Chapter 10: Dawn, Disaster, and the Capital I Never Asked For
Morning arrived like an insult.
The storm had died sometime before sunrise, leaving the town drenched and gloomy. The sky was a muddy gray blanket that looked like it was personally disappointed in me. Birds tried singing, but even they sounded unsure, like they were questioning their life choices too.
I woke up on the inn bed, stiff as a corpse, with my back aching from the nightmare that was last night's resonance test. Rena sat on the other bed already dressed, as if she had achieved a full night's sleep powered purely by discipline and rage at demon corruption.
I, meanwhile, rolled over and groaned into my pillow.
"Are we sure we cannot just stay here and pretend last night never happened."
"No," Rena replied calmly.
She tightened her gloves with the precision of someone preparing for war. Meanwhile, I struggled to sit upright like a wet noodle trying to stand.
The crown sat inside my pack, perfectly quiet. Suspiciously quiet. The kind of quiet that meant it was plotting to ruin my day at the earliest opportunity.
Rena glanced at it before looking at me. "Therin said to meet him at the guild at first light."
"I would rather meet death at first light."
"You are awake enough to complain, so you can walk."
I scowled at her. She did not look impressed.
After convincing my joints to function, I dragged my miserable self out of bed. The inn was silent. Too silent. Usually there was chatter, clattering dishes, someone arguing about money, children running around. Now it felt like a haunted library.
We stepped outside.
The air smelled of rain and fear. The streets were wet and empty, mud filling every crack and corner. Every window shutter was closed tight. Every door barred. The entire town looked like it spent the night hiding under a blanket.
Rena walked beside me, steady and calm.
I walked like someone expecting to be assassinated by a falling leaf.
As we neared the guild hall, wood creaked under our boots. The banners were soaked and sagging. Two guards stood at the entrance, eyes sunken from lack of sleep. They barely looked at us before pushing the doors open.
Inside, more adventurers were awake, though they all looked half dead. Some sat polishing weapons. Others whispered quietly. A few stared into space like the storm had stolen their souls.
When we entered, the room dimmed.
Not literally.
Just socially.
All eyes flicked toward us.
Oh great. Public anxiety plus spotlight attention. My favorite combination.
Rena ignored the looks. I tried to ignore them too but failed miserably. One adventurer muttered something about cursed items. Another muttered about demon scouts. Someone else whispered, "That is him."
Yes hello. Me. The walking problem.
Therin stood near the stairs, arms folded, expression a perfect mixture of exhaustion and authority. He nodded toward us.
"Lairn. Rena. Upstairs."
Rena followed immediately.
I followed slightly slower, because I knew upstairs meant more stress, more decisions, and probably more ways for the crown to ruin my lifespan.
The second floor hallway was quieter. Only a few people were there, most holding documents or maps. Everyone seemed focused, tight, and worried.
Therin opened a door at the end of the hall.
Inside was a small planning room. A table. Several maps pinned to a board. A few sealed letters. A lantern. And Iris, sitting with dark circles under her eyes like she had fought sleep itself and lost.
She greeted us with a weak nod. "Good morning. If we can call anything good today."
"I prefer calling it inevitable suffering," I said.
She almost smiled.
Therin closed the door and faced us.
"Your departure must be immediate. I have already sent word to the capital. They will expect you in two days. You will travel with an escort."
Rena straightened. "Who."
"The captain personally."
Hallen entered right on cue, looking like he hated every cell of his existence. He looked at me, sighed heavily, and said, "Lucky me."
I tried to smile. It did not work. He looked more stressed.
Therin continued, "We do not know what the demons want or how many scouts roam this area. We cannot allow anything to happen to the crown or to either of you."
"Why us," I muttered.
"Because the crown reacts only to you," Iris said quietly. "And because Rena can keep you alive."
"Wow. That is harsh but unfortunately accurate."
Rena placed a hand on her hip. "We will manage."
Therin nodded. "Good. Pack lightly. You leave within the hour. Supplies are already prepared."
Then he looked directly at me.
