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The sign of Meadows Rise swung in the slight breeze, hinges whining like it was still half-asleep, a golden stag could be seen painted elegantly across its wood.
From behind the shutters came the muffled clatter of pots and voices, the early rumour of a town already stirring.
It was the Central District's star Inn & Tavern, a homely established three story building, even at this early in the morning, the people here were still bustling, guests, townsfolk and the overnight drinkers alike.
Kalv finally reached the tavern's door. The bell above it chimed as he stepped inside; warmth rolled over him, thick with the scent of stew, ale, and oiled wood.
Inside, the tavern was tidy as ever; not a trace of dust, unlike the inns in the lower districts.
The wood shone with care, monster trophies and bright banners lining the walls.
Lanterns hung on the walls and beams, each housing small Luminary Shards that cast steady amber light through the hall, catching their slight hum of essence.
A few regulars lingered over early breakfasts and quiet meetings—the town's heartbeat before dawn.
"Kalv! There you are!" a barmaid called, while hurrying over.
She was just shy of his height, with amber hair tied neatly into a ponytail, her tavern-maid dress crisp and clean.
"Morning, Reen. You're… bright today." Kalv said, smiling at the over-joyed maid.
Reen brightened; her smile seemed to bring the sun with it. She fussed with the hem of her dress whenever he was near.
They stood in a pocket of awkward silence.
"Um… Kalv, I-I was wondering—since I haven't seen you in a while—would you…?"
Reen's flustered act of bravery got cut short.
A voice barked from the trapdoor in the floorboards.
"Reen, who is it? Bring the guest in—stop lazin' about!"
"C'mon now, Momma will be glad to see you!" she said, smiling as she took his hand and led him towards the open hatch near the counter.
The floorboards creaked beneath them. From below came the rattle of wood and metal—the tavern's cellar for ale and stores.
Kalv tried to peer down into the darkness but it only stared back at him.
"Good morning, Mrs. Lasen," Kalv said while peering down into the darkness.
CLUNCK!
…
BANG!
"Gahh! Sod it all! That damn bastard never sorts this bloody storage out!" Noises of colliding materials could be heard followed by a pissed off woman.
The two exchanged a look. Reen clasped her hands behind her back, swaying side to side with a grin that turned sly. Kalv blushed and turned away.
When he turned back, Mrs Lasen was halfway out of the hatch, broad-shouldered and already grinning at him
"Kalv! Good to see you! Where've you been hiding these last few days?" she called, climbing out of the cramped hatch.
A heavy thump followed. Smoke and malt rolled out with the woman.
White blonde braid, arms like a smith's. Scars caught the light as she straightened, grinning.
"You haven't forgotten this liddle, lonely, middle-agedwoman, have you?" she teased, leaning hard into the 'middle-aged' part.
"Ah no! I've been put on guard duty a lot more—"
Kalv was cut off as the much taller woman hauled him into a crushing bear hug that lifted his boots clear off the floor.
Even in retirement she kept the brute's physique; the kind that made every drunk think twice.
"Haha, I'm only teasing, love."
His boots finally landed on solid ground.
She leaned close to his other ear, away from Reen.
"Now… tell me—when's the wedding, hm?" she whispered, half tease, half curiosity.
"Wha— Mrs Lasen, please don't tease me!" he protested, his voice uncertain.
"Hm say Kalv, were you here just to see… me?" Reen asked, fingers pressed together.
His mind finally kicking back into gear through the flustered fuzziness.
"Ah! I totally forgot—Yulan, Kael, and Sun! We were meeting here; are they in?" he asked, only now remembering his purpose.
"Ah, those three? They're in one of the private rooms, I allowed it since it's still quiet. First floor, down the corridor, the last room on the right." Mrs. Lasen told him the directions to his companions.
"Thank you! I'll—uh—catch you both later!" Kalv said as he rushed off, a good excuse to get out of such a heated situation.
The two women looked at each other.
"You'll have to try harder, love, or you'll scare him off for good." Her mother told her like a wise elder.
Reen's shoulders drooped in quiet defeat.
The tavern noise swelled behind him—mugs clinking, voices rising—as he slipped down the corridor.
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Kalv eased the door open and stepped inside.
Morning light leaked through half-closed shutters, cutting the private room into warm strips of gold and shadow. His companions sat around a low table in the centre, each in their own pocket of quiet.
Yulan looked up first. A natural-born Dawnish man, the oldest of the four by a few years. Cream-toned skin, cropped dark-brown hair, and a light beard gave him the look of an older brother.
