As we left the office and the doors shut behind us, I heard another loud crash. I suspected I now knew why Kara kept such a modest desk.
Heading down the stairs, my mind reeled with what had just happened—how casually the Lord had asked to have killed while I sat right there, and then, essentially, being banished. Where would we go? Where could we go?
It was then that Liane spoke for the first ti since we’d entered.
“Trev, don’t worry. If that pompous prick had tried to kill you, he’d have been dead before he could even draw a sword,” she said, patting on the back.
Hari gave her a look but said nothing. I noticed Jackson snort a little.
“Thanks, Liane. I was just surprised at how casually he said it,” I admitted.
Hari explained, “Honestly, Trev, when people like him grow up in power and are always in power, they don’t see regular folk as people. It’s all part of a bigger picture. He said it while you were there because in his eyes, it wasn’t personal—it’s just how his leadership mind functions. Not that it was right. Don’t worry.”
“If it weren’t likely to cost half this city their lives, I’d love to have seen him try,” Jackson added as we reached the bottom of the stairs.
“The guild would never stand for executing one of its mbers over a vague threat you have no control over. We’d have fought it.”
“Except now I’m banished from the cities,” I said sombrely.
“No,” Jackson corrected. “You’ve been asked to leave this city, after you’ve finished your preparations, purely because of its location next to the mountain. You’re not banished from all cities—or any, really.”
We stepped out into the Guild Hall. It was as busy as usual, and travelling with the Vice-Captain drew attention, but nothing hostile like at the gate. Just glances.
As we left the guild, Jackson stopped us.
“You don’t have to, but if you’d like, you can stay at my place until you leave. That way you can lie low and use the kitchen. I can give Gael a well-deserved couple of days off.”
“We’ll definitely take you up on that offer. We still need to visit several places before we leave, and cancel the rest of the booking at the inn. We need to visit the Runescribe making Crisplet’s brazier, the Monster Knacker breaking down a Galvonson for us, and we’ll also need to buy a hefty amount of supplies,” Hari listed.
Jackson nodded. “I’ll go get the place prepared.” With that, he left us.
“He didn’t even ask us about the Galvonson nest,” Jen said with a chuckle.
Even Milo laughed. “I suppose we’ll need to go back and get the rest of that crystal on our way as well?”
“I don’t think that’s a good id—” Hari began, but was cut off as the ground shook. Not violently, but enough of a tremor to make him pause and look around.
Milo seized the mont. “We’re not leaving behind a giant vein of rare-quality, unknown ingredient. We visited that spot before with no issues; another week won’t change that.”
As we headed to the stables to pick up our horses, Jen voiced the pressing question already in my mind.
“So, where are we going to go?”
Hari seed to think about it for a long while.
“Well, we have options. We could head east to Dunhearth so Trev can visit his friends, then go north to Elarith Vale. Or continue further east to the Capital. Or head south from Dunhearth and try to intercept Trev’s other friend down that way. But Trev—before you get your hopes up—there’s every chance he’s already crossed to Lands End. If that’s the case… we won’t be able to follow.”
Milo piped up. “What about the dungeon in the swamp to the south? I know none of us have the luck stat for it, but usually we avoid dungeons because we can’t carry enough supplies. That’s not an issue now. Entering it could give us ti to let any rumours die down.”
“That’s not a bad idea either,” Hari admitted. “We’ll discuss it over the next few days. Let’s get to Clacker’s first and see if he’ll be… discrete.”
“If what Jackson said is true, and it’s the creature from the heart of the forest, we could also go explore the forest,” Liane added—though I was sure her motivations were entirely food-driven.
“And if he’s wrong?” Milo asked.
We arrived at Clacker’s Monster Knacker’s a short while later, after dropping off our horses at the stable. Apparently, since Hari had already paid for two weeks, there was no need to haggle—they were simply taken back inside without fuss.
As soon as we stepped into the shop, I was hit once again with the strong, tallic odour of blood.
A jovial voice rang out. “Greetings, fine adventurers—and fiery ones! I have your kill ready to go!”
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“Co, co, let old Clacks show you what we’ve got,” he called, heading through the door into the back room. We followed. Crisplet, clearly pleased to be acknowledged, let off a burst of sparks. As we walked, I could swear I saw a few stray bright sparks shoot off him—odd, but… maybe that was his way of showing he was happy?
The sight that greeted us inside was impressive: a towering stack of feathers, a beak larger than my head, and talons so massive they caused a shiver to run down my spine just thinking about being hit by one.
“Right,” Clacks began, rubbing his hands together, “we’ve got nine hundred and forty feathers in total. I’ve taken my cut—ninety. Eight talons, I’ve taken one. The beak is all yours. I also took one eye. As for the at—fully salvaged. I discarded the organs. Slled bad enough in here already. Hope you don’t mind, I did save the heart since I know that’s useful in alchemy though.”
We surveyed the pile of material. I didn’t see the at at first—he must have it stored separately, keeping it fresh.
“Uh, I can take the at from you if you like?” I offered.
“Perfect!” he said, more than happy to hand it over. It ca in four massive sections, with the legs and wings separated—eight pieces in total.
Before we could sort through further, another tremor rolled through the ground, strong enough to make the hooks on the wall rattle.
“Gah, another one? Hard to work like this,” Clacks muttered.
“Another one?” Jen asked.
“Yes. These damn tremors. Started this morning, they’re getting closer together and far more noticeable. Don’t know what’s causing them. Folks down at the docks are on high alert—they suspect a monster might be stirring in the lake, maybe awakened by the attack on the city.”
“Ah, I see,” Jen said with a nod.
“Well, Clacks, this is all perfect. There’s sothing I was hoping to ask you—and discretion is important,” Hari began.
