Night had already taken the road.
Not abruptly — but in full.
The forest around it remained alive, yet contained.
The wind moved low between the trees, dragging dry leaves across the packed earth.
No light but the moon filtered through the branches.
Above them, almost invisible among the dense foliage, Karna remained seated on a thick branch, his body relaxed… but not distracted.
The bow resting at his side.
His gaze attentive.
His breathing controlled.
Below, on the isolated road, four men surrounded a covered wagon. Worn clothes, marked faces — not only by time.
But by something more recent.
Something that hadn't left them.
"So… it's true. The county is going to enter war," one of them said, his voice low, as if even the air could betray them.
The other spat on the ground before answering, jaw tight.
"War? This started a long time ago. They just haven't called it a war yet."
A third let out a humorless laugh, running a hand over his face.
"It's been a year… a year since that massacre. And now this again."
Silence weighed for a moment.
It wasn't doubt.
It was memory.
"Don't even talk about that," the fourth cut in, older, his gaze lost in the dark road. "I saw what was left. It wasn't a battle… it was a purge."
His hand closed slowly.
"The orphanage was in the middle of it. Children, elders… it didn't make any difference."
No one answered.
Because they all knew.
"And there was also that…" he continued, lower. "They brought an imperial archduke into the territory… that year. As if that wasn't enough."
Another man let out a short breath through his nose.
"Nobles only remember this place exists when they need blood."
The first nodded, bitter.
"For them, the wall is the world. Everything beyond it… is expendable."
A pause.
The youngest hesitated before speaking.
"My father used to say that… before, the people chose who ruled."
The others didn't interrupt.
"That it wasn't fair… but it was equal. If you made a mistake, you paid. Didn't matter who you were."
He frowned, trying to remember.
"He talked about something… cha—"
The dry crack of a branch snapping cut the sentence in half.
All of them turned at the same time.
Silence.
The wrong kind of silence.
From the shadows between the trees, a man emerged.
Light armor.
Dark cloak.
The count's symbol marked on his chest — horns over an open mouth.
His gaze swept the surroundings with calculated calm before stopping on the four.
None of them tried to hide the discomfort.
"Is everything here?" the guard asked, his voice firm, unhurried.
One of the men answered first, without holding his gaze.
"It is. As requested."
The guard stepped forward.
Just one.
But it was enough.
"It better be."
The pause came short.
Heavy.
"Because anything… anything about the count reorganizing troops or buying armaments that leaves this place…"
He tilted his head slightly.
"your families will lose their heads before you ever do."
Silence returned.
Denser.
More direct.
The guard then dropped a small leather pouch onto the ground. The sound of coins colliding was dry.
"Thirty coins."
He looked at each of them.
Unhurried.
Without doubt.
"Now… disappear."
No one argued.
No one answered.
They grabbed the pouch and backed away quickly, vanishing down the road and into the trees as if the place itself was pushing them away.
The guard remained.
Still.
Alert.
Above, Karna did not move.
But his gaze changed.
More focused.
Colder.
The lightness from before… was no longer there.
Below, the guard remained still for a few more seconds.
Then—
A sharp crack of a branch snapping echoed to the right of the road.
The reaction was immediate.
His hand dropped to the hilt of his sword, firm.
His body turned half a step, adjusting his stance.
"Who's there?"
His voice didn't rise.
But it carried enough authority to cut through the silence around them.
Nothing answered.
For a moment—
Only the sound of the wind.
Then, from the shadows between the trees, a silhouette moved.
Slow.
Without hesitation.
Brianna emerged first.
The cloak still covering her body, steps controlled, without a single wasted sound. She didn't advance directly — she let the space between them close at the scene's own pace.
She stopped a few meters away.
Raised her hand.
Pulled back the hood.
White hair fell free, reflecting the pale light of the moon.
Her eyes… white. No iris. No visible depth.
Impossible to hold for long without breaking.
The guard froze.
His gaze lost focus for a second.
Then returned.
But it was no longer the same.
His posture… gave way.
Minimally.
"…It's you."
The voice came out different.
