Oracle Question. Is everything as expected in the Legions Hearth? Yes, but…

Prompt Picker. What resource suddenly becomes scarce?

Are there any rooms available at the Legions Hearth? Yes.

Is the kitchen running on limited food? Yes, but…

The kitchen is running on limited supplies because the gates were shut early.

• The innkeeper apologises stiffly.
• Only a thin stew or stale bread is available.
• Soldiers grumble about missing their evening meal.

This creates a subtle sense of disruption — something has thrown off the city’s rhythm

The innkeeper is a broad‑shouldered human with the posture of someone who once drilled recruits and never quite stopped. His eyes flick over the companions — Branwen’s bow, Nyra’s elemental aura, Renka’s tail, Lini’s snow leopard — and he doesn’t flinch, but he does reassess the room in a heartbeat.

He gives a curt nod.

“Rooms? Aye. Two left. You can have them.”

Then the “but” lands.

“Food’s thin tonight. Gate shut early, supply wagons stuck outside. Stew’s all I’ve got — brown as ditchwater and twice as honest. Don’t ask what the meat is.”

A soldier at a nearby table snorts.

“It ain’t meat.”

The innkeeper ignores him.

“Ale’s low too. I’m keeping what’s left for the lads. They’ve had a long day and I don’t need tempers flaring.”

Another soldier mutters something about “foxfolk tricks” under his breath when Renka walks past. DrooGami’s tail flicks once, and the soldier suddenly finds something very interesting on the floor.

The innkeeper leans in slightly, lowering his voice.

“I might have a dusty bottle of wine in the back. No promises. Water’s fine if you boil it first.”

He straightens, glancing around the room again.

“Best you eat in your rooms. Folk here are wary of strangers at the best of times. Tonight… well. Let’s just say the mood’s brittle.”

A chair scrapes loudly somewhere behind the party. A soldier barks a laugh that sounds a little too sharp. Someone drops a tankard and half the room flinches.

The innkeeper’s jaw tightens.

“Powder keg, this lot. Don’t take it personal.”

He hands Branwen two keys.

“Up the stairs, last two doors on the right. I’ll bring the stew.”

They head to their rooms, Branwen, Lini and Droogami share one, Nyra and Renka the other, but they all eat in the same room. There is a knock at their door, is it the barkeep with the food? Yes. Does he say anything? yes. Prompts Picker. What secret is about to be revealed. I go to the secrets and clues we have already created and randomly pick one. 12. The Gem can Curse or Bless. So the barkeep somehow knows they have the gem, he tells them it has a medusa carving which shows two faces: one smiling, one snarling, in the right hand it feels calm and warm, held by some one deceitful, it is cold and heavy.

The Innkeeper’s Warning

There’s a firm, businesslike knock. Branwen opens the door, and the innkeeper stands there with a tray: two bowls of thin brown stew, a chipped jug of boiled water, and a dusty bottle of wine he must have dug out from the back of a shelf.

He steps inside without waiting to be invited — not rudely, just with the confidence of someone who’s spent years walking into soldiers’ rooms without incident.

He sets the tray down.

Then he hesitates.

His eyes flick to Branwen’s hand.
Not to her bow.
Not to her gear.
To her hand.

And the gem.

He clears his throat.

“You should know,” he says quietly, “that thing you picked up… it’s no trinket.”

Lini and Droogami both look up sharply. Renka’s ears tilt forward. Nyra’s fingers tighten around her holy symbol.

The innkeeper lowers his voice further, glancing at the door as if afraid someone might be listening.

“There’s an old carving in the Stone‑Eye Chapel. Two faces on a medusa — one smiling, one snarling. Folk say her tears bless the honest and curse the liars.”

His gaze settles on Branwen again.

“Hold it in a true hand, it’ll feel warm. Hold it in a deceitful one…”

He shakes his head.

“…it turns cold. Heavy. Like judgement.”

DrooGami gives a low, warning growl — not at the innkeeper, but at the gem itself.

The innkeeper steps back, suddenly looking older, wearier.

“I don’t want trouble in my inn. And that stone? It brings trouble. Always has.”

Oracle Question. Does anyone overhear their conversation? Yes, and…

As the innkeeper goes to exit the door, the latch clicks a little too loudly in the quiet corridor. For a moment, everything is still.

Then Branwen hears it — a faint scuff of a boot on the floorboards just beyond the door.
Nyra’s eyes narrow.
Renka’s ears twitch.
DrooGami lifts her head and gives a low, questioning chuff.

Someone was standing close enough to hear every word.

And they don’t walk away.

They run.

Boots thudding down the corridor, quick and purposeful — not panicked, not clumsy. Someone trained. Someone who knows how to move in armour without making noise, but is moving too fast to care.

A soldier.

And not just any soldier.

The eavesdropper is sergeant Brinna Stonefoot.

