Quests & the Living Road
Undertakings that send you out and back, and a road that isn't waiting for a quest to have something happening on it.
Undertakings
Reported in person.
A quest giver — a post-master, a headman, a merchant, a lord — has a task and a face you go and find in the world to take it. Finish the work and you report back the same way: on foot, in person, to the one who gave it to you. There's no Journal button that resolves it from a menu — you walk back and stand in front of them. Break a bandit band and return to report it; carry a sealed letter to another settlement; bring a headman the goods he asked for.
The caravan road
Traffic on the highway.
The road between settlements has its own traffic, moving whether or not you're on a quest. Lone travelers pass along it — pilgrims, merchants, other ronin. So do trade caravans: a merchant with a guard or two and pack horses loaded with goods. Stop a caravan and you can rob it, if you're willing to take on its guards and whatever it costs your name once word gets around.
The wild country
Beasts off the road.
Away from the roads and the settlements, the wild country has its own dangers. Wolves, boar, and bears roam the open land, and a careless traveler can find one coming at them just by being there. A good sword turns the tables — press the hunt, and a beast yields a pelt and meat to sell at the store, the bear's hide the richest haul of all. These are dangerous fights; go in ready.
Wolves
Gaunt and quick — a pelt and a little meat for the hunter who takes one down.
Boar
Tougher going, a tougher hide, and more meat to show for it.
Bears
The prize hunt, and the most dangerous — a treasured pelt and a heavy haul of meat.
The legendary blade
The smith's price.
Somewhere out there is a smith whose reputation outruns his forge — and he doesn't take coin for his best work. The materials a legendary blade demands aren't sold in any shop; they're won by the sword, taken from what you defeat or found on the road. Track him down, bring him what he asks for, and he'll fold you a blade to carry from then on.