The Adventurer Registry Hall in Graysmoke was louder than usual. Too many boots on wood, too many mugs clinking, too many opportunists pretending to be heroes. The bulletin board rattled as a clerk hammered up a fresh sheet of parchment.
"New posting!" she called, voice cutting through the din. "Mana anomaly east of Ashroot Forest. Standard investigation. Thirty silver base reward."
That last part—that's what made half the room look over.
Thirty silver was enough to bother with. Not enough to scare people away.
At a table near the wall, four adventurers looked up from their late breakfast.
Joran, the swordsman, squinted at the board. "Thirty silver for a 'mana anomaly'? Either the Guild is desperate or someone's being overly dramatic."
Sella, the archer, leaned back in her chair, kicking her boots onto the table despite the clerk glaring at her. "It's Ashroot. The forest spits out weird things every few months. Probably a mana-fat rabbit or some glowing moss."
Liria, the mage, didn't look convinced.
"Ashroot has no recorded leyline fractures," she said, calmly folding her spell notes. "If there's an anomaly, it's new. And new things are rarely harmless."
The newcomer—Ren—swallowed hard. He had joined their team only two weeks ago, still smelled like academy chalk, and still polished his armor as if it would impress danger into sparing him.
"A dungeon…?" Ren asked quietly. "Could it be a dungeon?"
Joran laughed. "If we're lucky, sure. Baby dungeons are worth a fortune if you chart them early."
Sella snorted. "If it is one, it'll be tiny. First floor only. Maybe a slime, maybe a wild dog if we're unlucky."
Liria rose from her seat, closing her spellbook with a soft snap. "We'll take the job."
Ren nearly dropped his spoon.
"We—we will?"
"That's what adventurers do," Joran said, clapping him on the back. "Investigate, fight, brag later."
The clerk noticed them approaching and handed Liria the quest parchment.
"No confirmed sightings," she said. "But the locals reported strange noises. Mind your step in Ashroot."
"Always do," Sella said, already checking her bowstring.
Ren hesitated before turning away from the board.
"Liria… do you think it's safe?"
"No," she said plainly. "That's why we prepare."
Her honesty didn't comfort him.
But it did stop him from asking further.
They spent the next hour buying essentials:
oil for torches
salt for warding
rope, because rope solves panic
bread that would harden into edible stone by sunrise
Joran strapped an extra knife to his thigh.
Sella bought new fletching.
Liria purchased two fresh mana crystals.
Ren bought a second prayer charm "just in case."
None of them noticed the old hunter leaning by the doorway, watching them with tired eyes. He'd been in Ashroot the night before. He'd heard something he refused to describe.
He opened his mouth, as if to warn them—
then closed it.
People don't listen anyway.
By dusk, the four adventurers were packed, armed, and ready to leave at first light.
None of them expected the forest to change.
None of them expected the air itself to watch them.
None of them expected the darkness beneath the roots to be alive.
They just knew thirty silver was enough to try.
And sometimes, that's all it takes.