Rosby Keep smelled of damp stone, rotting rushes, and the cloying sweetness of decay. Arion followed Ser Tallad through the gatehouse, his boots sinking into mud churned by cartwheels and hooves. The courtyard teemed with hollow-eyed peasants, underfed guards in patched tabards, and a dozen mangy hounds snapping at fleas. High above, on the battlements, the banner of House Rosby hung limp—a gaunt, coughing man on a field of grey-green. Apt, Arion thought.
LOCATION DISCOVERED: ROSBY KEEP (Crownlands Stronghold)
FACTION: HOUSE ROSBY (Loyalist - Lannister Affiliated)
REPUTATION: NEUTRAL (0/100)
Ser Tallad didn't slow. "Lord Gyles sees no one after dusk. You'll bunk in the squire's loft. Dawn, you report to Maester Grover for wound-tending. Then the armory." He paused, his sunken eyes boring into Arion. "Speak of Brownhollow to no one. Rosby has enemies enough without drawing the Mountain's eye."
*WIS Check (7/10): Success*
Ser Tallad hides fear beneath pragmatism. Rosby is weak. Vulnerable.
Arion nodded, clutching the burned Valyrian pendant beneath his tunic. The System flickered:
QUEST UPDATED: THE ROSBY REDEMPTION
Objective: Report to Lord Gyles Rosby. (Reward: 50 XP, Title: "Blooded")
The squire's loft was a drafty garret above the stables, strewn with moldy straw and the sour reek of unwashed boys. Three other squires eyed Arion—two gangly youths with Rosby's sallow complexion, and a hulking brute with a broken nose.
"Brownhollow whelp," sneered the brute, kicking a bucket of greasy water toward Arion's pallet. "Heard your lord father pissed himself when the Mountain came."
THREAT DETECTED: "BOROS" (Squire - Level 2)
PERK: Bully (+10% Intimidation vs. Lower Levels)
Option 1: Ignore (CHA Check: Avoid Conflict)
Option 2: Retaliate (STR Check: Risk Injury)
Option 3: Provoke (INT Check: Turn Allies Against Him)
Arion met Boros' glare. "And I heard Lord Gyles coughs so hard, he shits his smallclothes. Do you lick those clean too?"
The loft fell silent. Boros flushed crimson. The younger Rosby boys stifled snickers.
*CHA Check (6/10): Roll 7 → Failure*
*Boros enraged. Hostility +30%.*
"You little—!" Boros lunged, meaty hands grabbing for Arion's throat. Arion ducked, driving a knee into the squire's thigh—right over the femoral nerve cluster.
SKILL ACTIVATED: DIRTY FIGHTING (Lvl 1)
Exploited Weakness: Nerve Strike → 75% Chance of Stun
Boros gasped, leg buckling. Arion jammed a thumb into the pressure point behind his ear.
CRITICAL STUN!
XP GAINED: 15
The squire crashed face-first into the straw, groaning. Arion stood over him, voice cold. "Touch me again, and I'll shove that bucket where the sun doesn't shine."
Reputation Change:
HOUSE ROSBY SQUIRES: RESPECT +10 (10/100)
BOROS: HATRED +50 (50/100)
Dawn came grey and drizzly. Maester Grover, a bent man reeking of pennyroyal and despair, peeled the bandage from Arion's burned calf. "Festering. Needs maggots."
*CON Check (5/10): Roll 3 → Failure*
*Pain: -5% DEX for 4 hours.*
Arion bit back a scream as the maester packed the wound with writhing larvae. "Lord Gyles?" he ground out.
"Abed. Coughing blood again." Grover's voice dropped. "Littlefinger's men are in the yard. Again. Here to 'renegotiate' the loan terms."
QUEST UPDATED: THE ROSBY REDEMPTION
Secondary Objective: Eavesdrop on Lord Gyles' meeting.
