +2)
Artania Nero Thornson
I was practicing hunting and tracking in the forest when I came across a huge bear corpse. I had not yet seen what killed it.
The tavern grows still around the hearth. Al raises his head beneath the bench, ears pricked as though the old scent has returned with the memory.
Maelin Voss
A huge bear corpse would have been difficult to miss, especially for someone learning to read a forest. What did the ground tell you first?
Brunna Coppervein
Good that you noticed what you did not know, lad. A hunter who admits the trail is incomplete lives longer than one who guesses.
Healer Odelia Marr
And you were alone when you found it? Tell us what you saw around the body before you decided whether to approach.
Berry cordial glows in the cups as the three women lean closer. Al gives a low, uneasy rumble, keeping his gaze fixed on Artania.
“Well, the first thing I noticed was that the ground was shredded, and covered in a mess of dark patches of something. I later realized it was blood. I also examined the bear. It had its throat ripped out. What could do that to something that could have easily weighed 1200 or more pounds.”
SUCCESS (Superb Reasoning, rolled +1)
Artania Nero Thornson
The ground was shredded and covered in dark patches. I later recognized them as blood. The bear’s throat had been torn open. What could kill something weighing twelve hundred pounds?
The table falls silent. Artania’s memory supplies the rest: deep parallel furrows, enormous tracks pressed into the soil, and no sign of a struggle continuing beyond the clearing.
Brunna Coppervein
Not an ordinary wolf, and not a hunting party. A creature that large killed quickly, then left without feeding. That suggests territory, defense, or something stranger.
Maelin Voss
Did the tracks show paws, claws, or something with a different shape? The absence of a feeding trail may matter more than the wound itself.
Al noses the tavern floor and gives a low rumble. In Artania’s recollection, the prints had five claw marks and a faint silver residue, as though moonlit ash had soaked into the earth.
Healer Odelia Marr
Then whatever did it may have been touched by magic. A beast defending its den leaves one pattern. A summoned or altered creature leaves another.
Brunna Coppervein
You found the important answer, lad. It was powerful, deliberate, and not feeding. If you ever see those tracks again, mark the place and withdraw before following them.
“Well, I was young and not very cautious, so I looked around some more and found wolf tracks. But they were considerably bigger than normal sized wolf tracks. The strange thing was they looked like they were brushed slightly. Almost hastily, as if someone was quickly hiding their tracks.”
SUCCESS (Great Survival, rolled -1)
Artania Nero Thornson
I was young and not very cautious, so I searched around some more and found wolf tracks. They were far larger than normal, and strangely brushed over, as if someone had hurriedly hidden them.
The memory settles over the table. In the clearing, the enormous pawprints had been softened beneath loose needles and disturbed soil, but their deep claw marks remained visible.
Artania remembers kneeling to inspect them, tracing the interrupted trail until grit worked beneath his fingernail. The small cut stings now in recollection, a concrete price for looking too closely.
Brunna Coppervein
Hastily concealed tracks mean someone wanted the trail hidden, lad. A beast does not brush away its own prints with that kind of purpose.
Maelin Voss
Did the covering begin near the bear, or did it lead away from the clearing? That distinction could tell us whether the concealment followed the killing.
Healer Odelia Marr
And that scrape beneath your nail is why caution matters. Curiosity can find the truth, but it should not have to bleed for every answer.
Brunna Coppervein
He was young, but he noticed what experienced hunters might dismiss. That eye for concealed danger may keep him alive.
✓ Quest Accepted
Share how you met Al
“I followed the tracks, wondering what in the world was going on. They were all over the clearing, and lead away into the forest. I followed them until I finally spotted where they led. A massive lake appeared before me, and there, at its edge, stood Al. The most beautiful, and powerful creature I have ever seen.”
SUCCESS (Great Survival, rolled -1)
The memory carries Artania through the clearing, following oversized wolf tracks scattered among torn needles and brushed soil. Their hidden trail leads steadily into the forest.
Branches snag his coat and a thorn cuts his forearm as he presses onward. The shallow wound leaves a bright line of blood, but the tracks remain clear.
Maelin Voss
You followed concealed tracks into unfamiliar forest despite not knowing what made them. That was dangerous, but the trail did lead somewhere.
