Sunlight streamed through the forest canopy, and I basked in the feeling as I slowly stalked the deer from atop a rocky outcropping. I lay there, silent and unmoving as it gradually grazed closer to the base of the short cliff. My breathing was quiet, controlled as I tracked my meal through half lidded eyes. As it moved closer, I slowly pulled my legs up, coiling beneath me as I blended with the stone around me. A twig snapped nearby.

  I pounced.

  But the deer was quick, and I only grazed its flank with an outstretched claw, digging into muscle as it bounded away. I dashed after it, gracefully flowing through the trees. It was fast, but I was faster. Nothing in this forest could evade me for long. I was growing closer, the scent of blood burning in my nostrils. The deer screamed, and as I leapt over a fallen log, I saw why all too late.

  I fell into the trap, burning steel closing around me as I bellowed in rage, the sound echoing through the forest before the trap bound me still, and a blow rained down on my head, silencing me.

  Glass and bronze and stone surrounded me, far from the natural surroundings of the chase. Mana charged tools poked and prodded and cut me, always followed by the scratching sounds of mortal writing. Poke, scratch. Burn, scratch. The long, slow process threatened what sanity I had left. I screamed every time, constantly, but it was muffled, subdued by the glowing restraints across my face, muzzled like a common beast of burden.

  The pain continued, never ending. I soon lost hope of rescue. Surely someone, someone… I struggled to remember who, but they would surely come for me. I struggled against the restraints, tried to summon my strength, but it was sapped away, the traps of this nightmare too great to overcome. I called out again and again, but no one came. There was only the pain, the scratching.

  Then there wasn’t even that. And the last thing I saw was a pair of eyes, staring into my own, shining red with madness rooted so deeply within that all hope fled.

  *****

  I jolted awake in my bed, panic racing through me as the sheets tangled around me so similarly to the chains of my dreams. I rolled from the mattress, landing heavily on the wooden floor, breath heaving as I tore the sheets from me. I stopped, looking around at the familiar room, the familiar bed now covered in the shredded linens. I held up my hands, letting out a long breath as the claws retracted, leaving only human fingers behind. I clasped them, closing my eyes and letting out a long, slow breath. The calming gesture reminded me of the beginning of the dream, of the hunt for the deer.

  I sat on the floor, running fingers through my sweat soaked hair. A dream. That’s all it had been, I tried to reassure myself. But it had felt so real, so true. I had never seen a forest so lush, vibrant as it had been in that dream. Everything had felt so real, especially the pain. It still lurked at the edge of my awareness, a phantom agony that lingered upon my skin. Though that wasn’t right, either. In the dream, I hadn’t felt the chains upon my skin at all.

  I held up my hand, focusing as talons grew and thick scales covered my hand, forming a gauntlet of mottled black and gray with hints of silver. I ran my other hand over them, the rough edges contrasting the smooth faces of each scale. In the dream, I had scales everywhere. I closed my eyes, trying to remember the way it had felt, scales growing along my forearms and shins before receding.

  I snapped my eyes open, frowning down at myself. I was missing something. Whatever that dream had been, it was trying to tell me something. And this wasn’t it. It felt wrong, somehow. I took another deep breath, looking at the disheveled state of my room. I sighed as I clambered to my feet, and started picking up the remains of my bedding. Mrs. Havers would not be pleased, but if I could pick up new bedding today, she may never be the wiser.

  An hour later, I rolled my shoulders uncomfortably beneath my shirt as I stepped onto Market Street. . The material was clinging to me far more than ever, tight across the chest and arms in a way that let me know I hadn’t just been feeling stronger, I was clearly growing. I added new clothing to my mental list of errands this morning, sighing at the thought of spending even more of my fresh earned coin.

  The tailor shop had just opened its doors as I strode up the steps, morning light filtering through the slightly dusty confines. The small delphid man was efficient as he took my measurements, wrinkling his nose when I asked if he had any tunics and hard wearing pants in my size.

  “No,” he said imperiously, looking down his furred snout at me from where he perched upon a tall stool. “We do not carry anything in a ‘size’ for one of your stature. I can produce acceptable garments for a guilder such as yourself quickly, however. For 3 cotton shirts and 2 pairs of pants, it will be 54 florin.”

  I just sighed and nodded, counting out the coins to the tailor, who said he’d be done in a few hours, and to come back before day’s end. I left the shop and considered that it must be a cultural difference, that delphid were always so curt and direct. Mrs. Havers certainly was, though her kindness blunted its edge.

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  I fished the head of my broken hammer out of my satchel, running a thumb over the fractures running across its face. I had planned to stop by Jerome’s shop today to get it repaired if possible, but I had been rethinking that all morning. Did I really need another weapon? That instinct I had begun to feel recently, the one that had directed me to the hammer, was tugging at the edge of my mind, telling me I didn’t need it. Weapons were just tools, and I carried mine with me always, now. And I wasn’t any sort of master of the blade, anyway. I knew some basic moves from books and watching some of the other guilders practicing, but I didn’t think that would take me any further.

  I glanced around, but the street was quiet and nobody was looking as a long claw formed on my thumb as I drew it across the heavy steel, leaving a deep groove in the metal. No, I thought. I would see where these new abilities would take me, jump in to this fully. No reservations. Dropping the hammer head back into my satchel, I instead turned in the direction of the Guild. I had planned to meet Vera there around noon, but I might as well find out more about the quest Nicholaus had mentioned.

  Opening the door into the Guild, I was taken aback. First, at the new building, which Nicholaus had clearly spent time redesigning to be a more welcoming space. The arched ceiling was lit with new glyphlights that emphasized the sheen of the polished wooden tables and chairs set before the bar against the left wall, clearly set up to better entertain waiting guilders and patrons. A few I didn’t recognize lounged and chatted around the tables. Much was still the same, however, I thought to myself as I walked to the notice board, reading over the jobs available.

