Table of Contents:
Summary
Summary: Alice, a young rogue burglar working for one of the city’s criminal families, has been assigned to uncover the contents of a valuable trade contract. Hidden within a locked chest in a merchant noble’s private chambers, the document must be copied—not stolen—without alerting guards, servants, or its owner.
Quest Brief: The Merchant’s Contract
A powerful merchant has recently concluded a lucrative trade agreement with an unknown partner. Rumors suggest the terms of the contract could shift fortunes across the city, and rival interests are eager to learn its contents.
Alice has been hired to infiltrate the merchant’s residence and obtain a copy of the agreement. The original document is stored inside a locked chest located within the merchant’s private chambers. The contract itself is kept inside a secured folder among the merchant’s personal records.
The objective is information, not theft. The contract must remain in place, and no evidence of intrusion can be left behind.
Primary Objective: Copy the trade contract.
Secondary Objective: Leave the contract undisturbed.
Failure Conditions: Detection, damage to the document, or revealing the identity of the client.
Session 1
Night settles over the merchant’s manor as a lone figure crouches on the terracotta roof, observing the veranda below.
Alice wears black from head to toe, with a mask covering her entire head and leaving only her green eyes visible. Leather armour sits close against her chest beneath a dark fabric bodysuit, while a utility belt holds several square pouches. Her boots are soft and padded, with hidden daggers strapped along the sides.
Weather Roll (1d6): 5 → Rain
Rain drums against the roof tiles and the manor walls.
Heavy Rain Oracle (1d10): 6 → Yes, But…
The storm is heavy, but visibility remains surprisingly clear.
Thunder Oracle (1d10): 7 → Yes, But…
Thunder rolls constantly across the sky, loud and frequent but without lightning. The noise provides cover if anything goes wrong.
Alice adjusts the hook and rope secured to the roof. The weather is inconvenient, but the thunder is useful, and she accepts the trade before swinging herself over the edge.
The rope tightens beneath her weight as she lowers herself toward the veranda.
Difficulty Roll (1d6): 4 → Hard. Challenge Roll (1d20): 5 → Very Hard (Target 16). Alice’s Bonuses: +3 Dexterity, +3 Climbing Skill. Total: 11 vs 16 → Failure.
Halfway down, the weather turns against her. Rainwater slicks the rope beneath her gloves, the wind pushes her sideways, and a thunderclap breaks overhead with enough force to disrupt her concentration. Her grip loosens, and the rope slides through her hands.
She reaches for the air around her, searching for the familiar currents of magic that might slow her descent.
Wind, catch me, she whispers.
Wind Magic Roll (1d10): 3 → Failure. Intelligence (Wind Magic): +1. Total: 4 → Failure
The magic responds weakly, but the spell collapses before it can gather enough force to make a difference. There is barely any distance left before she reaches the veranda.
Damage Roll (1d4): 1 HP Loss
The impact drives the breath from her body, and pain spreads through her shoulder and hip. It is not serious, but it is enough to remind her that the landing was far from graceful.
For a moment, she remains where she fell, on her back, rain hitting her face, while thunder rolls above her.
Wonderful, she sighs, and then she pushes herself upright.
No alarm sounds, and no guards appear. The fall has not truly injured her, and the storm still conceals her presence, but the reality remains that she attempted a careful infiltration from the rooftops and instead arrived on the veranda floor in a wet heap.
Alice wipes rain from her face, cursing the weather, the wind, and mostly herself.
The mission continues.
—End of Session 1—
Session 2
Rain continues to hammer the roof above her as thunder rolls across the night. Alice crosses the veranda and approaches the door, ignoring the storm as she studies the entrance, her hands hovering an inch from the polished, intricately carved wood. At the same time, she reaches out with magic, feeling for wires, locks and enchantments.
Is there a magical security seal? Oracle Roll (1d10): 9 → Yes
Does Alice detect the magical security seal? Oracle Roll (1d10): 9 → Yes
A faint shimmer brushes against her senses, and she recognises the spell as an alarm. Closing her eyes, she reaches for the weave of magic surrounding the doorway, searching for the spell’s shape, the residue of the seal and the subtle pressure where it rests.
Magic Skill Check. Difficulty Roll (1d6): 5 → Very Hard (Target 7). Roll: 6 + INT (1) = 7. Result: Success.
She finds it, matching its rhythm until the hidden structure reveals itself. Alice exhales slowly and begins easing the spell apart, carefully teasing loose one thread after another.
Does Alice break the spell? Magic Skill Check. Difficulty Roll (1d6): 3 → Moderate (Target 4). Magic Roll: 2 + INT (1) = 3. Result: Failure.
A crash of thunder breaks her concentration, and the spell slips through her grasp before the alarm screams through the manor.
Does Alice manage to shut off the alarm? Oracle Roll (1d10): 7 → Yes, But…
She reaches for it again, following the spell’s vibration before it settles, and catches the weave that carries the sound. One careful pull, then another, and the alarm falls silent, though a pulse of magical warning ripples through the manor before the spell finally settles.
Alice stands perfectly still, listening.
Do the guards behind the door hear the alarm? Oracle Roll (1d10): 9 → Yes
Alice notices movement inside the room through the veranda glass panes and sees the door handle turn. She steps against the wall beside the doorway, keeping herself out of sight.
Do both guards emerge to investigate? Oracle Roll (1d10): 1 → No, And…
Anything, asks the guard in the hallway.
The guard that stepped inside glances around the room while thunder rolls overhead and rain lashes against the veranda doors.
After a moment, he shakes his head and says, nothing. Probably just the wind.
Told you, says the guard standing outside the hallway and yawns.
The other guard gives a small shrug before closing the door with a soft click.
Alice remains where she is, counting several long seconds before allowing herself a slow breath. Then she turns her attention back to the door.
Magic Skill Check. Difficulty Roll (1d6): 5 → Very Hard (Target 7). Magic Roll (1d8): 7. Result: Success.
The alarm spell comes apart beneath her touch, its threads loosening one by one until nothing remains. She tests the handle.
Is the door locked? Oracle Roll (1d10): 6 → Yes, But…
The handle turns, but the door refuses to budge.
Tsk. Her tongue clicks softly against her teeth as she lets her magic slip through the narrow gap around the frame, tracing the door from top to bottom until she finds the lock.
It isn’t complicated, only a simple sliding bolt on the inside.
Alice threads a strand of magic through the wood and nudges the metal aside.
Magic Skill Check. Difficulty Roll (1d6): 4 → Hard. Magic Roll (1d8): 6. Result: Success.
The bolt slides free with a soft metallic click. She waits for a response, but none comes, and when no footsteps follow and no alarm sounds, she eases the door open just wide enough to slip inside.
As the door closes behind her, the roar of the storm muffles, replaced by warm air and the scent of polished wood and leather.
—End of Session 2—
Eqbal Volinuskhi 