The forest suddenly opens onto a massive lake, its dark water reflecting the sky between ancient trees. At the shore stands Al, impossibly large and radiant in the quiet light.
Al
Rrrowl.
Brunna Coppervein
So that is where you found him, lad. Not beside the bear, but waiting at the lake after leaving those tracks behind.
Healer Odelia Marr
And you were bleeding from the journey when you saw him. I understand why the sight stayed with you, but I hope you treated that cut promptly.
Quest Complete
Share how you met Al
“I was very scared at the sheer size of him, after I got over the initial awe of seeing him for the first time. I fell backwards against a tree breathing hard as he approached me.”
SUCCESS (Fair Diplomacy, rolled +1)
Awe gives way to fear as Al approaches, immense paws sinking softly into the lakeshore earth. Artania falls backward against an ancient tree, breathing hard.
Al stops several paces away. His radiant outline fills the space between the trees, but he lowers his great head and keeps his claws still.
Al
Rrrowl.
The sound rolls across the lake like distant thunder, yet carries no threat. Al turns his head aside, giving the frightened boy room to breathe.
Behind Artania, rough bark presses against his shoulders. Before him, the enormous wolf waits in the silver light, patient and watchful.
Al
Small one is afraid. I will not chase him.
Al lowers himself onto the shore instead of coming closer. The lake reflects both figures, one trembling against the tree and one waiting beneath the ancient sky.
“I gather my courage and reach into my pocket to pull out the meat and bread I saved from earlier in the day. I very slowly, approach Al, and stop beside him. I kneel down onto my knees, and offer him the food while bowing my head.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled -1)
Artania slowly reaches into his coat pocket and finds the saved provisions wrapped in a scrap of cloth, the bread slightly pressed and the meat still fragrant.
He rises carefully, carrying the food in both hands, and approaches Al at a measured pace. The great wolf watches without moving away.
Artania stops beside him, then lowers himself onto his knees in the lakeshore earth. He extends the meat and bread, bowing his head.
Al
Small one comes without weapon or challenge. He offers what he has.
Al leans forward and sniffs the offering. His breath stirs Artania’s hair, but the enormous wolf takes the food gently, careful not to brush him with his teeth.
Al
I accept, small one. You may remain beside me.
Al settles back onto the shore and eats slowly. The lake reflects them together now, the boy kneeling close and the radiant wolf guarding the quiet water.
“After that we became fast friends. He has always understood my speech, and he is both quick to action, but also incredibly gentle. Plus he is massive, like a dire wolf or something. I could almost swear he is a magical creature but I have zero proof of that.”
SUCCESS (Fair Diplomacy, rolled -1)
Artania Nero Thornson
After that, Al and I became fast friends. He has always understood my speech, and he is quick to act, but incredibly gentle.
Artania Nero Thornson
He is massive, like a dire wolf or something. I could almost swear he is a magical creature, but I have no proof.
As Artania describes the bond, his hand shifts against the cordial cup. It tips, spilling a red crescent across the tablecloth and darkening the edge of Maelin’s ledger.
Maelin Voss
Understanding speech without formal training is remarkable. I will keep that detail in mind, though I will also keep the cordial away from my records.
Brunna Coppervein
Speed and gentleness together are worth more than size, lad. A creature that can choose restraint is safer than one that merely looks harmless.
Healer Odelia Marr
Whether Al is magical or simply extraordinary, he has shown you care and judgment. Those are qualities I trust more than a label.
Al
Small one speaks true. I heard him before I knew his words, and I chose to stay.
“Well that is my story for the table. I finish up the telling of it. And ask if everyone got their fill.”
SUCCESS (Fair Diplomacy, rolled +2)
Artania Nero Thornson
Well, that is my story for the table. Did everyone get their fill?
The last warmth of the tale settles between them. Al shifts beneath the bench, and the tavern’s hearth pops softly as empty bowls wait for collection.
Maelin Voss
Of the story, certainly. Of the stew, I could manage another serving, though I suspect Brunna has claimed the best of the bread.
Brunna Coppervein
A good story fills a different hunger, lad. The food has done its work, but I would not refuse a second piece of bread.
Healer Odelia Marr
I am satisfied, Artania. Your story explains much about the trust between you and Al, and I am glad you both found one another.