And I knew something unpleasant was coming.
"Lairn. The crown stays with you at all times."
My face drained of life instantly.
"I cannot put it down even to sleep," I asked.
"No."
"I cannot hand it to Rena."
"No."
"I cannot throw it into a river and run away."
"Absolutely not."
Hallen grunted. "Do not even joke. It probably swims."
Rena glanced at me softly. "We will get through this."
I wanted to believe her.
I really wanted to.
The crown pulsed once inside my bag, like it was agreeing with the most cursed enthusiasm imaginable.
Therin motioned to the door.
"Prepare yourselves. When you are ready, come back here. I will brief you on the route and the dangers."
Dangers.
Plural.
More than one.
Amazing.
My favorite.
Rena bowed slightly.
I nodded with the energy of a man walking to his execution.
We stepped out of the room.
As the door closed behind us, my stomach tightened with a grim realization.
The journey to the capital was not going to be a road trip.
It was going to be a survival exam with bonus stress.
And knowing my luck, the universe was already sharpening its knives.
Preparing to leave town should have been simple.
Pack clothes.
Grab food.
Take a nice walk.
Instead it felt like I was assembling supplies for my own funeral.
Rena and I walked back to the inn while the gray morning light dripped across rooftops like wet ash. The whole town was awake now, but barely. People moved like ghosts, whispering in corners, clutching charms, avoiding eye contact.
I could feel their eyes sliding onto me.
Sliding off again.
Uncomfortable.
Like I was a ticking clock.
Rena noticed. Her steps grew sharper. She moved closer, like she was shielding me from invisible daggers of judgment. Not that it helped. Everyone still stared like I was carrying a cursed artifact.
Which, to be fair, I was.
Inside the inn, the first floor was so quiet it felt illegal. The innkeeper nodded stiffly when we entered, clearly pretending not to notice the gigantic problem strapped to my existence.
We climbed the stairs and reached our room.
Rena immediately began organizing her belongings in neat, efficient movements. Every item folded perfectly. Every strap tightened. Her personality looked even more noble when she packed.
I dumped my stuff on the bed and stared at it like it was a puzzle created by demons.
Rena glanced over. "You should start packing too."
"I am mentally preparing."
"You have been mentally preparing for three minutes."
"Yes. I need four."
She sighed lightly.
I took a deep breath and started folding my cloak. It folded itself into a wrinkled disaster. I tried again. Still a disaster. I tried a third time.
"Why does cloth have free will," I muttered.
Rena stepped over, took the cloak from my hands, and folded it perfectly in three seconds. Then she handed it back.
I stared at her.
She stared back.
I felt deeply judged.
She returned to her own bag. "Food, water, warm clothes. The path to the capital goes through the lower forest. Nights will be cold."
"And monsters," I added.
"Yes."
"And bandits."
"Probably."
"And trees."
She paused. "Trees are not a danger."
"Trees are always a danger. They are hiding things."
She sighed again.
I shoved clothes into my pack like a raccoon panicking after being caught stealing. The crown sat inside the smaller inner pouch, wrapped in cloth and radiating subtle warmth like it was offended by the fabric.
Every minute or so it gave a faint throb.
A reminder.
A heartbeat.
A quiet threat.
Once our bags were full, we stepped out of the room together.
The hall was dim. The lanterns flickered. The inn creaked like it knew secrets.
At the bottom of the stairs, someone was waiting.
A little girl.
Curly brown hair.
Barefoot.
Holding a small wooden charm shaped like a bird.
She stared at me with the wide, cautious eyes children get when they sense something strange.
"Are you the guy with the crown," she whispered.
Rena stiffened.
I internally died.
"...Who told you that," I asked.
She shrugged. "Everyone knows. They were talking last night. Mama said you were unlucky."
"That is the nicest thing anyone has said today."
She tiptoed closer, holding out the little wooden bird.
"This is for you. It protects against bad things. Mama made me wear one last year when the wolves came down."
I froze.
Rena gently knelt. "That is kind of you. But you should keep your charm."
