Chapter 5 - Chapter 5 — Threads in Sleep and Screams at Dusk

Night pressed down over the Tempest guild like a heavy hand. Lanterns swung in the courtyards, their light casting long shadows, while watchmen paced the walls, their spears catching glints of moonlight. Riya stirred beneath her quilt, tossing fitfully, small hands grasping the blanket tightly. The dream came again—the same colors, the same creeping dread, but different faces.She saw a narrow lane rimmed with mud and smoke. Children huddled beneath a low archway. Something huge—its leathered hands soaked with blood—stepped over the lane. From its throat came a chittering sound—twisted and maddening—that warped men's minds. Riya tried to run. A small girl—herself in another life, yet so clearly her own—was tied to a post, ropes biting into wrists. Shadows circled, closing in. She cried out, reaching for Veer and their family.Veer woke abruptly, heart hammering. Beside him, Riya murmured in fear. He touched her shoulder gently. "It's only a dream, Riya. Only a dream." But she clung tightly.At dawn, Veer found Aditya Roy in the training yard. His movements were measured, almost serene, as though impervious to the world's chaos. Veer approached quietly."You look like you've seen ghosts," Aditya said without turning."Riya had a dream," Veer admitted. "Something bad… it felt real."Aditya's face softened just a fraction. "Dreams can be warnings. Listen, but don't let them control you. We act only when the time is right."The market quarter pulsed with life much like any other morning—traders shouting, children chasing a makeshift ball through broken streets. Tempest patrols moved steadily, not everywhere, but enough to keep a tenuous order. Danger often traveled unseen.Then, a scream shattered the day's fragile calm.Veer sprinted toward the noise. The outer gate of a neighborhood lay smashed, as though struck by a hammer. Orcs poured in—stooped and grim, armored with bone and metal masks, their eyes sharp and calculating. They moved like hunters, dragging villagers toward a stone pen already set up. Ropes and clamps rattled as captives were stuffed inside.Veer acted on instinct, wind bursting from his palms to sever ropes and knock attackers back. Halric and Maren appeared at his side; Maren's gryphon tore through the air overhead. Jiya sent arrows whistling with unmatched precision. Together, they pushed toward the pen, tearing through chains and freeing as many as possible.But the orc leader—a mountain of a figure adorned with carved bone talismans and a spiral tattoo—watched with a calculating calm. His scouts held a spiral-bannered flag, meeting Veer's eyes once before spitting and disappearing into the scrub.Two orcs dragged a screaming woman toward the pen. Veer's gust shattered her chains, sending her stumbling to safety.The leader signaled retreat. Orcs melted back into the wilderness.Back in Tempest's courtyard, the wounded received care and the missing were accounted for. Aditya pressed a hand to a table etched with maps."They're gathering. Learning. These raids aren't random. They value manpower, breeding, control. That spiral mark—their signature. Someone's training them."That night, pressed close against Veer atop the outer wall, Riya's voice trembled. "I dreamed again. Children tied to posts. The light dying around them."Veer clasped her hand. "Dreams warn us. We'll be ready. We'll protect them."Far to the east, monitors blinked. A pin stronger than yesterday registered—a heartbeat from the growing orc threat. Scouts would soon be sent to find the spiral-marked training grounds.For now, the city breathed cautiously in quiet. Riya's dreams waited, patient as the tide.