Al nudges his broad muzzle against Artania’s boot, then gives a contented rumble. The tavern keeper, a middle-aged woman with a sturdy build, warm brown skin, dark hair braided back, and a russet apron over a cream blouse gathers the bowls while berry cordial remains bright in their cups.
Al
My stomach is full, small one. My ears would welcome another story, if the table has one.
“How about you Brunna? Got any good stories?”
SUCCESS (Fair Diplomacy, rolled +0)
Artania Nero Thornson
How about you, Brunna? Got any good stories?
Brunna pauses with the bread in hand. Firelight catches the old pale line across her knuckles as she studies the question, then settles back into her chair.
Brunna Coppervein
I have one about a bridge that vanished in an Ashdown storm. Not collapsed, mind you. Vanished beneath snow while six of us were standing on it.
Maelin draws her ledger closer but leaves it closed. Odelia tops off Brunna’s cordial, while Al lifts his head beneath the bench, listening to the change in her voice.
Brunna Coppervein
The wind erased every landmark. We tied ourselves together with climbing rope, hammered iron spikes into the planks, and moved by touch. Halfway across, we heard singing below the ice.
Brunna Coppervein
It was not a ghost. It was a trapped miner, alive in a pocket beneath the bridge. We followed the sound, opened a shaft, and carried him out wrapped in my cloak.
Brunna’s stern expression softens as she turns the cup between both hands. The tavern’s warmth gathers around the table, and even the nearby keeper listens while pretending to arrange plates.
“Wow, did you all make it safely home after that? Did anything else vanish without a trace?”
SUCCESS (Fair Diplomacy, rolled +0)
Artania Nero Thornson
Wow, did you all make it safely home after that? Did anything else vanish without a trace?
Brunna Coppervein
We made it home, though not together. The storm scattered us along the mountain road, and we regrouped at an old watch hut by dawn.
Brunna sets the bread down and rubs the pale line across her knuckles. Outside, wind brushes the tavern shutters, turning the hearthlight briefly blue.
Brunna Coppervein
And yes, something else vanished. Three packs disappeared from the bridge while we were below rescuing the miner. No tracks, no torn straps, not even a buckle left behind.
Maelin Voss
That sounds less like weather and more like deliberate removal. Did the missing packs contain anything unusual?
Brunna Coppervein
Rations, rope, spare tools, and one sealed Ashdown map case. The packs returned two days later outside the watch hut, perfectly dry, though every map inside showed a mountain that none of us recognized.
Healer Odelia Marr
You carried the miner home, lost supplies, and still had to guide everyone through the storm. No wonder those knuckles remember it.
“Thank you for sharing Brunna. How about you Maelin? Got a good story?”
SUCCESS (Fair Diplomacy, rolled +1)
Artania Nero Thornson
Thank you for sharing, Brunna. How about you, Maelin? Do you have a good story?
Maelin glances toward the closed ledger, then smiles and sets her cordial aside. The tavern’s warmth settles around her as the table gives her its attention.
Maelin Voss
I do, though mine involves fewer storms and more stubborn ink. When I was an apprentice, a merchant brought us a map that changed every time someone looked away.
She draws one finger across the tabletop, tracing an invisible coastline. Brunna leans closer, while Odelia rests her chin lightly on one hand.
Maelin Voss
The map showed roads that had vanished, rivers flowing uphill, and a little red mark that moved toward whoever held it. Three senior clerks declared it forged. I was the only one who noticed the map was not lying.
Maelin Voss
It was remembering possibilities. We carried it to the archive’s oldest cabinet, where it settled into a blank chart and revealed a safe route for a lost caravan. Afterward, I learned that records are not merely about what happened. Sometimes they preserve what may still happen.
“Wow, a great lesson. Just goes to show you can’t judge a map by its…compass? I add my joke to the statement.”
SUCCESS (Fair Diplomacy, rolled +0)
Artania Nero Thornson
A great lesson. It just goes to show you cannot judge a map by its... compass?
The joke lands with a fragile pause. Artania’s elbow nudges his cordial, spilling a ruby crescent across the table and onto the corner of Maelin’s closed ledger.
Maelin Voss
That is appalling, lad. I approve completely. A compass may point north, but a map can still remember somewhere else.
Brunna Coppervein
A groaner, but a useful one. If the map points toward trouble, judge the road before trusting the direction.