The girl shook her head. "No. You need it more."
I had no idea what to do with generosity. My body tried to reject it like poison.
I slowly took the charm.
"...Thank you," I said quietly.
Her eyes brightened for a moment. Then she ran off, disappearing behind a door.
Rena watched her go with a soft expression I rarely saw.
"Children have more courage than half the adults here," she murmured.
"Yes. They are also terrifying. She knew too much."
"She offered you a blessing, Lairn."
"It is still terrifying."
Rena smiled. Faint but real.
We stepped out of the inn and into the gray morning.
Our breath fogged in the cold air. Boots splashed in shallow puddles. The town watched us silently from cracked curtains and half open shutters.
Two guards waited near the guild entrance. Hallen stood further back, checking armor straps like he was preparing for his own doom.
We walked toward him.
But halfway through the street, the crown pulsed again in my bag.
Harder.
A chill crawled across my spine.
Rena noticed instantly.
"So soon."
"Yes. It already hates me."
The ground shook lightly under our feet. Dust drifted down from a rooftop.
Rena grabbed my sleeve, scanning the alleyways.
"Lairn. Something is moving."
I swallowed. "A person. A cat. A mild inconvenience."
"No. Not a person."
The pulse came again.
A little stronger.
Like the crown was answering something.
Something calling back.
Rena's grip tightened.
"Stay close."
"I was planning to fuse myself to your shadow."
We stepped faster.
Hallen noticed us approaching and raised a hand in greeting.
Then his expression changed.
Hard.
Alert.
"Lairn. Rena. Move."
"Why," I asked.
He reached for his spear.
"Because something is in the fog behind you."
I turned slowly.
Too slowly.
My brain lagged.
And in the thinning morning mist, just beyond the inn's corner, a shape crouched low to the ground.
Not human.
Not animal.
Not right.
It twitched once.
Then tilted its head in a snapping motion.
Rena drew her half broken sword.
Hallen lowered his spear.
And the crown in my bag pulsed like a heartbeat trying to escape.
The shape did not move at first.
It just crouched there, half hidden by the fog, like a smear of darkness someone forgot to erase from the morning.
Hallen's voice dropped to a barely audible growl.
"Do not blink."
Rena stepped in front of me with the kind of calm that belonged in legends. Her half broken sword gleamed weakly in the wet light. She raised her other hand slightly, signaling me to stay behind her.
As if I needed the reminder. I was already trying to melt into her shadow like a terrified sticker.
The shape twitched again.
This time I heard it.
A crack.
Not a bone crack.
A wrong crack.
Like something rearranging its joints to pretend it was human.
I whispered, "That is not friendly."
"No," Rena said quietly.
The fog shifted.
A gust of wind swept through the street.
And the thing finally stepped forward.
I regretted all my life choices instantly.
Its limbs were too long.
Too thin.
Not stretched flesh, but stretched wrong, like someone pulled on the concept of bone. Its hands dragged slightly on the ground, fingers ending in points that were not claws, but sharpened bone.
Its face was veiled in shadow, yet I could see the shape of a mouth.
Wide.
Too wide.
Frozen in a permanent almost smile that had never been close to human emotion.
Hallen cursed under his breath. "Corrupted stalker. Damn it."
It didn't walk.
It slid.
Not smoothly, but in tiny jittered movements like its body could not decide which direction it wanted to exist in.
The crown pulsed in my bag, hard enough to sting.
Rena's grip tightened around her sword.
"Hallen. We cannot fight this in the middle of the street. Civilians are too close."
"I know," he snapped quietly. "Back up. Slowly."
We stepped backward, each movement painfully slow. The stalker watched us with its head tilted at an angle that would snap a normal spine.
Then it inhaled.
A long, rattling inhale that sounded like broken glass being sucked into a hollow throat.
The air grew colder.
Too cold.
"Rena," I whispered, "I think it is smelling us."
"Lairn, stay behind me."
"Oh yes, let me just hide my entire existence, that will surely work."
