As dusk began to fall, the door of the 'Rusty Shield' tavern creaked open. The air inside was heavy—thick with woodsmoke, the stench of spilled ale, and the rumbling chatter of dozens of patrons. Standing in the doorway was a stranger, his blond hair glinting even in the dim light. Though his features were mostly human, the slight point of his ears and his graceful posture revealed him as a half-elf. His name was Duncan Tall, and all he wanted was a drink.
As the innkeeper grumbled, "What'll you have, traveler?" two scar-faced brutes at a nearby table called out. "Hey, look at the pretty one. Did your mother run off with an elf, mongrel?"
Duncan was used to such remarks. He smiled and raised his voice just enough to be heard. (A Charisma (Performance) roll was made: 16). "I don't know," he said casually. "My mother had good taste. But it looks like your mother brought a bear home once... and couldn't decide which of you was the real bear, so she decided to keep you both."
The tavern first fell silent, then erupted in muffled laughter. The humiliated brute snarled, "You little pretty-boy..." and his hand went to his rusty dagger. But Duncan was much faster. (An Attack Roll was made: 19). Before the man could even clear the hilt, the half-elf warrior sprang from his seat and drove his elbow into the man's jaw with perfect timing. The large body collapsed to the floor in an unconscious heap. The other brute, terrified, dragged his friend out of the tavern. Duncan, as if nothing had happened, turned back to the innkeeper: "A beer."
This cool-headed display had caught the attention of a cloaked woman sitting in the corner. She pulled back her hood. "My name is Elara," she said calmly. Duncan watched her carefully, trying to discern her intentions. (A Wisdom (Insight) roll was made: 11). With this roll, Duncan sensed that the woman had been watching him for some time, not out of malice, but rather to gauge his abilities.
Elara offered him a job: retrieve a small, iron-wrought chest from a missing caravan in Wolf's Fang Pass. The reward: 200 Gold. Elara advised him to wait until morning, but Duncan preferred to finish the work and then sleep.
At midnight, the flickering light of his torch illuminated the chaos at Wolf's Fang Pass. Overturned wagons, the sharp smell of dead horses, and looted goods were scattered everywhere. Duncan searched for the chest Elara had described, but it was gone. He inspected the muddy ground. (A Wisdom (Survival) roll was made: 17). His eyes immediately picked out not just the boot prints, but also smaller, clawed footprints and the drag marks of a heavy object. Goblins. The tracks led to a dark crevice in the nearby cliffs.
The inside of the crevice reeked of that 'unique' mixture of wet fur, rotting meat, and goblin filth. He pressed on by the light of his torch and soon saw another fire glowing ahead. As he approached silently, he saw two goblins shrieking at each other, fighting over a stolen piece of silk cloth. And right next to them, by the fire, sat the iron-wrought chest.
Duncan tried to sneak through the shadows to grab the chest. (A Dexterity (Stealth) roll was made: 8). Just as he reached for it, the edge of his boot struck a loose stone. Click!
Silence. Both goblins froze and turned to him. "HUUUMAAAN!"
The first goblin charged, its rusty scimitar raised. Duncan drew his sword. (An Attack Roll was made: 23). The steel was too fast for the goblin. The half-elf cut the creature down in a single, clean strike. The second goblin, seeing its companion killed, shrieked in terror and began to flee into the deeper darkness of the cave. Duncan didn't chase it. He calmly drew a dagger from his belt and threw it at the fleeing target. (A Ranged Attack Roll was made: 14). The dagger found its mark, and the goblin collapsed at the mouth of the tunnel.
Duncan searched the cave for anything else of value. (An Intelligence (Investigation) roll was made: 13). He found no great treasure; only 12 Silver, 5 Copper coins, and the silk cloth the goblins had been fighting over. He stuffed them in his pouch, took the heavy chest, and returned to Hill's Edge as dawn was breaking.
Elara was waiting for him at the inn. She paid the 200 Gold as promised and left town with the chest. Duncan, gold in hand, requested a hot bath and a clean room from the innkeeper. He slept for nearly the entire day.
He awoke in the evening, rested and hungry. He went down to the main hall of the inn and ordered a venison stew. In the middle of his meal, a serious-looking, armored man approached his table. "I am Captain Valerius. Commander of the Hill's Edge City Watch."
Valerius questioned him about the fight, Elara's hasty departure, and the goblin problem. "Why are you at the center of all these events, stranger? What was in that chest?"