Lower.
Less firm.
He took a step forward without noticing.
"They said you would come."
A short pause.
His gaze still locked on her.
"Where are your siblings?"
Brianna didn't answer immediately.
From the forest shadows, two presences revealed themselves.
Telvaris emerged first.
Straight posture.
Firm step.
Unhurried.
Kael came at his side, movement silent, precise — his foot touching the ground with absolute control, as if every step had already been anticipated before it happened.
They stopped nearby.
The guard analyzed them quickly.
Counted.
Frowned slightly.
"I was informed there were five."
The silence did not break.
But it changed.
Above them—
A movement.
Karna let go of the branch.
His body descended in a controlled fall, knees bending on the light impact against the ground. No sound beyond what was necessary.
He straightened, already adjusting his stance, his gaze passing quickly over the guard before stopping on Brianna.
"Now… only one is missing."
The tone came light.
But without any lightness.
Brianna shifted her gaze to Kael.
For a moment, it seemed she would say something.
But something in the air shifted.
Subtle.
Almost imperceptible.
Even so—
present.
She turned her face.
Behind them, between the trees, the darkness opened.
Éreon emerged.
The cloak covering his body, the hood still hiding part of his face. Steps low, unhurried — as if he weren't arriving.
as if he wasn't arriving at all—only choosing to be seen.
Brianna held his gaze for a brief instant.
Then she raised her hand.
And pulled her hood back into place.
The guard watched.
Without hesitation.
"Right."
His voice settled back into place.
Firmer.
More controlled.
He turned his body.
"Follow me."
There was no reply.
The group simply moved.
They advanced along the road under the cover of the trees, staying within the shadows, each step measured so as not to break the silence already established.
The guard walked ahead, without looking back, confident they were right behind.
The entrance was not visible at first glance.
A discreet unevenness between ancient roots and displaced stones concealed the passage.
He pushed aside part of the vegetation with his foot, revealing a narrow opening.
A stone stairway descended.
Damp.
Cold.
Ancient.
The group entered without hesitation.
The sound changed immediately.
Drops of water echoed along the walls, rhythmic, constant. The air was denser down there, heavy with earth and time.
The guard's steps remained firm.
Calculated.
Each movement attentive to the space, as if he knew not only the path… but what might react to it.
No one spoke.
It wasn't necessary.
At the end of the corridor, the tunnel opened.
A warehouse.
Hidden within the county.
Crates stacked.
Reinforced sacks.
Barrels still marked with recent seals.
Everything organized.
Everything in recent motion.
Tracks on the ground indicated the unloading had finished not long ago.
But they were not alone.
A few men still moved through the space.
Quick movements.
Heads down.
Work without words.
The kind of operation that did not want attention.
The guard slowed his pace.
Without stopping.
Just enough to adjust the flow.
Brianna wasn't only following the path.
She observed.
The corners.
The shadows between the stacks of crates.
The areas where the light did not fully reach.
Nothing there was disorganized.
But it wasn't clean either.
Her gaze stopped.
An area in the back.
Covered by a heavy cloth, too dark to be just protection against dust.
The fabric did not fall straight.
There was volume beneath it.
A small flaw at the base.
Subtle.
Almost imperceptible.
But enough.
An iron bar.
Partially exposed.
Vertical.
Fixed.
Brianna did not slow her pace.
But she saw.
And understood.
The guard moved.
A lateral step.
Precise.
His body entering exactly into the line of sight.
Blocking.
Without seeming to block.
He already had the map in his hands when he turned to her.
"Head to the inn."
The voice returned firm.
Direct.
"At dawn, present yourselves at the mercenaries' guild."
A short pause.
Enough.
"Without registration… you don't make it to the second interrogation."
His gaze moved over the group.
More attentive now.
"And in here, no one disappears without explanation."
The silence held the weight of his words.
He took a step back.
His arm rose, pointing to a side exit.
"And it would be… prudent…"
A pause.
Light.
Controlled.
"that nothing seen here… is spoken of."
Brianna nodded once.
But before moving—
her gaze returned.
