Bruck Luckas reaches the plague-stricken village as dusk settles over its muddy yard. Villagers cluster around a thin stew, their bowls mostly broth and wilted roots, while shuttered houses stand silent behind them.
An outlaw archer, a lean middle-aged woman in a patched brown cloak, stands beneath the bare ash tree. Her weathered face is half-hidden by gray-streaked hair, and a short bow hangs ready in her hand.
The Outlaw Archer
You have taken the seed grain, the carts, and now the last pot. Leave what keeps these people alive.
Opposite her, a broad young adult man in a dark wool tunic draws a notched sword. A swollen red scar crosses his left eyebrow, and a ring of keys clacks at his belt.
The Village Reeve
The harvest failed under my charge. Their labor and stores are mine to ration, and no outlaw will dispute it.
The villagers recoil from the drawn steel, then turn toward Bruck. The reeve shifts his stance, while the archer watches him in guarded silence, leaving a narrow opening between them.
✓ Quest Accepted
Secure the village's remaining food
“I order the reeve to surrender the village's remaining food.”
SUCCESS (Great Willpower, rolled -1)
Bruck Luckas
Reeve, surrender the village’s remaining food. Open the stores and give it to the people.
Bruck’s command cuts through the muddy yard. The village reeve studies his scarred face, then lowers the notched sword and pulls the keys from his belt.
The Village Reeve
Open the granary. Release the sacks, the root cellar stores, and every cart of grain still under my seal.
A tremor of relief passes through the villagers. The village reeve unlocks the storehouse himself, surrendering the remaining food into their waiting hands.
The Outlaw Archer
That is better than burial under a magistrate’s tally. Keep watch while they divide it, Bruck.
The order has cost Bruck his anonymity. The village reeve points toward him before the gathered villagers, naming him as the man who forced the stores open.
The Village Reeve
Remember his face. When the lord’s men arrive, they will know whose command emptied this village.
Quest Complete
Secure the village's remaining food
“I said towards the Reeve, "They shall remember me for the one to give them another day of life. But know this, I will let the lord's men question me instead of the people. As I will take action for the people and their consequences towards myself." As I wanted to give the village people reassurance as well as the Reeve.”
SUCCESS (Great Willpower, rolled -2)
Bruck Luckas
They shall remember me as the one who gave them another day of life. Let the lord’s men question me, not these people. I accept the consequences.
The words carry across the muddy yard. Bruck’s promise wins the villagers’ trust, but it also fixes his name in every frightened memory, leaving him no anonymity when the lord’s men come.
The Village Reeve
You speak boldly for a man who has made my seal worthless. If you stand before the lord, say plainly that you forced my hand.
The Outlaw Archer
He has said more than enough. Keep dividing the stores, and do it openly. No sack leaves this yard for a private cart.
The villagers, a mixed group of weary adults in mud-stained wool and patched work clothes, begin measuring grain beneath the archer’s watch. An old woman presses both hands around a warm root, while children carry smaller baskets between the adults.
The Village Reeve
Bruck Luckas, then. Will you remain here when the lord’s riders arrive, or will you vanish before dawn and leave us your courage as a tale?
The Outlaw Archer
Do not answer him lightly. The road west has a ruined mill and one defensible night’s shelter, if you mean to face those riders elsewhere.
✓ Quest Accepted
Face the lord's men
“This is what I said to the Outlaw Archer and the Village Reeve, "Fear not, as I will stay within the village. As I am a man to my word, as I take actions of my words, as they are not simply courage but truth within my words."”
SUCCESS (Great Willpower, rolled -2)
Bruck Luckas
Fear not. I will remain within the village. I am a man of my word, and my actions shall prove that these are truths, not merely courage spoken aloud.
Bruck’s declaration carries across the yard, loud enough for every villager to hear. His raised voice draws wary attention from the road, costing him the quiet shelter of anonymity.