The stalker twitched.
Once.
Twice.
Then its head jerked upward, and it made a gurgling sound like it was laughing through water.
Hallen planted his spear into the ground and raised it, stance widening.
"If it jumps, drop flat."
"It jumps," I repeated. "Why does it jump."
"Because it can clear twenty feet in a blink."
That is not a monster.
That is a lawsuit waiting to happen.
Rena slowly moved her foot back, guiding me without taking her eyes off the creature.
"Lairn. Do not make sudden movements."
"I am physically incapable of sudden movements right now. My fear has disabled my motor skills."
Lightning cracked somewhere far away, shaking the wet air. The stalker jerked in response, its body twisting sideways in a way that made my spine shrivel.
Then it made a low clicking noise.
Rena whispered, "It is marking its target."
Hallen muttered a curse that sounded like three different religions would disapprove.
"Who is it marking," I asked, already knowing the answer.
Rena did not speak.
She did not need to.
The stalker's empty face oriented directly toward me.
Of course.
Of course.
Why hunt someone strong when you can hunt the sad little guy with a cursed crown and no melee skills.
The creature shuddered.
Its limbs coiled, joints tightening like springs.
My entire soul screamed.
"It is jumping," Hallen barked.
Rena pushed me to the ground at the exact moment the stalker launched.
I hit the cobblestone with the grace of a dropped potato.
Wind exploded from my lungs.
I tried to scream but only a pathetic wheeze came out.
The stalker flew overhead, a blur of jittering limbs and unnatural motion.
Hallen swung his spear.
It barely clipped the creature, but enough to knock its trajectory off.
The stalker slammed into a wooden cart, splintering it into firewood.
Rena grabbed my arm, hauling me upright so fast my legs barely remembered how to exist.
"Move," she snapped.
I moved.
Unwillingly.
Unskilled.
But I moved.
The stalker screeched.
Not loud.
Not sharp.
Just wrong. A sound that scraped across my teeth and echoed inside my skull.
It dragged itself up again, head twitching, limbs trembling with anticipation.
Hallen shouted toward the street corner. "Ring the alarm bell. Now."
A guard nearby sprinted for the tower, shouting warnings.
The stalker snapped its neck in a sideways motion and locked onto me again.
"It only wants Lairn," Rena said.
"Why me," I sputtered.
"Because the crown is calling," she replied.
The crown pulsed again.
A strong one.
The stalker launched again.
Hallen shoved forward.
Rena pulled me back.
And for one awful moment, I realized the creature was going to reach me.
It was too fast.
Too close.
Too locked onto my miserable existence.
Its clawed bone fingertips were inches away from my throat when Rena yanked me around a stone pillar, using it as cover.
The creature smashed into the pillar so hard cracks split through the stone.
I screamed.
Internally.
Externally.
Spiritually.
The stalker twitched on the ground, stunned for a moment.
Hallen lifted his spear, eyes blazing.
"Buy me two seconds. I can pin it."
Rena nodded.
"I will distract it."
"How," I whispered.
"By not dying."
"That is a terrible strategy."
The stalker's limbs jerked.
It pushed itself up, growling.
Its body convulsed like it was rebooting.
Rena stepped out from behind the pillar and shouted at it.
"Hey."
That was enough.
The creature snapped toward her.
Perfect.
Hallen lunged, driving the spear forward with a roar.
The tip pierced through the creature's arm, pinning it to the ground.
It screeched.
Thrashed.
Jerked violently.
But it could not reach us.
Not yet.
Rena grabbed my wrist.
"Lairn. We need to run. The bell is ringing. Reinforcements will come."
I stared at the monster writhing on the stone, my heart violently tap dancing in my throat.
"Yes. Yes running sounds good. Running is my strongest skill."
We turned and sprinted toward the guild hall.
Behind us, the stalker screamed again.
The crown pulsed in my bag.
And I knew this was not the last time something like that would come for me.
Not even close.
We did not run gracefully.
Rena ran like a trained warrior.
