Morning sun arrived over the land of Aris.
Under the faint glow of the early sunlight, the small inn plaza slowly came back to life.
Shopkeepers lifted their shutters, travelers stretched sore limbs, and the faint commotion of routine work filled the surroundings.
Ethan, Leila, and Maximus walked toward the meeting spot their group had decided on earlier, each of them was unusually silent.
Although their steps were steady, their thoughts were anything but that.
They were weighed down by everything they were not saying out loud.
A few seconds later, Katherine arrived, still half-asleep, rubbing her eyes as she walked.
Not long after, Desmond, Kara, and Galeion emerged from the different taverns where they had spent the night, gathering together at the familiar spot.
Katherine looked around at their faces and frowned. "What is with your expressions?" she asked, yawning openly. "Did someone die or what?"
Ethan kept quiet, his gaze fixed on the ground.