The Outlaw Archer
Then you have chosen the harder road, Bruck. Stand where all can see you, and I will stand beside the people you defended.
The Village Reeve
Your word is now weighed against mine before the whole village. I will tell the lord’s men that you commanded me, and that you stayed to answer for it.
The reeve’s admission settles over the gathered villagers. Several straighten from their work, watching Bruck with gratitude, while others glance uneasily toward the eastern road.
The Outlaw Archer
Keep the stores divided. Reeve, bring out the tally boards. If riders come, they will find no hidden cart and no frightened silence here.
The Village Reeve
Very well. Bruck Luckas remains, and the food goes to the village. But when the bells or hoofbeats sound, you will answer first.
“Are the lord's men already approaching?”
NO (Even, rolled 76)
The eastern road remains empty beneath the fading light. No hoofbeats trouble the mud, and no lordly colors appear beyond the bare hedges.
The Outlaw Archer
No riders yet. We have a little time, though not enough to mistake delay for safety.
The reeve looks toward the silent road, then bends over the tally boards. Around him, villagers continue weighing roots and grain beneath the open storehouse door.
The Village Reeve
The eastern watch has seen nothing. I will mark every sack before darkness hides the measures.
The Outlaw Archer
Good. Let the record show what was released and to whom. A clean tally may speak louder than your seal when the riders finally come.
A watchman, a young adult man with a wiry build, a weathered face, and a dark wool cap and coat, appears briefly on a rooftop, raises an empty hand toward the road, and settles back behind the chimney. The village exhales, but no one abandons the work.
The Village Reeve
The road is clear for now, Bruck Luckas. That only leaves us to decide who keeps watch until the bells or riders announce themselves.
“I spoke towards Reeve, "It will be me, of course. I will wait...These are my words and actions that made this decision. So, I shall wait." As I gaze at the road and waited for the lord's men arrival.”
SUCCESS (Good Perception, rolled +1)
Bruck Luckas
It will be me, of course. I will wait. These are my words and actions that made this decision, so I shall wait.
Bruck turns toward the eastern road and takes his place beside the muddy track. The fading light cools his scarred face as he watches the bare hedges.
The Village Reeve
Then I will record that plainly. Bruck Luckas keeps watch by his own choice, while the village stores remain divided openly.
The village reeve scratches the statement onto the tally board. Behind him, villagers finish measuring roots and grain, their movements quieter now but no longer frantic.
The Outlaw Archer
Stand where the road can see you, but do not mistake courage for carelessness. If riders come, let them speak before steel answers.
Bruck waits beneath the bare ash tree. Darkness gathers over the fields, and at last a distant rhythm reaches him through the damp air: several horses approaching.
The Village Reeve
They are coming. Keep your word now, Bruck Luckas, and let the first answer be heard by every witness in this yard.
“I step forward and address the approaching riders”
SUCCESS (Great Willpower, rolled -1)
Bruck steps from beneath the ash tree into the road, facing the approaching riders as their horses emerge through the dusk and muddy mist.
Bruck Luckas
Riders, state your business here.
Three mounted men rein in before the village. The lead rider, his weathered face framed by close-cropped black hair and ruddy skin, is a broad, middle-aged man in a rain-darkened blue surcoat, with a narrow scar beneath one eye and a sealed leather case at his belt.
The Lead Rider
We come under the lord’s authority. Which man commands this village, and why are the storehouse doors standing open?
Behind Bruck, the village reeve stiffens beside the tally board. The outlaw archer remains under the ash tree, bow lowered but ready, while villagers fall silent.
The Village Reeve
I am the reeve. The stores were released openly after the harvest failed, and the tally records every sack.
The Lead Rider
Then bring me that tally, reeve. And you, scarred man, remain where you are. I would hear why your command overruled the lord’s seal.
Keep the released food from being seized by the lord's men
Quest Complete
Face the lord's men
Attribute Upgrade: Willpower Great→Superb