*Reward: +20 XP, Intel: "Littlefinger's Web"*
The Great Hall of Rosby Keep was a tomb. Tapestries hung moth-eaten, depicting forgotten Rosby glories. At the high table sat Lord Gyles—a skeletal figure drowning in ermine robes, his face the color of spoiled milk. A fit of wet, rattling coughs shook him, speckling the table with blood.
Two men stood before him. One wore a guardsman's boiled leather, sharp-eyed and silent. The other was plump and smiling, clad in dove-grey velvet.
CHARACTER IDENTIFIED: "LOTHOR BRUNE" (Sellsword - Level 4)
AFFILIATION: HOUSE BAELISH
PERK: Quiet as Shadow (+25% Stealth)
CHARACTER IDENTIFIED: "MASTER FERRY" (Factor - Level 2)
AFFILIATION: HOUSE BAELISH
PERK: Silvered Tongue (+30% Persuasion)
Ferry spread plump hands. "My lord, the Iron Throne's debt stands at thirty thousand gold dragons. Lord Baelish offers… leniency. A mere Rosby Town as collateral."
Lord Gyles wheezed, slamming a bony fist. "That town feeds… cough… my people!"
"People starve everywhere, my lord," Ferry sighed. "Or… perhaps a trade? Your nephew's wardship. Sweetrobin needs a companion."
*INT Check (10/10): Success*
Blackmail. Ferry threatens to reveal Lord Gyles' secret: His nephew is actually his bastard son.
Arion slipped behind a pillar, pressing against cold stone. The System pulsed:
STEALTH MODE ACTIVATED (DEX 6/10)
*Visibility Meter: 45% (Shadows + Pillar Cover)*
Lothor Brune's head snapped toward Arion's hiding place. Perception Check (High). Arion froze, holding his breath.
Ferry continued, oblivious. "Think on it, my lord. We return at moon's end."
As they strode out, Brune paused, his hand resting on his dagger hilt. His eyes scanned the shadows. Arion's Threat Assessment flared red:
DANGER: 85% Chance of Detection → Combat Imminent
Then, Lord Gyles erupted in another coughing fit, spraying blood across the table. Brune turned away in disgust, following Ferry.
QUEST COMPLETE: SECONDARY OBJECTIVE
REWARD: 20 XP | INTEL GAINED: "LITTLEFINGER'S WEB - TIER 1"
Lord Gyles Rosby is bankrupt. Littlefinger owns his debts. Leverage: Illegitimate heir.
Ser Tallad found Arion in the armory, sharpening a pitted shortsword. "Poachers in the Kingswood. Slaughtering my lord's deer. You're hunting."
"Alone?"
"With me. And Boros." Ser Tallad tossed him a rust-speckled gambeson. "Prove you're more than a butcher of bandits."
NEW QUEST: KINGSWOOD JUSTICE
*Objective: Hunt down and capture/kill the Kingswood Poachers (0/3).*
*Reward: 100 XP, +25 Rosby Reputation, Unlock: Tracking Skill Tree.*
*Failure: Ser Tallad's Disfavor (-50 Reputation).*
The Kingswood swallowed them whole—ancient oaks draped in strangler fig, thickets of blackberry bramble, and the constant drone of insects. Ser Tallad led, his longsword resting on his shoulder. Boros trailed behind, glowering at Arion, a wood-axe clutched in his meaty fists.
SKILL UNLOCKED: TRACKING (Lvl 1 - Passive)
Basic Pathfinding:
Broken branches glow faintly gold.
Footprints shimmer blue (Freshness indicated by hue).
Bloodstains pulse red.
Arion's vision shifted. Ahead, a snapped sapling gleamed. "Here. They turned east."
Ser Tallad grunted approval. Boros spat.
They followed the trail—a boot print in soft loam, a shred of rough cloth on a thorn. The signs led to a clearing where three skinned deer carcasses hung from an oak, buzzing with flies.
