A sharp, relentless knock shattered the quiet of early morning.
Ren stirred first, hand instinctively brushing the hilt of his blade beside the bedroll. The floor creaked as Rica, already half-dressed, hurried downstairs, candle in hand, her robe trailing behind her.
By the time Ren descended, the others were already peeking from doorways—Rej groggy but alert, Marian rubbing sleep from her eyes, Vultherin growling low from the stair landing.
When Rica cracked open the inn's main door, the cold morning wind swept in—and with it, a woman on the edge of collapse.
She looked around forty, cheeks hollow from sleepless nights, scarf barely clinging to her shoulders. Her eyes were wide, bloodshot, frantic.
Woman: "Please! They told me... Stray Dawn—the adventurers who helped during the last caravan attack—you're the only ones who might listen!"
Rica blinked, surprised. Elly appeared beside her, robes hastily thrown on.
Rica: "Who told you that?"
Woman (panting): "The merchant Haskel! He said you saved his boy—said you're not like the town guards. Please... my daughter, she's missing!"
She wavered, nearly falling forward. Ren caught her by the arm, steadying her.
Ren: "Start from the beginning."
Woman: "She was last seen with travelers... cloaked, dark robes, heading toward the eastern wood. She—she told me she saw a symbol. A serpent... coiled around a black sun."
The room went still.
Rej muttered a curse under her breath. Marian's fingers curled into fists. Vultherin let out a soft, warning growl.
Ren's jaw tightened. That symbol wasn't just a warning—it was a signature.
Ren (grimly): "The cult's moving again."
Rica (quietly): "They're taking children again?"
Rej: "If they've touched that girl... I swear—"
The woman fell to her knees, tears streaking down her dirt-smudged cheeks.
Woman: "She's only eleven. Bright, kind... said she wanted to be a healer someday..."
Ren looked to the others. Rica had already grabbed her gear. Even Kristie, now stepping into the room, had that rare serious look in her eyes.
Ren felt it then—the crossroads. A familiar fork in the road. Help... and risk further entanglement with a group you barely understood. Or walk away... and live with the weight.
...
The atmosphere around the dinner table was thick. Rica had drawn the curtains, the flickering lantern casting shadows against the wall like tall giants in silent conflict.
Seri sat quietly in the next room, tended to by Lily and Elly. Her soft humming barely pierced the heavy air.
At the center of the room, on the table, strewn with maps, notes, and tomes gathered from the town's dusty library. Rica stood at the head, her posture stiff.
Rica (flatly): "Another girl. Another serpent. Another risk. And a choice."
She looked around the table.
Rica: "We're strangers to this world. Barely scraping by. We already picked a fight with bandits. Now this again?"
Iver (coolly):"We didn't seek this. But ignoring it doesn't guarantee safety either."
Marian (uneasy): "She's not Seri. She's not... our fight. But that doesn't make her less real."
Cedy (murmurs): "Unless we believe the cult's just... randomly kidnapping girls."
Kristie (grumbling): "That's what gets me. What if she's the next target? What if they're testing who reacts?"
Jonax (nods): "Either we move, or the cult keeps doing this—quietly, in the dark."
All eyes turned to Ren.
Ren didn't sit. He stood by the table, gaze firm.
Ren: "This girl isn't our responsibility. Not like Seri. But her mother came to us when everyone else turned her away. Maybe that's coincidence. Maybe it's a test. But if we ignore this..."
Ren glanced toward the humming in the other room.
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Ren: "...what kind of people are we becoming?"
Ren paused, then added:
Ren: "But we don't need to do this alone. We take it to the Guild. We report the symbol, give them the details, and help coordinate the search. We help—but we don't dive blind."
A short silence followed.
Rica (nodding slowly): "Alright. We pass it up the chain."
Rej (relieved): "Oof. I was not ready to fight another shadow freak this week."
Kristie: "Still feels weird though... turning away."
Ren: "Helping isn't the same as dying. We've done what we can. The rest... has to be someone else's fight."
As the others began to shuffle from the table, Elly lingered behind. She didn't speak—but for a moment, your eyes met. There was something unreadable there... like she'd seen a side of you she hadn't expected.
...
The morning haze hung low over the village square as Stray Dawn gathered outside the inn. The air was cool, still damp with dew. The frantic mother sat on the porch, draped in a shawl Marian had fetched earlier. Her hands trembled as she clutched the scarf, as if it were the only thing keeping her grounded.
Ren stood beside Rica and Josh, watching the eastern path.
Two armored figures approached—Guild officers. Their polished chestplates bore the sigil of the Guild: a silver hawk clutching a scroll. Their presence brought a shift in the air—weight, authority.
Guild Officer: "We received your report. The serpent and sun—are you certain?"
Rica gave a slow, steady nod.
Rica: "We've seen it before. In bloodier places."
The Guild officer's expression hardened.
Guild Officer: "This changes the classification. We'll dispatch Seekers to sweep the outlying paths and post runners to warn nearby settlements."
The mother rose from her seat, eyes filled with desperate hope.
Mother: "You'll look for her? You'll really—"
Guild Officer: "Yes, ma'am. The Guild thanks you, Stray Dawn. We'll handle it from here."
The woman crumpled into silent sobs, wrapped in Marian's arms as Lily gently rubbed her back. A soft moment of grief, shared without words.
Ren said nothing. Not yet. His gaze drifted toward the side of the porch, where the morning sun slanted just enough to cast half the space in gold and half in shadow.
Elly stood there—arms folded, leaning against a column. Her expression unreadable.
