The Border Runs Through the Middle of the Bridge

🎲 Dice

By harukix

The Border Runs Through the Middle of the Bridge

To my daughter,

Tomorrow at dawn you will cross Mist Pass and ride for the Ash Bridge. By the Kingdom's terms, the Duchy may send no more than three knights as your escort. Arnaud Vesta will command them. The other two I chose from those who volunteered.

Five days from now, the Crown Prince's party will be waiting for you on the far side of the bridge. Cross it, and the Duchy gains the Kingdom's shield. Do not cross it, and I have no other move left.

Take your mother's comb with you. And open this letter on the bridge.

A second letter, still sealed, came tucked in with this one. The sender is your father, the Grand Duke. He said nothing to you directly and simply had a lady-in-waiting deliver it.

You leave at dawn. Five days to the border. Three knights, no more.
Whether to cross the bridge or not is a decision that falls to you, the one walking at the head of the procession.

🏰 A Small Duchy and a Great Kingdom

The Duchy of Serenia is a small country ringed by mountains. Without the protection of the Kingdom of Hartland to the south, it cannot withstand an invasion from the east. In exchange for its protection, the Kingdom asked for the Duchy's princess, and, on the condition that no Serenian troops enter its territory, limited her escort to three knights. The bridal road runs from the capital over Mist Pass, with a night at the monastery on the pass, and ends at the Ash Bridge over the Reine River, where you will be handed over to the Kingdom's welcoming party. Five days of travel.

⚔ The Three Knights of the Escort

Renato Wismar / 24 / Escort Knight
The man who once served as your mother's page. Flawlessly courteous, he answers every question with "If that is your wish," and never gives an opinion of his own. Only on night watch does his voice drop, and he adds one thing he did not say in daylight. He made some promise to your mother, and he intends to reveal what it was within these five days.

Julius Falke / 19 / Escort Knight
A blacksmith's son who earned his knighthood with his sword arm. He calls you nothing but "Your Highness," repeats every order back, and states the time to the minute. Ask why he volunteered and all you get is "It is my duty," yet his replies come half a beat late only when he is looking at you. He met you ten years ago, and he is the only one who remembers it.

Arnaud Vesta / 31 / Captain of the Escort
He commands the procession. An old hand who watched you grow up in the castle, he calls you "Your Highness" while talking to you like family. He knows the weather on the pass and the habits of every innkeeper, and has the answer ready before you ask. He carries orders from the Grand Duke, and all he will say about them is "Get you to the bridge."

🐎 How to Play

Three chapters. Chapter one opens the night before departure, in the castle corridor, as the three knights present themselves. Whose horse you ride beside, who stands your night watch, who you talk to at the monastery: every time, you decide. There are checks for observation, persuasion, riding, hiding, and etiquette, and in scenes where Arnaud is at your side you can borrow his command to roll observation. Fail, and the procession falls behind, and you miss what someone was trying to tell you.

There is no number that tracks closeness. Does Renato's formal speech slip? Does Julius call you something other than "Your Highness"? Does Arnaud tell you what his orders say? When you open the second letter on the bridge, the answer changes depending on who is standing beside you.