The irrigation silos are a death trap as the herd swells, spilling over the perimeter fence like black bile. Seth drags Blake through the tall, dead grass toward their panicked horses, the air thick with the rot of the dead. They barely reach the mounts as a walker lunges from the shadows, fingers snapping inches from Blake's throat.
Seth
Kicks the walker back with his boot, his steel prosthetic blade flashing in the moonlight. Move, Blake, don't look back!
Seth
If we don't clear the ridge now, we're going to be torn apart before we reach the main road.
Seth hacks into the mass of gray flesh, his prosthetic blade carving a path while the horse whinnies in terror. He vaults into the saddle, grabbing Blake’s bridle to pull him away from the reaching arms of the horde. They kick their horses into a gallop, disappearing into the indigo twilight as the silos vanish behind a screen of dust and distance.
Hours later, the adrenaline fades as they crest a hill overlooking The Kingdom. The walls stand silent and foreboding under the moonlight, but the gate guard spots them, waving a torch to signal entry.
“They make it to the kingdom and Seth goes to check on Morgan in the infirmary but sees that Morgan is no longer there and he asked the nurse and she said I'm sorry and explains that he couldn't make it because he had brain cancer and he took a nasty hit to the skull he is buried in the kingdoms graveyard”
SUCCESS (Superb Perception, rolled -2)
Seth strides through the heavy wooden gates, his boots crunching on the packed earth of The Kingdom. He bypasses the main hall, his mind set on finding Morgan. The air inside the infirmary smells of stale linen and antiseptic, a stark contrast to the rot outside.
Seth
Where is he? I was told Morgan was brought here after the gate breach.
I am sorry. He did not make it through the night. The blow to his skull was too severe, and the tests confirmed the malignancy. He is at rest now.
Seth
I promised to keep him safe. I promised there was a future for us here.
Seth walks to the quiet graveyard behind the walls. He finds the fresh patch of turned earth marked by a simple wooden cross. He stands motionless, the weight of his failures pressing down harder than the blade on his prosthetic arm.
+ Scene Quest Added
Pay final respects to Morgan and depart The Kingdom
“As a bunch of friends of Seth and Morgan come and pay there respects and have a proper funeral with speeches for the now forever resting Morgan”
SUCCESS (Superb Diplomacy, rolled -2)
Friends and survivors gather in a silent semi-circle. Seth steps forward, his boots pressing soft indentations into the moist, turned earth. The wind whips his beanie as he clears his throat, his voice steadying the weeping group.
Seth
Morgan knew that to survive, we had to be more than just shadows running from the dead. He taught us that a community isn't just walls. It is the people standing behind them.
As Seth finishes, he kneels, pressing his metallic palm into the dirt beside the cross. A ripple of quiet relief washes over the mourners, the tension of the trek finally breaking into a shared, heavy resolve.
Seth
I am the leader they need now. No more losing people to the chaos.
The grey sky begins to weep a light mist, blurring the edges of the horizon as the group bows their heads.
Quest Complete
Pay final respects to Morgan and depart The Kingdom