Kael lounged back in his chair, boots crossed. Half Dawnish and half Veythari, wore his jungle-born blood openly: sun-tanned skin, long white hair tied in a ponytail—exotic enough to keep the local girls gossiping.
Sun sat the straightest of them all. A full-blooded Seraphel from the Sea Kings' line, she had straight black hair that curved around her pointed ears, accentuating her quiet elven beauty.
All were off-duty, dressed like ordinary civilians.
"Kalv, took you long enough! You nearly missed the meeting," Yulan said in that elder-brother tone.
Kalv took one of the empty seats.
Kael cocked an eyebrow.
"Ah, spare him, Yulan. The sweetheart needed time to feel someone's warmth after one too many lonely nights."
Sun's soft laugh chimed between them.
Kalv groaned and dropped his face into his hands. "I've had enough teasing for one morning."
Sun leaned her elbows onto the table, eyes narrowing gently.
"Kalv, Reen is a sweet girl. She seems infatuated with you—you shouldn't disrespect her feelings," Sun said, voice lightly scolding.
Kalv looked aside, a tinge of guilt in his face.
"It's not that! It's… my eyes have already fallen on someone else."
Yulan sighed, shaking his head at the one-sided tangle overtaking the meeting.
"Right. Let's move on to more realistic matters, now that we've clarified Kalv's tragic romantic life and his doomed love for the captain."
Kalv shot him a deadpan look as Yulan unrolled a map across the table, pinning the corners with mugs.
"The captain's been busy quelling rumours and calming tempers around town," Yulan glanced towards the three and continued. "We've all been on duty with her this week—we know how the people of Brisden have been acting."
He tapped the parchment; the sound thudded softly beneath the lantern's glow.
"Travellers and traders passing through have spoken of groaning of trees in the forests, mostly toward Tree Grave."
Kael leaned forward, white hair sliding over one shoulder.
"You mean that thing?"
Yulan nodded once.
"It's been years since it stirred this much. Seems the Gaunturala has resumed activity. If that rumor's true, our borders could be in danger—especially if it decides to make the town its new nest."
He exhaled and glanced toward Sun, she replied with a nod.
Sun rested her fingertips on the map, calm but focused.
"During my last shift," she said, "witnesses claimed the mist has thickened. Changed colour as well. No doubt the work of the Forest of Madness—or, as the Guild calls it, the Blue Mist Forest."
Her finger traced the forest's edge on the parchment.
"Reports mention hallucinations: people seeing shapes that aren't there… Statues walking between the trees."
She paused.
"The Guild may need to issue new contracts for cohorts—to slow the mist's advance, if that's even possible."
A sigh slipped from her, the weight of the problem settling across her shoulders.
Kalv leaned in, eyes bright.
"Kael, what about the witness who claimed she saw a demon?"
Kael let out a long breath through his nose.
"Her name's Alara—daughter of a forester, herb gatherer. The council ruled her delirious, but I tracked her down myself."
Kalv smirked. "Of course you did."
Kael shot him a glare and rubbed his temple.
"…At first I thought the council was being unfair. But after hearing what she said…" He paused. "I can't blame them. She was shaking so badly I thought she'd fall apart. And the way she described what she saw — it wasn't right."
The three others exchanged uneasy looks. A demon wasn't something you mistook.
Kael lifted both hands in a helpless gesture.
"She didn't see much. Just a man eating meat beside a burnt campsite. Said he looked wrong. Off. Demonic. Tried speaking to her. She panicked, blasted him with Gust Palm, shut her eyes, and sprinted home screaming 'demon'."
From below drifted the clatter of cutlery and a single laugh—normal life pressing against the walls of their quiet room.
Yulan stared down at the map, thoughtful.
Kalv broke the quiet first.
"So you're saying she roasted some innocent hermit because he looked funny?"
Kael grimaced. "That's the obvious conclusion, yeah. But there's more. She mentioned an ice sculpture near the camp — shaped like a tree. Said something was… moving inside it."
Yulan's head snapped up.
"An opening?!"
All three spoke at once.
Kael nodded, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Could be. Who knows. But I'd say she didn't find a demon, just a hermit who met the wrong little lady."
Kalv sank back with a long exhale.
Here I thought something interesting had finally happened…
A chair slammed against the tavern's floor downstairs.
Shouting shattered the quiet.
"Demon!"
"It's real!"
All four froze.
For a second, even the tavern's usual hum seemed to stop.
Then Yulan pushed back his chair.
"Move."
They were already on their feet when the sound came again—louder this time, rising through the boards like a heartbeat gone wild.
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