’Not good! In a critical phase?!’
My eyes almost popped out as I reached the bottom of the window.
Thousands of bad scenarios ran through my mind.
Shaela forced into a fight. The orphanage threatened. The gang turning violent and kidnapping the kids. Each one was worse than the last.
And again, I couldn’t do a damn thing about it. I was stuck in the frozen north, hiding from a different kind of monster.
’Let’s hope Emory gets back in time,’ I thought, clinging to that slim chance.
The ’reserved moon’ had to come back from wherever he’d vanished to and clean up his little brother’s mess.
And honestly, I wasn’t too worried about Nolan.
The spoiled moon elf prince definitely had a hidden guardian trailing him. There was no way he’d truly ’escaped’ his home that easily. If things got truly dangerous for him, some scary-tier elf would drop from the sky.
Shaela and the other kids were the problem. They didn’t have secret bodyguards. And if I had to guess, Nolan’s protector wouldn’t lift a finger for some random human orphans.
’He should’ve left Kai to watch over them at least,’ I thought, guilt prickling. That blue bird was freakishly strong. But I shook my head. That was a selfish thought. Emory wasn’t close to the orphanage, and Kai was his companion, not mine.
I sighed, a deep, weary sound that emptied my lungs.
With another thought, I dismissed Narrative Glimpse. The last window flickered and died.
Silence enveloped the room.
Swoosh-!
The mental fatigue I’d been holding off finally crashed over me. That brief, terrifying stare from the Night Devourer had taken more out of me than I wanted to admit. My mind felt scraped raw.
I didn’t even bother changing. I just collapsed backward onto the pile of furs, staring blankly at the ceiling.
I was tired. Really, really tired.
<Wake me up if anything happens.>
I summoned Seren to stay on guard.
<Alright, have a nice sleep, friend.>
______ ___ _
Meanwhile, in the chief’s room, the fire pit cast long, dancing shadows.
A figure sat across from Chieftain Risha, draped in the pure white fur of a mountain wolf. The flames gleamed on the polished leather of a mask pushed up on their forehead.
"Speak," Risha said, her single amber eye fixed on the guest.
The figure raised their head, revealing a slender face with sharp features and deep orange eyes that held a clear familial resemblance to the chief.
"Big sister," the figure’s voice was intimate but still respectful. "Little Uru’en went to see the Black Dome again today. She even took the outsider with her. Fortunately, nothing serious happened... except the outsider seemed disoriented for a moment when they were leaving the ridge. He went pale while staring into the dome."
Risha leaned back slightly, the firelight catching the bone clasp of her eyepatch. "I see." But her expression was unreadable. "What else?"
"I’ve watched the outsider since his encounter with little Uru’en. His actions are... clean. He hunts with skill, speaks with caution, and offers genuine help to Goran. There is nothing obviously suspicious." The hunter paused, their orange eyes narrowing. "Which makes him more suspicious to me. I feel like he knows that he’s being watched, that he is too careful. But his healing and survival skills are definitely real. What do you think, big sister?"
Risha was silent for a long moment, her gaze drifting to the fire. "A traveler strong enough to survive the Verge alone, yet weak enough to need my daughter’s help against a Strider. A healer knowledgeable enough to impress Goran, yet wandering aimlessly toward Viremont’s land." A slow, knowing smile touched her lips. "He is hiding something. But his intentions toward our tribe, for now, seem harmless. Perhaps even... useful."
"Keep watching. And make sure my daughter doesn’t do anything too reckless."
The hunter dipped their head. "Understood."
"What about the other thing?" Risha muttered, her voice growing cold. "Is there any news?"
"...Yes." The hunter raised her head again. "I received a report from one of our spies this morning. It seems like our suspicions are correct. The Stonehide and Frostwalker elders... they’ve been meeting in secret with men from the Viremont. They’re definitely plotting something. They must be planning to push us out of this territory."
Risha’s expression didn’t change, but the air in the room grew heavier, colder than the winter outside.
"Damn them!" The hunter’s hands clenched into fists on her knees. "I can’t believe they’d sell their honor and their brethren just for a piece of land and a chest of human coins."
Risha raised a hand, cutting off the rising anger. "Don’t let anger cloud your mind. It will only blind you to their next move." Her voice was calm, a flat stone in a turbulent stream. "But what you said is right. They are truly unforgivable for betraying our trust. Yet..." She leaned forward, the firelight carving deep shadows into her face. "I don’t think it’s just about money or land. We’ve lived beside them for generations. There have been clashes, yes, but they were minor, never at this level. Never a secret pact with outsiders to wipe an ally tribe from the map."
"I fear things aren’t as simple as they seem." She looked into the flames, her single eye seeing something far away. "The Viremonts are ambitious, but they are not fools. They know the strength of the Drakari clans. For them to move so openly... it means they believe they can win. Or they have been promised something far greater than this valley."
She turned her gaze back to the hunter, her amber eye sharp as a shard of ice. "Double the watch on all borders. Tell our people to be ready, but to show nothing. Let the traitors and their new ’friends’ think we are blind. We will see what they are truly after when they make their first move."
The hunter nodded, her eyes burning with a cold fire. "It will be done immediately."
"Good. Now go. And keep an eye on our guest. His arrival may really be a coincidence... or it may be the first ripple of a coming storm."