Droogami reacts first, the snow leopard has speed 35 feet, and Acrobatics +8. I am going to say the innkeeper has yet to leave their room, the door is open and the big cat springs out of the room, he leaps, launching himself at the running soldier aiming to stop him. Lets make this a bit difficult as the soldier is also running, DC20. Droogami rolls 14 +8 acrobatics = 22, he lands on the soldiers back, but the soldier is made of stern stuff and isn’t brough down as Droogami intended, however, with a snow leopard on his back snarling at his ear, he is forced to stop running.

Droogami Strikes

The innkeeper hasn’t even taken two steps toward the door when Droogami moves.

A blur of white fur.
A low, rolling snarl.
Claws skittering on polished floorboards.

The soldier barely has time to register the sound before thirty‑plus kilos of snow leopard hit him square between the shoulder blades. He staggers, boots scraping, momentum carrying him forward another half‑step before Droogami’s weight forces him to plant his feet.

He doesn’t fall — he’s trained, disciplined, and tough as old leather — but he freezes.

Because Droogami’s muzzle is right beside his ear, breath hot, growl vibrating through his armour.

The corridor goes silent.

The Soldier’s Reaction

He doesn’t reach for his weapon.
He doesn’t shout.
He doesn’t even turn his head.

He just lifts both hands slowly, palms open.

A voice tight with controlled fear:

“Call off your cat.”

Not a threat.
Not a plea.
A soldier’s request — firm, steady, and very aware that one wrong twitch could cost him an ear.

The Innkeeper’s Reaction

The innkeeper swears under his breath — not at Droogami, but at the situation.

He steps into the corridor, hands raised in a calming gesture.

“Easy now. Easy. Let’s not spill blood in my hallway.”

His eyes flick to Branwen, then to Lini.

“Get him off before the whole Legion comes running.”

And he’s right — the thud of Droogami’s leap, the soldier’s stumble, the growl… it’s already drawing attention.

Boots shift in the common room below.
A chair scrapes.
Someone mutters, “What was that?”

sergeant Brinna Stonefoot grits his teeth.

“I heard what I heard. The Commander needs to know.”

A beat.

“But I’m not dying in a hallway over it.”

The characters have their first contact with one of the factions, the military, the silent legion and its commander Ruligo Harthorn. Lini calls off Droogami but the cat keeps very close to Sergeant Stonefoot. Renka, (intimidation +8) steps up to the sergeant (will +6) and attempts to ‘persuade’ him to step into their room. (Renka rolls 14+8 = 22 vrs DC16, success). The sergeant agrees to step into the room. Renka then (Performance +8), takes her Shamisen and starts to go down stairs along with the barkeep, “I will entertain the troops while you chat to my friends”. One the way down she asks the barkeep (diplomacy +8) how he knew they had the stone? As the Barkeep is quite friendly I make it a DC of 15, Renka Rolls 7 +8 =15, success but just. The Barkeep hesitates but will tell her that a small halfling child saw them pick it up at the gate, its not hard to guess who strangers with a big cat could be. Finally for renka, does her playing entertain the troops? Her shamisen can cas a DC17 charm spell but I think that just acts on one creature, but it does give her +1 performance bonus, plus her performance bonus +8 = +9. The soldiers in the bar are at best unhappy so lets give them a will save 18, Renka rolls 13 +9 =22 vrs DC18. Her performance is well received, the soldiers in the bar begin to relax.

Renka Takes Control

Renka steps forward, tail flicking, eyes bright with foxfire confidence.

Her voice is soft, but the steel underneath it is unmistakable.

“Sergeant. Inside. Now.”

Her intimidation lands cleanly — not a threat, but a reminder that she is not someone to underestimate. Stonefoot hesitates only a heartbeat before nodding and stepping into the room.

The moment she does, Renka pivots, shamisen already in hand.

“I’ll keep the troops entertained. You talk.”

Renka and the Barkeep

On the stairs, she leans toward the innkeeper.

“How did you know about the stone?”

The barkeep stiffens. For a moment, he considers lying — then thinks better of it.

“A halfling child saw you pick it up at the gate.”
A sigh.
“Folk talk. And strangers with a big cat aren’t hard to pick out.”

It’s not the whole truth, but it’s enough.

Renka’s Performance

Downstairs, the common room is a powder keg — tired soldiers, thin stew, low ale, and too many unanswered questions.

Renka steps into the centre of the room, plucks a bright, ringing chord on her shamisen, and begins to play.

Her charm magic isn’t aimed at anyone in particular — it’s woven into the music, a subtle thread of calm and warmth.

The soldiers’ will is strong… but Renka’s performance is stronger.

A few heads turn.
A few shoulders loosen.
Someone mutters, “Not bad…”
Another adds, “Better than stew, anyway.”

The tension in the room eases, just a little. Enough to keep fists from flying. Enough to buy the others time.

Renka has done exactly what she intended:
She has bought the party breathing room.

to be continued.