  Many were the same as always, standing jobs from an herbalist for specific, hard to find herbs, and the city’s bounty on rats. Those were the jobs brand new Tin ranks were expected to take, so I moved my gaze elsewhere, but I paused as I overheard part of the conversation from one of the nearby tables.

  “-think they’ve already made it there?” A young man wearing a set of matching leathers said excitedly.

  The older guilder across from him grunted. “Aye, probably.”

  If anything, the younger man seemed to get more excited in response. “I heard the Temple just appeared from nowhere! Where do you think it came from? Do you think one of the gods sent a miracle?”

  I covered my mouth to cover my snorting laugh as the older one answered in exasperation “I don’t know Trevor. I doubt it, the gods wouldn’t bother with that sort of thing. Probably just nobody had found it before now.”

  The older man was certainly right, Remnants seemed to come and go as they please. The Wandering City was proof enough of that. I refocused on the notice board, ignoring the remaining chatter. One of the notices stood out, a promise of a share of riches for those who joined up with an expedition company calling themselves the ‘Touring Company’. But my eyes finally settled on the city-sponsored note for the disappearances along the north road which read:

  “This is an official call from the city watch to investigate the north road. There have been several disappearances and 3 reported attacks in the last month. Each of the reported attacks have occurred under cover of night. The only details consistent are that these attacks have been perpetrated after the road has been blocked. Banditry is highly likely, and on top of the standing Triumvirate bounty of 50 florin per bandit head, the city is willing to add an additional 20 florin per head, in addition to a bonus for any surviving victims. Should bandits not be responsible, payment will be commensurate with Guild rates for equivalent rank. Payment requires acceptance of the contract via Guild Representative.”

  I nodded, pursing my lips as I read. If there were indeed bandits harassing travelers along the road, I wanted to put a stop to it on principle alone, not to mention… whatever they had done to the folk who’d disappeared. Still, the thought of killing another thinking person gave me pause. But only for a moment. Any who preyed upon the innocent had made their choice. And I would not harbor guilt over ending evil.

  I hoped.

  I grabbed the notice, tugging it off the wall before marching to the front desk, waiting patiently as an elderly man haggled for an escort to the west. The clerk manning the desk’s strained smile was familiar, though he was not. When the old man had finally left, grumbling all the while about ‘respecting your elders’, I placed the notice on the counter.

  “Picking this job up. Myself and one other, by the name of Vera of the Strikeback Clan.”

  The clerk, rather slim for an orc, nodded as he let out a quiet sigh. Flipping through the ledger, he found the listing for the job, reading over it again before looking up to meet my gaze. His voice was softer than I was expecting as he said “Only one other party has accepted the job, two days ago, but they came back this morning and joined up with that expedition to the east. They didn’t report finding anything on the road, but that doesn’t mean much.”

  “Understood,” I said as I laid my palm on the page, the tattoo on my wrist tingling as my name appeared at the bottom of the page.

  “All set then. Have a nice day.”

  I moved around the crowded room to the door, but stopped as a familiar pair of faces blocked the way. Tyrion and Varen had apparently entered while I was getting the job, and were waiting with feral smiles. “Well well, leaving already Bram?” Tyrion mocked just loud enough that a few of the other guilders turned to look.

  I rolled my eyes. “I don’t come here for the company, Tyrion. I got a job, now I’m off to do it.”

  His eyes narrowed as a few of the watching audience snorted. “Of course,” he said. “I would imagine you need the coin, as a Tin rank. Off to kill some rats with that mongrel, then? I notice she’s not here with you, did she get left outside so as to not make a mess again?”

  Fury raced up my spine. “You caused that fire Tyrion, and everyone here knows it regardless of who your daddy paid off. And Vera is a better adventurer, and a better person, than you could ever hope to be. Unlike you, she didn’t just buy her way into her rank.”

  Tyrion’s eyes flashed with dark hatred, but his mocking smile never faltered. “Ooh, hit a nerve, did I? I’m terribly sorry, I must make it up to her some time. Does she prefer raw food, or the kibble they serve at the kennels?”

  I stepped close, until we were nearly nose to nose. Heat swirled through me as my power rose unbidden. I noted with savage glee that I was now just a hair taller than the man. “Back off, Tyrion. Vera may have held back last time, but I won’t.” I started to step away, but turned back before leaving. “And it’s Bronze rank, now. You can keep the rat quests.”

  I didn’t stand around to wait for his response, instead stepping outside and standing to the side of the entrance to the guild, letting my anger gradually dissipate. I didn’t have to wait long before Vera came striding down the street, face lighting up as she caught sight of me. Clasping my arm warmly, she said “Well well, hope I didn’t keep ya waiting long. I could’ve sworn I was right on time.”

  I forced myself to leave the interaction in the guild behind and grinned. “No, I just got here early, had some other errands this morning. I picked up that job, here’s the notice. If you’re ready, we can set out this evening. Attacks are apparently happening at night.”

  Vera read over the notice quietly, frown deepening as she did. “Hmmm. Well, I know you can see in the dark but I’m going to need a lantern if we’re hunting in the dark. I don’t like this business of hoping you can spot any ambushes before they spot us. I trust you, but this is dangerous. And if there are bandits…” She glanced at me with an eyebrow raised. ”You going to be alright if it comes down to it?”

  I clasped her shoulder. “I’ve made my peace with it. And don’t worry, I’ve got a good feeling about this. Getting rid of scum that preys on people? That’s what adventurers do.”