Vellum's tour ended with them getting kicked out of a bakery for "intimidating the bread."
In his defense, Leo had only asked if the buns were enchanted and if they could sing showtunes when warmed.
Rayleigh vanished somewhere between scroll stalls, probably chasing down a floating grammar correction notice. That left Leo with Ari, who looked like she was five seconds away from casting a silencing spell on him.
> "So," Leo said, walking backward, arms spread wide. "How do you like your new babysitting assignment?"
> "You're not even the most exhausting person I've tracked," she muttered. "There was this one guy who only spoke in riddles and burped spells."
Leo clutched his chest. "Was he also devastatingly handsome and weirdly humble?"
> "He ate soap scrolls."
"…Ah."
They walked into a quieter part of the market, the crowd thinning out. Leo's eyes wandered, taking in the details of the city. He saw walls covered in ancient script — glowing faintly, like they'd been whispering something under their breath for centuries.
> "Why do these walls look like they're judging me?" he asked.
> "They are," Ari replied without missing a beat.
Then Leo felt it — a strange warmth in his scroll pouch.
He reached in and pulled out his beginner scroll, the one that had followed him from day one. But now... something was different.
On the back of it, a faint symbol was glowing — a twisting mark like ink poured into water. It wasn't part of the normal inscriptions.
> "Hey Ari… this mark… was this here before?"
She paused, frowning. "Let me see that."
She examined the scroll carefully. Then her brows tightened.
> "That's... not standard. That's a curse seal. Or maybe... an imprint."
> "Cool cool. So I'm cursed now?"
> "It's reacting to something. Or someone."
Before she could say more, a soft wind blew past them — carrying a sound.
It was barely a whisper. Not a voice, but something deeper.
Ancient.
Familiar.
It didn't speak words. It felt them.
Leo's body tensed as the whisper slid past his ears like a secret trying to remember itself.
> "Did you hear that?" he asked quietly.
Ari had already turned. Eyes scanning the air.
> "That wasn't from anyone nearby."
> "So… the walls are judging me."
She didn't answer.
Far behind them, hidden among the shadows of the alley, a silent figure watched. Cloaked in layers of old parchment and worn leather, they tilted their head — as if they, too, had heard the whisper.
But unlike the others…
They understood it.