One last instant.
The flaw in the cloth.
Now… slightly more visible.
Not the structure.
But what was attached to it.
A foot. Motionless.
Skin stained.
Marked.
And the low sound—
metallic.
Chains.
Brianna did not change her expression.
Did not slow down.
She simply turned her face.
And followed toward the exit.
The others followed her.
In silence.
Night had already settled when they crossed the inner limits of the county.
The main street stretched ahead, paved with uneven stone, marked by the wear of years — or decades.
The lighting came from torches fixed to walls and wooden posts, the fire swaying with the wind, casting unstable shadows that dragged across the ground and the facades.
Nothing there was uniform.
The light failed.
In some stretches, it was enough to guide.
In others… it was nothing more than suggestion.
Brianna walked ahead.
Without hesitation.
Her gaze moving the minimum necessary, but registering everything.
Movement.
Rhythm.
Presences.
Karna came right behind, the unusual silence still fixed to his posture. His gaze sharper, harder than usual.
Kael walked with firm steps, feeling the ground, the irregular vibration of the stone beneath his feet, the way sound behaved between the closed structures.
Telvaris kept an upright posture, attentive to entry and exit points, to spaces where someone could emerge without warning.
The inn appeared ahead.
Old wood.
Solid structure.
The windows let out warm, irregular light, different from the coldness of the torches outside.
The sound came before the door.
Loud voices.
Laughter.
Metal.
Life compressed into a single space.
Brianna pushed the door.
The environment wrapped around them immediately.
The heat.
The dense smell of beer, roasted meat, and smoke.
Oak tables worn by time held groups in loud conversation, mugs clinking in heavy toasts.
In the corner, a bard tried to maintain a melody that had already been lost in the noise of the hall.
Near the fireplace, mercenaries rested.
Bodies relaxed.
Weapons within reach.
Eyes attentive.
Their entrance did not go unnoticed.
Gazes lifted.
Quick.
Calculated.
No open hostility.
Just assessment.
Then—
a man, seated among other patrons, raised his hand.
Calling.
His gaze fixed on Brianna.
Immediate recognition.
As if he had been waiting.
"So you came."
The voice came easy.
Without surprise.
The gesture widened, indicating the table.
"And you didn't come alone."
His gaze moved over the group, measuring each one.
Unhurried.
"Sit."
Brianna did not answer.
But she moved.
Karna noticed the gesture before the others.
His brow furrowed slightly, the corner of his mouth pulling into a brief half-smile — not of humor.
The others followed.
Indifferent on the surface.
Attentive underneath.
The man broke into a smile as he saw them approaching.
Brianna did not break her pace.
She came close enough.
And then inclined her body slightly.
The gesture calculated.
The distance, measured.
"I am grateful for what you did for me… and for my siblings."
Her voice kept a soft tone — controlled enough not to offer more than necessary.
The man reacted immediately.
His hands came to hers, enclosing them with undue familiarity.
His gaze gained a more open gleam now.
"Your siblings must be tired…"
The voice lowered a little.
"Why don't they go up first? I've already rented a room for them."
The pause came loaded with intent.
"Meanwhile… the two of us can continue the night more calmly."
His smile held for a second longer.
But then—
it faltered.
His gaze moved over the group again.
Counting.
Recounting.
His expression narrowed slightly.
"…You said there were four."
His head tilted.
"But I only see three."
The silence around the table did not change.
But it adjusted.
When Brianna turned her gaze back—
he was no longer there.
And, in that instant, outside, Éreon walked down the street without looking back.
The shadows around him did not merely follow… they adjusted, shaping themselves to the rhythm of his steps.
From the penumbra at his feet, forms began to emerge — small, fast, almost indistinct at first glance.
Rats.
But not common.
Their eyes carried a deep glow, too vivid, connected to something that did not belong to those bodies.
They spread around him, waiting.
"Spread."
The voice came low. Precise.
Without emotion.
The creatures moved at once, slipping through shadows, disappearing into cracks, beneath doors and along the walls… carrying with them his presence—
and whatever was about to surface.