The stone gates of Westvale loomed high above the road, their shadow stretching long in the late afternoon sun. Ethan adjusted the strap of his pack, feeling the stiffness in his shoulders from days of travel and uneasy sleep.
The guards at the gate wore polished breastplates but moved with the kind of slow precision that came from boredom, not discipline. They waved Marcus's guild crest through without question, and within moments, the group was swallowed by the city's noise—vendors shouting prices, the clatter of wagon wheels over cobblestones, the faint but constant hum of too many voices in too little space.
The Westvale Adventurer's Guild was housed in a three-story building just off the main market square. From the outside, it looked like a fortress; inside, the smell of parchment and smoke filled the air.
At the front desk, a lean man with sharp eyes and a quill in his hand looked up as they entered. "Back from Eastfield already? That was quick."
Marcus set his report scroll on the counter. "We didn't find the creature. But we found something else."
The man's brow furrowed as he scanned the pages. "Blood… claw marks… and a—" He stopped, reading slower. "…stone circle?"
Selene crossed her arms. "It was deliberate. This isn't some hungry beast."
The man set the scroll down carefully, his expression unreadable. "I'll pass this to the Guildmaster. Wait upstairs."
The second floor was quieter, with fewer adventurers and thicker walls. Ethan noticed how even the candle sconces here were polished to a shine—no place for dirt or casual conversation.
They didn't wait long before the Guildmaster entered. Master Alric was a man in his fifties, with a scar across his cheek and the posture of someone who had never let time slow him down.
"You've stirred up more than you realize," he said without greeting.
Marcus frowned. "We were sent to deal with a threat. We found proof it's organized. Shouldn't that matter?"
Alric's gaze swept over the group, pausing on each member just long enough to feel intentional. "The guild's official stance is that the Eastfield incidents are isolated. Farm disputes. Wolves, perhaps. We won't be alarming the public over… patterns."
"Patterns that leave messages in blood?" Selene's voice was sharp.
Alric didn't flinch. "And what would you have me do? Declare to the city that monsters are speaking to each other? That they're planning? Fear spreads faster than steel, and once it starts, you can't put it back in the sheath."
Ethan felt something twist in his gut. "So you're saying we ignore it?"
Alric's eyes flicked to him, colder now. "I'm saying you've done your job. You brought back information. Leave the rest to those who decide what's worth acting on."
For a heartbeat, no one spoke. Then Alric turned on his heel and left the room, the door clicking shut behind him.
Downstairs, the atmosphere was different. A few adventurers glanced up as the group passed, their eyes lingering just a moment too long. Ethan caught snippets of conversation—words like blood, farmstead, orders.
Lily stayed close beside him, her voice low. "They already know. Or at least they think they do."
He glanced at her. "Then why pretend otherwise?"
She didn't answer right away, just studied the people around them. "Sometimes, hiding a truth is more useful than telling it. Especially if you want to see who tries to uncover it anyway."
That night, they stayed in one of the guild's rented rooms. The noise of the city faded into a distant murmur through the shutters, but Ethan couldn't sleep.
[System Notification]
EXP Amplification Triggered — Multiplier: 12x
The warmth surged through him, sharper than before.
"You always show up when my head's already spinning," he muttered.
Unrest sharpens focus. Focus improves retention.
He huffed a quiet laugh. "You've got an answer for everything, don't you?"
Not everything. Yet.
The pause after that word yet settled into his thoughts like a stone in water. Somewhere in the darkness outside, the city shifted in its sleep, and Ethan had the feeling that Westvale was not nearly as safe as its walls claimed.