The evening air of Hiving was cool when Wade stepped out of the guild building.
The sunset bathed the city in a soft orange glow, streaks of gold and purple spreading across the horizon.
The cobblestone streets shimmered faintly under the fading light, and lanterns hanging from shopfronts flickered to life one by one.
Wade adjusted the straps of his pauldrons as he moved with the crowd.
His boots clicked against the pavement, each step confident.
His mind was abuzz, not from excitement but calculation.
His destination was simple.
The guild tracked all transactions done through their store, but the independent vendors scattered across Hiving's market districts? They operated quietly. Discreetly.
And that was exactly the kind of place Wade was headed now.
He'd asked Rowan about them before, and it was time to make good use of the information.
He turned into one of the narrower streets, where adventurers often went to make off-the-record purchases.