Duncan didn't look up from his meal. "None of your business." Valerius's face hardened. "Everything in this town is my business." Duncan smiled sardonically. "Your mother's undergarments."
All sound in the tavern cut out as if by a knife. Valerius's face went ice-cold. "That is enough." He drew his sword an inch from its scabbard, threatening Duncan. Duncan gestured to his own sword, trying to intimidate the Captain: "Do you want me to draw that?" (A Charisma (Intimidation) roll was made: 6). Valerius scoffed at the cheap trick. "I am not like those drunkards, boy!"
Duncan tried to de-escalate, attempting to negotiate. "I'm leaving soon. I don't want a fight." (A Charisma (Persuasion) roll was made: 9). This also failed. Valerius grew even angrier and shouted, "Guards! In here!" Two more guards with spears entered the tavern.
"You asked for it," Duncan said, kicking the table over into Valerius and launching himself backward in a tumble. (A Dexterity (Acrobatics) roll was made: 17). Stew and ale flew through the air as the half-elf landed on his feet, sword drawn. The fight began. Valerius was a trained fighter and wounded Duncan. Duncan attacked one of the guards (Guard 2). (An Attack Roll was made: 11). His attack was blocked by the guard's spear shaft.
Realizing he was trapped, Duncan decided to flee. He attacked Guard 2 again. (An Attack Roll was made: 18). This time, his sword found the guard's shoulder. As the man cried out and fell, Duncan burst through the opening. As he fled the tavern, he took another wound from Valerius's Opportunity Attack.
He burst out onto the cold street, hearing shouts of "AFTER HIM!" He immediately drank his potion of healing. (A Healing Roll was made: 9 HP). As the potion's warmth spread, he ducked into a dark alley. (A Dexterity (Stealth) roll was made: 15). He hid behind a large stack of barrels.
Guard 1 entered the alley cautiously, walking right past him, unaware. Duncan waited. His real target was Valerius. The moment the Captain stepped into the alley, Duncan sprang from the shadows. (An Advantageous Attack Roll for surprise was made: 19). He plunged his sword into Valerius's back.
Valerius roared in pain but did not die. He turned, wounded. Trapped in the alley, Duncan was attacked first by the guard, then by the wounded Valerius, taking another gash on his arm. He hesitated no longer. He lunged at Valerius one last time with all his strength. (An Attack Roll was made: 19). This determined strike pierced the Captain's chest, killing him.
The last surviving guard, seeing his commander fall, froze in terror. Then he turned and fled, screaming, "ALARM! THE CAPTAIN IS MURDERED! KILLER!"
The entire town erupted in the sound of alarm bells. Duncan tried to catch the guard to silence him. (A Strength (Athletics) roll was made: 11). The guard escaped him, and Duncan found himself in the town square, surrounded by new reinforcements, including two crossbowmen.
"DO NOT MOVE, KILLER!"
Duncan thought of the gold he'd left at the tavern. Ignoring the order, he sprinted back to the inn. "FIRE!" came the command. A crossbow bolt struck him in the back. He stumbled into the tavern and frantically searched the overturned table. (An Intelligence (Investigation) roll was made: 7). He couldn't see the gold pouch, and the guards were now at the tavern entrance.
In a last-ditch effort, he burst into the kitchen. Another bolt struck him, this time in the leg. As he ran, his eyes finally spotted the pouch. He snatched his gold and made it to the kitchen's back door. It was locked with a heavy iron bar.
He decided to hide. (A Dexterity (Stealth) roll was made: 14). He hid behind a stack of flour sacks. The guards searched the kitchen but couldn't find him. They decided to seal the building and wait for dawn.
Knowing that waiting for morning meant death, Duncan tried to break open the locked back door. Wounded and exhausted, he threw his weight against the bar. (A Disadvantaged Strength (Might) roll was made: 5). The bar let out a horrible screech but didn't budge an inch.
The noise alerted the guards both inside and out. The kitchen door was kicked open. The Sergeant and his men stood there, spears leveled. There was nowhere left to run.
Duncan leaned against the locked door. He laughed, a pained, sardonic sound. "Enough," he said. He dropped his bloody sword to the stone floor and raised his hands. "You win."
The guards bound him roughly and dragged him to the dark, damp cells of the Hill's Edge barracks. A heavy iron door slammed shut, sealing Duncan Tall's fate... for now.