Healer Odelia Marr
And judge the distance to your cup before making another grand gesture. Hold still, Maelin, I have a clean cloth.
Odelia blots the cordial before it reaches the pages. Beneath the closed cover, something scratches softly, as though a quill has begun writing by itself.
Maelin Voss
Well now. It seems my story disliked being interrupted, or perhaps it has found another possibility to preserve.
“Sorry, please continue.”
SUCCESS (Fair Diplomacy, rolled +1)
Artania Nero Thornson
Sorry, Maelin. Please continue your story.
Artania steadies his cup and gives the closed ledger room on the table. Odelia finishes blotting the cordial while the scratching beneath the cover grows quieter.
Maelin Voss
Gladly, lad. The blank chart accepted the changing map, but its new route led somewhere no roadwarden recognized.
Maelin opens the ledger. Fresh ink curls across the page, forming a tiny coastline beside an unfamiliar mountain mark before slowly fading.
Maelin Voss
The caravan followed that route and found an abandoned waystation hidden between two valleys. Its well still held clean water, and its walls bore the same mark.
Brunna Coppervein
Did the caravan use the waystation, or did your clever map send them into another mystery?
Maelin Voss
Both, I fear. They found shelter there, and the map changed again, drawing a road toward a sealed mountain pass.
“I sit, listening with rapt attention. With my right hand I reach down and scratch Al on the back.”
Artania settles back into his chair, listening intently. His right hand reaches beneath the table and scratches Al gently along the broad fur of his back.
Al
That is pleasant, small one. I am listening too.
Al’s tail gives a slow thump against the tavern floor. Above him, the ledger’s fresh ink gathers into a narrow road winding around the unfamiliar mountain.
Maelin Voss
The sealed pass was not marked on any current chart. The caravan master wanted to turn back, but the waystation’s keeper appeared before dawn and offered a warning.
Brunna Coppervein
Let me guess. The warning was ignored, and the pass proved less empty than the map suggested.
Maelin Voss
Precisely. The keeper said the mountain opened only for those carrying a remembered road, and the map had begun drawing one beneath their feet.
“Where did they go? Did they follow the new road? Or stop and retreat back?”
FAILURE (Fair Diplomacy, rolled -4)
“Where did they go? Did they follow the new road? Or stop and retreat back?”
SUCCESS (Fair Diplomacy, rolled -1)
Artania Nero Thornson
Where did they go? Did they follow the new road, or stop and retreat back?
Maelin Voss
They followed it. The road appeared beneath their feet and led into the sealed pass, so retreat would have meant abandoning the only safe route home.
Maelin turns the ledger toward the hearth. The fresh ink-road descends between two black peaks, then ends at a small door marked with the same remembered-road sigil.
Maelin Voss
The pass opened for them, but only after the caravan master placed the map in the stone gate. The waystation keeper warned that the road would remember every traveler.
Brunna Coppervein
And what did it remember? Their names, their footsteps, or the things they carried?
Maelin Voss
Their footsteps. When they emerged beyond the pass, one pack was missing, and the map had lost the road behind them. The caravan reached safety, but the map never returned to blank.
The ledger’s ink suddenly spreads, staining one corner of the page and smudging Maelin’s sleeve. Beneath the table, Al gives a low warning rumble as the mountain mark brightens.
“I check the brass mark now wrapped up in the beat up ward cloth. Just to see if it’s reacting. With my other hand I gather magic, trying something new again. I touch myself, focusing my thoughts in my head, then gently, with thoughts alone, I see if I can talk to Al with my mind via magic.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Magic, rolled +0)
Artania draws the beat-up ward-cloth from beneath his coat and checks the wrapped Brass Farm Token. The cloth is warm, and its hidden mark pulses in time with the ledger’s mountain sigil.
With his other hand, he gathers blue-white magic and touches two fingers lightly to his temple. He turns the spell inward, shaping it as a quiet bridge toward Al.
Al
Small one? I hear the shape of your thought. Your voice is inside my mind.
The connection settles without pain. Through it, Artania senses Al beneath the table, alert and calm, while the token’s pulse becomes clearer against the ward-cloth.
Al
The mountain mark is answering the wrapped thing. It feels like the road beneath the earth, but farther away.
Maelin Voss
The ink is moving again. Artania, whatever you are doing, the ledger has drawn a second path beside the mountain door.
