The coin felt heavier than it should have.
Thane turned the leather pouch over in his hand, listening to the soft clink of gold inside. B-rank pay wasn't noble-level, but it was more than enough for a few weeks of quiet. And after the mission he'd just walked out of—fire, falsehood, and blood in a trench—quiet sounded like a blessing.
He returned to the Red Hart Inn just before dusk.
The same woman sat behind the desk. She didn't flinch when she saw him this time. She smiled.
"Back so soon, B-rank?"
He set the pouch on the counter and removed a few coins. "How long does this cover?"
She counted quickly.
"Two weeks. Third floor. You want meals included?"
"Yes."
She slid a new key across the counter, this one etched with a brass emblem.
"Room's yours until you say otherwise. Welcome home."
He didn't respond to that word.
Just nodded and took the stairs two at a time.
The room was better this time.
Solid door. A window facing the southern rooftops. A private washbasin. Even a desk and chair. He laid the coin pouch in the drawer, sat on the bed, and breathed for a while.
No fire.
No bodies.
No crawling through blood.
Just the slow tick of the wall lantern and the muffled sounds of music drifting up from the tavern below.
He went down late, when the tables were half full and the lanterns burned low.
That's when he saw them.
Seren. Mira. Sova.
Same table. Same energy. Loud laughter. Warm plates. Armor slung casually over chairs. This time, Seren spotted him first.
She raised her mug.
"Look who survived a Belric contract."
Thane gave her the smallest nod and approached.
"You girls always take the same table?"
Seren grinned. "Only the brave sit near the hearth. Pull up a chair."
The food came quick. Stew, fresh bread, and a mug of bitter cider. Thane ate slowly while they talked.
Mira was complaining about a snake nest they'd cleared for half the gold the contract promised. Sova was sharpening her arrows with a whetstone. Seren just watched Thane like he was some puzzle no one had finished yet.
"You know," she said finally, "we picked up a contract earlier today. Nothing glamorous—escort gig for a caravan carrying alchemy gear to the outer edge of Aetherra. Half-week travel. Double pay if no wagons break."
"Easy gold," Mira added, mouth full.
"You in?" Seren asked.
Thane hesitated.
He hadn't planned on company. Hadn't planned on anything, really.
But before he could speak—
The bell rang.
A deep, vibrating toll that shook the lanterns and rattled mugs.
Conversations froze.
Even the innkeeper stepped into the doorway, drying her hands on a cloth.
From outside, a roar of movement.
Footsteps. Horses. Shouted orders. Metal slamming into metal.
A runner burst into the tavern, out of breath, eyes wide.
"A dungeon!" he gasped. "New gate! It surfaced outside the west wall!"
The room erupted.
Half the adventurers bolted for the street. Others swarmed the Guild message board nailed near the tavern counter. The innkeeper's son was already scrawling an update in chalk on the pub wall.
DUNGEON ALERT
CLASS: UNKNOWN
SURFACE EVENT — HALCYRA REGION
LOCATION: WESTERN OUTSKIRTS
Seren's eyes gleamed.
Mira stood immediately. Sova was already stringing her bow.
Thane looked at them. Then at the scroll on Seren's belt—the one for the caravan escort.
She untied it. Crumpled it.
"Change of plans."
Thane rose.
They walked out together.
The Guild was chaos.
Clerks shouted. Runners scribbled down requests. Parties formed in real time, shouting names and ranks. The top floor balconies were lit—meaning the higher ranks were watching.
A dungeon surfacing near a capital wasn't just rare.
It was impossible.
And yet… there it was.
A rift. A swirling black gate on the outskirts. Already glowing.
Already humming.
"We go in tomorrow," Seren said, voice hard.
"Sunrise. Gate won't stabilize for another few hours."
"You with us, Thane?" Mira asked.
He stared at the light in the distance. The shape of it. The pull he felt behind his eyes. Like fire curling beneath skin.
"Yes."
He didn't say what he felt.
That something was waiting in there.
That something had been waiting for him.