*Perception Check (WIS 7/10): Success*
Trap Detected: Pit covered by leaves (Left of carcasses).
"Ambush," Arion hissed, drawing his sword.
Boros snorted. "Rabbit droppings—" He took two steps forward.
The ground gave way.
Boros screamed as he vanished into a spike-lined pit. A gurgle. Then silence.
DEX Check (Dodge Trap): Roll 8 → Failure (Not Triggered)
*Boros Health: 0/40 → DEAD*
Three men erupted from the undergrowth—lean, hard-eyed, armed with skinning knives and cudgels.
POACHER (Level 2) x 3
PERK: Woods Savvy (+15% Stealth in Forest)
Ser Tallad moved like smoke. His longsword flashed, shearing through a poacher's wrist. "Arion! Left!"
Arion faced the second poacher—a scarred man with yellow teeth. The man lunged, knife aimed at Arion's belly.
Combat Mode Engaged:
OPTION 1: PARRY (DEX Check)
OPTION 2: DODGE (DEX Check)
OPTION 3: COUNTER (DEX + STR Combo)
Arion chose counter. He sidestepped, letting the knife graze his gambeson, and slammed his pommel into the poacher's temple.
STUN! (Duration: 5 seconds)
The third poacher charged Ser Tallad from behind. Arion didn't hesitate. He hurled his dagger. It wasn't elegant—it tumbled end over end—but it struck the man's shoulder.
DISTRACTION! (-20% Poacher's Attack Accuracy)
Ser Tallad spun, his blade opening the poacher's throat in a crimson arc.
QUEST PROGRESS: POACHERS SLAIN (2/3)
The stunned poacher scrambled to his feet, eyes wild. He bolted into the thicket.
"After him!" Ser Tallad barked, wiping gore from his blade. "Alive!"
Arion crashed through ferns, the System's tracking overlay painting the poacher's flight in shimmering gold. The man was fast, desperate. He vaulted a fallen log—
—And screamed.
Arion found him thrashing on the ground, a rusty iron jaw-trap clamped on his ankle, bone gleaming white through torn flesh.
Item Identified: "Illegal Poacher Trap"
Damage Type: Piercing/Crushing
The poacher sobbed, clawing at the earth. "Mercy! I've kids starving in Flea Bottom!"
Ser Tallad arrived, his face grim. "Littlefinger's rats. Stealing game to sell back to the city through his butchers." He raised his sword.
MORAL CHOICE:
1. Execute Him: +25 XP, +20 Rosby Reputation.
2. Spare Him: -10 XP, Unlock "Merciful" Trait (Cha +1), Gain "Poacher's Intel."
Arion met the man's terrified eyes. "Who pays you? Ferry? Brune?"
The poacher nodded frantically. "Ferry! Brings the silver stag each moon! Says it's the 'Hand's Justice!'"
*INTELLIGENCE GAINED: "LITTLEFINGER'S WEB - TIER 2"*
Baelish funds poaching to bankrupt Rosby further.
Arion looked at Ser Tallad. "He's more use alive."
The knight lowered his blade, his expression unreadable. "Bind his leg. Drag him back."
QUEST COMPLETE: KINGSWOOD JUSTICE
REWARD: 100 XP | +25 ROSBY REPUTATION (25/100) | TRACKING SKILL TREE UNLOCKED!
TRAIT GAINED: PRAGMATIC MERCY (CHA +1 → Now 7)
As they hauled the whimpering poacher toward Rosby, the System pulsed with icy finality:
HIDDEN QUEST UPDATED: DRAGON'S ASHES
Clue Added: "Littlefinger's men operate near Brownhollow ruins."
Warning: Pursuing this quest may trigger Faction Hostility (House Baelish).
In the distance, Rosby Keep's towers clawed at the weeping sky. Beneath his tunic, the Valyrian steel pendant felt suddenly heavy. The game had just turned deadly.