Clacks raised an eyebrow. “I’ll work on nothing illegal or sapient, if that’s what you’re after.”
“No, nothing like that,” Hari replied. “But it’s unique, and it must be done in a secure location, out of sight, and never spoken of. The location will be the palace basent.”
That made Clacks pause. “You’ve got my attention. What is it?”
“Before I say more, I need your word—you will not breathe a word of this.” Hari’s tone was firm, leaving no room for doubt.
“An oath? For a job?” Clacks scratched his chin, thinking. “Fine. I give you my word—I won’t speak of it.”
“Good,” Hari said, voice cold and precise. “I’ll say little here, but know this: it’s dragon-kin. Ancient. Rare quality. If word gets out, the whole city could be destroyed.”
Clacks blinked, then let out a laugh. “Alright, you got good ole Clacks—well played, lad!”
“This isn’t a joke.” Liane’s voice cut through the air, so sharp and cold it froze Clacks in place.
His grin faltered. “It’s… not?” He swallowed hard. “You want to butcher a… a…” He stopped himself, pointing towards the mountains instead.
“Yes,” Hari said simply. “Will you et us at the palace in three hours?”
“That soon?! I just finished a full job!” Clacks sputtered.
“You don’t understand—it must be now,” Hari pressed.
Clacks hesitated, then nodded. “Alright. Three hours.”
With that settled, Hari, Jen, Milo, and Liane turned back to the pile of monster parts, loading their storage rings.
Next, we went to the lantern store, where we made our order. When we entered, we were greeted by the sa clerk who had served us last ti. Our visit was brief, as we were simply provided directions to the workshop.
A short walk later, we approached a quaint-looking building marked on our map. From the outside, there was nothing remarkable about it, but after knocking on the door, Curtis answered with a giant smile.
“Ah, you’re back! Perfect. My wife is ho as well, and we’re ready to finish off the brazier!” he said, welcoming us inside.
The mont I stepped in, I was in awe. The scene before was alive with craft—two forges set up, at least four people working, and stacks of practice braziers like the ones we used for Crisplet piled against the wall. The air was hot, filled with a rich, earthy-smoky scent.
As we moved deeper inside, I spotted another forge—this one with only a small opening leading into it and a giant pile of lake sand nearby. No one was working there at the ti. Beyond that were different rooms for different crafts. One was filled with strips of leather, and further on we found a middle-aged woman with fiery red hair, sitting at a table. She peered through a round piece of glass while scratching sothing into the side of a lantern.
That must be Runescribing.
As we entered, she looked up with a smile.
“Hello, all. And you must be the fire elental who’ll be living in this brazier,” she said directly to Crisplet, who burst off a shower of sparks in delight. “And you… you must be the child who wants to learn!” she added with a broad smile.
“I’m not sure today will be the best day for practice, though. With these tremors, it’s hard enough for to work, and they’ve been a right pain.” She sighed, rising from her chair and stepping toward us.
“My na is Charlotte—or just Char. Nice to et you all.” She shook everyone’s hand before turning back to .
“Now, young man, I was going to show you so runes and have you try a couple of basics. But with the way today’s been, I’ve done sothing different instead. Curtis ntioned you wanted to learn the basics?”
I nodded quickly.
“Perfect, then. I dug up my old notebook from when I was just an apprentice. I’ve no use for it now—you can have it.” She went to her desk, rummaged through a drawer, and pulled out a small, leather-bound book. Its cover was worn and softened with age, clearly well-used, but to it looked priceless.
“Thank you so much, Char. This will be a huge help,” I said, bowing as I accepted it.
“Now, about this brazier…” She turned to Crisplet. “Would you mind helping test sothing?”
Crisplet flared bright and drifted forward, sparks dancing.
Char pulled out a remarkable black brazier. It was intricately designed, almost like a lattice, with a solid base of black tal. Runes were carved into the outer rim, and a handle was fixed to the side, wrapped in dark red leather. Attached to it was a large strap that looked like it could be looped over the shoulder.
I was in awe—it looked stunning.
“Right, Crisplet, jump inside your brazier and go as hot as you possibly can,” she said, resting it on the desk. I was a little worried; I didn’t know how hot Crisplet could really go, but when he burned my academy uniform, that had been incredibly hot.
Still, Crisplet followed her instructions. He landed inside the brazier and grew brighter and brighter. It looked like the flas were pouring out through the holes, yet they were caught and contained. Then I noticed that three of the runes on the rim had lit up. There were several more, but those three glowed brightly.
“Wow,” I said, still in awe.
Another tremor rolled through the building. It didn’t last long, but the look on Hari’s face showed he was deeply unsettled.
“That’s perfect! There are ten runes that will contain the heat. Right now you’re only using three, so it’s future-proofed for quite so ti. Co here, Trevor—I’ll show you how to strap this on properly so you can carry it around.”
She demonstrated how to loop the strap over the opposite shoulder so the brazier rested by my hip. The runes caught the heat, so there was no risk of burning myself.
“This is perfect,” I muttered. “And thank you so much for the book—it will be of great assistance.”
“Not a problem at all, young man. Now, I’m finished for the day. With these tremors, it’s impossible to get proper work done.”
After a short chat with Curtis—letting him know we’d be leaving town soon—we stepped out of the workshop. We had one last thing to do before heading to the palace: cancel our booking at the inn so they could resell the rooms.
We were nearly there when another tremor struck—far stronger than the rest. Buildings shook dangerously, and cracks spread across their walls.
Then, all of a sudden—
There was a booming crack, like the largest tree snapping clean in half. The sound was deafening.
All eyes turned to the source.
The mountain.
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