I ran like a wet chicken chased by fate.
Behind us, the creature shrieked again as Hallen wrestled with it, shouting for backup. Guards poured from alleys. Bells clanged across Morinvale. Doors slammed shut. People screamed. The whole town woke up in panic.
And the crown in my bag pulsed like a heartbeat counting down.
Rena kept her grip locked around my wrist.
"Do not stop," she said.
"I could not stop even if I wanted to. My legs are moving without my permission."
We sprinted past empty stalls and overturned crates. Rainwater splattered under our boots. The thick morning fog clung to the ground like a blanket that hated us specifically.
The guild hall came into view.
Wide doors.
Warm light.
A place that looked safe.
Which meant it was absolutely not safe.
Rena dragged me through the entrance.
Guards slammed the doors shut behind us.
The noise outside didn't fade.
It got worse.
Something crashed. Something screamed. People shouted orders and prayers and regrets.
Therin stood at the top of the staircase, watching us with the calm expression of a man who had expected this disaster the moment the sun rose.
"You were attacked," he said.
"No really," I gasped. "I thought that was a friendly welcome party."
Rena steadied me, her grip firm. "A stalker. Drawn by the artifact. It targeted Lairn directly."
Therin nodded once, slowly.
Like that was exactly the answer he did not want but fully expected.
"Come upstairs. Now."
We followed him, my legs shaking so badly I almost missed a step. The guild hall interior seemed quieter than it should have been. Not peaceful.
Just tense.
Like every wall was holding its breath.
Therin led us back into the briefing room where we had nearly died last night from a magic experiment.
Iris was already there.
Wide awake.
Pale.
Hands shaking slightly.
She looked at me the moment I entered.
"It sensed you," she whispered.
"I noticed," I replied with despair.
Then she pointed at the map on the table.
Three markers were glowing faint red.
Three spots outside the town.
"When the stalker appeared," she said, "two other signals activated. Same energy. Same signature as the ruins."
My stomach sank so fast I think it dug a hole in the floor.
"Meaning what," Rena asked quietly.
Iris swallowed hard. "Meaning this. There are more. And they are searching."
Searching.
For what.
For who.
Therin answered before anyone else could.
"For you, Lairn."
Great. Beautiful. Amazing.
The universe has officially put a target sticker on my forehead.
I opened my mouth, probably to complain or cry, but the crown in my bag pulsed again.
Not warm.
Not soft.
Sharp.
Urgent.
Like a warning.
Iris backed away instantly.
"Guildmaster. It is reacting again."
Rena stepped closer to me instinctively.
Her arm brushed mine.
Her voice low.
"Lairn. Breathe."
"I am trying but air is currently unavailable."
The light in the lantern flickered violently.
Therin grabbed the table edge.
"Everyone stay still."
The crown pulsed again.
Hard.
Harder than it had ever pulsed.
A ring of red light shimmered faintly across the wooden floorboards.
I felt my vision tighten like someone was pulling the world inward.
Then I heard it.
Not a whisper this time.
A voice.
Sharp.
Clear.
Inside my head.
"Found."
My blood went cold.
Rena's hand tightened on my arm.
Iris inhaled sharply.
"Guildmaster. Something is linking to the artifact. Something strong."
Therin's tone dropped to steel.
"Cut the connection."
"I cannot," Iris snapped. "It is external."
The crown pulsed again.
My knees buckled.
Rena caught me.
The room blurred.
Therin's voice cut through the haze.
"Lairn. Stay awake."
Too late.
The world was slipping.
My body felt weightless, like gravity had politely excused itself.
A flash of dark red spun across my vision.
Like an eye opening.
But far away.
Watching.
Reaching.
And just before everything snapped like a frayed rope, I heard something else.
A second voice.
Not demonic.
Not ancient.
Familiar.
"Run."
Then the floor slammed into my back.
The world twisted sideways.
The crown burned through the fabric of my pack.
Rena shouted my name.
Someone grabbed my shoulders.
The room shook.
And everything cut to black.
Chapter Ends