The next assignment did not come from Lyra.
It came from the guild.
Kael noticed the difference immediately.
The board near the center of the room had been rearranged, and several requests had been marked with a different seal—one that stood out from the others without explanation. The jobs attached to it were not labeled as higher rank, but they carried a sense of urgency that the others did not.
Lyra stepped toward the board without hesitation, scanning the postings carefully.
Kael followed, folding his arms as he read over her shoulder.
"This doesn't look like the usual cleanup work," he said. "There's a lot more detail in these."
"Yes," Lyra replied. "Because these matter."
"That's not ominous at all."
She reached up and pulled one of the requests free.
Kael leaned in slightly, reading it more carefully this time.
Outer Zone Disturbance — Multiple fracture signatures detected.
Irregular behavior observed.
Recommended: Team deployment.
Kael frowned. "Irregular behavior sounds like something we shouldn't be involved in."
"It means something changed," Lyra said.
"That doesn't make it better."
She turned toward the front desk and placed the request down.
The woman behind the counter looked at it, then at Lyra.
"You're taking this?"
"Yes."
The woman's gaze shifted briefly to Kael.
"…You will not be alone."
Kael raised an eyebrow. "That's the first reassuring thing I've heard today."
Lyra didn't respond.
She didn't need to.