A three-note horn echoes from above the road, thin and deliberate through the smoke. Veyra Holt and her followers have withdrawn toward the lower pass, leaving Artania, Al, the merchant, and the sealed cargo behind.
A wounded young man emerges from a narrow cleft in the rock. Seren Vale, a lean young man with sun-browned skin, wind-tossed brown hair, and a narrow scar along his jaw wears a torn courier’s cloak, one sleeve dark with blood, and grips a broken royal badge in his shaking hand.
Seren Vale
Merchant! Callan, answer me! The ambush was only the first move. They are coming for the sealed gifts next.
The merchant goes rigid behind the blue-white barrier. His face drains of color, and his hand closes around the nearest ledger as though its pages might shield him.
Callan Vey
Seren Vale... you were not supposed to survive the ravine. Do not come closer. Tell me who sent you.
Seren Vale
The same hands that forged my replacement. I escaped when their killers turned on one another, but the true courier is still trapped below.
Callan Vey
If Seren speaks before the traveler, the bargain is finished, and every kingdom will learn what I carried.
✓ Quest Accepted
Rescue the true courier
“I turn towards the merchant and ask, “Who are you, really”? Simultaneously turning my magic shield into a second blade, keeping them loose at my side, but making it clear that I will broker no lies.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Magic, rolled +1)
Artania turns toward the merchant. The blue-white shield contracts along his arm, hardening into a second luminous blade that hangs loose beside the first, its edge humming without striking.
Artania Nero Thornson
Who are you, really?
The merchant’s gaze drops to the twin blades, then returns to Artania. Behind the barrier, Seren braces against the rock, watching him with exhausted suspicion.
Callan Vey
My name is Callan Vey. I am no simple merchant. I serve the royal family as a discreet envoy, carrying gifts meant to bind four kingdoms against a threat within Arch.
Callan Vey
The ledgers are genuine, but the missing page named my true mission. I removed it because someone in the Capital has already betrayed the crown.
Seren Vale
He speaks half-truths. Callan was ordered to deliver the gifts, yes, but he was also told to identify which kingdom would answer the coming summons.
Callan Vey
And you would have me announce every secret before we reach safety? Keep your blades ready, traveler. I will broker no more lies, but neither will I hand our enemies a kingdom’s throat.
“I ask Seren where the true courier is trapped. Al come here my friend. When he gets close I throw him a treat and pet him fondly. I lean down and whisper to my good friend to watch them closely.”
SUCCESS (Good Reasoning, rolled +1)
Artania Nero Thornson
Seren, where is the true courier trapped?
Seren points toward the narrow cleft, his shaking hand lowering toward a ravine hidden beyond the broken ledge. His breath catches as he answers.
Seren Vale
Below the eastern shelf, beneath the split cedar. There is a rope ladder concealed under the stones. He is alive, but bound in the old watch tunnel.
Artania calls Al from the barrier’s edge. The large gray wolf-like companion crosses the ash at once, amber eyes fixed on his master while smoke curls around his scarred muzzle.
Artania tosses Al a treat, then kneels to pet him fondly along the neck and shoulder. The wolf accepts it and leans briefly into his hand.
Artania Nero Thornson
Watch them closely, my good friend.
Al turns toward Callan and Seren, lowering his head as he settles between them and the sealed gifts. His quiet growl makes both men keep their hands visible.
✓ Quest Accepted
Have Callan Vey cooperate with Artania’s investigation
“I warn Callan that if he tries to run my good friend Al will make him regret it. I retract my magic blade and the wall of force. The strain beginning to get to me. I shake my hands out to get some feeling in them.”
SUCCESS (Great Willpower, rolled +1)
Artania Nero Thornson
Callan, if you try to run, my good friend Al will make you regret it.
The warning hangs over the ash. Callan Vey freezes behind Al’s watchful stance, while Seren keeps one shoulder braced against the rock and studies the envoy’s face.
Artania retracts the luminous blade. Its blue-white edge folds inward and vanishes, followed by the curved wall of force dissolving into faint sparks around the sealed gifts.
With the barriers gone, the mountain air reaches him fully. Strain trembles through his arms, and he shakes both hands sharply until feeling begins returning to his numb fingers.
Callan Vey
I heard you, traveler. I will not run. Not while the gifts, the true courier, and my mission remain in danger.
Seren Vale
Then we waste no more time. The watch tunnel lies below that shelf, and whoever bound the courier may still be searching the ravine.
Callan Vey
Al may guard me, but he cannot guard every secret. Take us to the tunnel, and I will tell you what the missing page concealed.
Quest Complete
Have Callan Vey cooperate with Artania’s investigation