Brunna Coppervein
Keep the magic gentle, lad. If that token is listening, let us learn what it says before anyone follows its invitation.
“This story has become very exciting, I exclaim. I steady and reinforce my magic while making sure the others can hear us talk as well. Didn’t know I could talk silently through thoughts. I guess the dark elf of my memories was right. I have a special gift with which I can do nearly anything. Also Al? You have always called me small one?”
SUCCESS (Legendary Magic, rolled -1)
Artania Nero Thornson
This story has become very exciting! I can steady and reinforce the connection while we speak aloud, so everyone can hear us. I never knew I could talk silently through thoughts. The dark elf from my memories was right: I have a special gift that can do nearly anything. Also, Al, you have always called me small one. Why?
Artania steadies the blue-white bridge and broadens it gently. His spoken words cross the table normally, while the private channel carries his question to Al without confusion.
Al
I hear both voices, small one. The others hear your mouth, and I hear the thought beneath it. The bridge is strong and gentle.
Al
I called you small one because you were small when you came to the lake, carrying bread in both hands and courage hidden behind fear. The name stayed because you did.
The ledger’s moving ink settles into two clear lines, one following the mountain sigil and another curling toward the memory of a tree. Maelin, Brunna, and Odelia exchange astonished looks.
Maelin Voss
Then the gift is not merely hearing thoughts, Artania. It is shared understanding, carefully held. Please continue gently, and let us see what the ledger remembers.
Brunna Coppervein
And keep your feet beneath you while discovering miracles, lad. Still, I admit, that is an impressive answer to a question nobody expected Al to speak aloud.
“I ask Maelin to trace the eastern route”
SUCCESS (Fair Diplomacy, rolled +2)
“I ask Maelin to trace the eastern route”
SUCCESS (Fair Diplomacy, rolled +1)
Artania Nero Thornson
Maelin, could you trace the eastern route for us? I want to understand where it leads.
Maelin turns the ledger toward the hearth and uncaps her ink bottle. She follows the second line with a fine quill, guiding it east from the memory of the tree.
Maelin Voss
Gladly. I will trace only what the ledger shows, without forcing the path beyond its own marks.
The ink responds beneath her quill, extending across the page in a clean eastern curve. It passes the irrigation ring, crosses the wooded rise, and joins the buried mountain conduit.
Maelin Voss
There. The eastern route connects Hessa’s pasture to the sealed mountain passage, then continues toward a vaulted chamber beyond the old gate.
Al
The road feels familiar, small one. It carries the same deep pulse as the thing beneath your cloth.
Brunna Coppervein
A useful trace, lad. Now we know the route is one continuous way, not scattered marks pretending to belong together.
“Well I expected a fun time with my friends but this damn mark is incredibly insistent. Maelin, Odelia, Brunna, I think it is time Al and I get our rest and head out in the morning to check out that chamber to the east. At least we now know multiple ways to get to it, thanks to Maelins map.”
SUCCESS (Fair Diplomacy, rolled +0)
Artania Nero Thornson
I expected a fun time with my friends, but this damn mark is incredibly insistent. Maelin, Odelia, Brunna, it is time Al and I rest and leave in the morning for the eastern chamber. Thanks to Maelin’s map, we know several ways there.
Maelin Voss
Then I will mark the eastern route as your intended departure and give you a copy of the traced path. The ledger keeps tugging toward that chamber.
Brunna Coppervein
Rest first, investigate second, lad. Take food, water, rope, and a clear signal for trouble. A route is safer when companions know where it leads.
Healer Odelia Marr
I will check your hand before you sleep and replace the binding in the morning. The mark may be insistent, but your body still requires patience.
They settle the bill and return to the guild lodging. Odelia rebinds Artania’s palm, while Maelin leaves the copied map beside his bed; the cost is one silver crown for supplies.
At dawn, Artania and Al follow the eastern route beneath the wooded rise. The tethered Brass Farm Token pulls steadily ahead, and the old passage carries them into the vaulted chamber beyond the mountain gate.
Al
We are here, small one. The deep pulse fills this chamber, and the road remembers our arrival.
Quest Complete
Reach the eastern vaulted chamber
Attribute Upgrade: Reasoning Superb→Legendary
+ New Item Acquired
Copied Eastern Route Map