Ren approached her, steps quiet.
Ren: "You think we did the right thing?"
She didn't answer right away. Her eyes flicked toward the inn, then back at him.
Elly: "She isn't our Seri. But I would've hated you if you ignored her."
Her voice was low. Firm, but not cold.
Elly: "You have this... annoying thing, Ren. This weight in your words. Like you want to stay detached, but your heart's already halfway out the door before you realize it."
Ren's brow lifted slightly. A ghost of a smile tugged at his lips.
Ren: "And you're not the same?"
Elly gave a shrug—casual, but deliberate.
Elly: "Difference is, I admit I care."
Silence settled between them again. Then, quieter—almost hesitant:
Elly: "You're changing. I'm not sure if that's a good thing... or dangerous."
Before Ren could speak, Rica called out from across the porch.
Rica: "Ren. Guild wants a debrief."
Elly didn't follow. She stayed in the shade, gaze distant. But just as Ren turned to leave, her voice cut through the air—quiet, but sharp.
Elly: "I'd rather follow someone who hesitates and still helps... than someone who runs and never looks back."
She said with a smile.
Ren didn't answer. But the words lingered—soft as the wind, sharp as the truth.
...
The sun had risen higher, burning away the last of the haze. Most of Stray Dawn had scattered—Ren debriefing with the Guild, Rica checking maps with the scouts, Marian and Lily tending to the mother. The village seemed to breathe easier.
But not Josh. He lingered.
Josh stood by the Guild outpost's stone wall, arms crossed, tapping his foot with idle energy. Jonax had stayed with him, under the pretense of "watching the crowd," though neither of them was exactly known for patience.
Jonax: "You think Ren's still inside?"
Josh: "Probably lecturing everyone with his wise-man voice. You know how he gets."
Jonax smirked faintly, her arms folded.
Jonax: "You're the one pacing."
Josh was about to retort when a muffled voice caught their attention—from the alley beside the outpost. A Guild courier, barely more than a teen, whispered frantically to a cloaked man. Neither bore Guild insignia.
Jonax's eyes narrowed.
Jonax: "That's not protocol. Guild messengers don't go around corners to hand off reports."
Josh: "Unless they're hiding something."
They exchanged a look.
Jonax: "We should tell Rica."
Josh: "Or... we tail them."
Josh dashed towards them.
Jonax hesitated, weighing risk against instinct. Then sighed.
Jonax: "You're reckless."
Josh: "And you followed me."
They crept after the pair, weaving through crates and half-burnt lampposts. The cloaked man led the courier behind the stables—out of sight from the square. Then, from beneath his cloak, he handed the boy a folded parchment sealed with a symbol: a serpent serpent coiling around the dark sun.
Jonax whispered sharply.
Jonax: "That's them. That's the cult."
Josh's face turned serious, a rare look.
Josh: "He's using the Guild's own runners to pass messages."
Suddenly, the cloaked man's head jerked toward them—eyes sharp and inhuman.
Cloaked Man: "You shouldn't have seen that."
In a blink, he surged forward, hand outstretched with a flash of violet light.
Jonax grabbed Josh's collar and yanked him down as a bolt of arcane energy seared the wall behind them. Stone cracked, splinters flew.
Josh: "I'm starting to think this was a bad idea!"
Jonax: "You think?!"
They scrambled back into the open, pursued by the cloaked figure, who was now chanting in a foreign tongue—and behind him, more shapes moved from the shadows. Not villagers. Not Guild.
Josh: "Jonax—heads up!"
Jonax dove and rolled behind a cart as Josh grabbed a broken spear from the fence.
Josh (grinning): "Just like old times."
Jonax (panting): "We never had 'old times,' idiot!"
But despite the panic, there was fire in her eyes. And maybe, just maybe, a flicker of thrill.
Dust rose as the cloaked figure lunged, the violet shimmer of his spell dancing across his palm. Jonax ducked behind an overturned cart while Josh braced himself with the broken spear.
Josh: "I don't suppose you've got any magic hidden up your sleeve?"
Jonax (dryly): "Just a left hook."
The cultist raised his hand again—this time, multiple bolts fired in a fan. One scorched the wood inches from Jonax's face.
Josh snarled.
Josh: "That's it. Time to even the odds."
He slammed his palm to the ground.
Josh: "Hornbeast—now!"
From a burst of silver light, the massive beast materialized: thick hide, spiraled horns, and thunderous hooves. It let out a battle cry that shook the alley.
Hornbeast: "RRRHHHAAAUGH!"
The cultist staggered, muttering a curse as the beast charged, forcing him to leap back. More figures emerged from the shadows—two, then three cultists cloaked in that same black-sun sigil.
Jonax: "They're trying to surround us!"
Josh: "Stay behind me!"
He whistled, and the Hornbeast turned with shocking speed, goring one attacker into a wall with its horns.
Jonax didn't stay behind for long—she darted in, elbowed one assailant, then grabbed his arm and flipped him with practiced ease.
Josh (impressed): "Where'd you learn that?"
Jonax: "Focus!"
But even with the beast's help, they were outnumbered, the cultists fighting with unnatural fervor.
Jonax stumbled back as a robed man slashed at her with a curved dagger. Josh lunged between them, catching the blade along his arm. He grunted.
Josh: "You good?"
Jonax (wide-eyed): "You're bleeding!"
Josh (grinning): "Chicks dig scars, right?"
Before Jonax could respond, a flare exploded in the air—golden sparks whistling overhead.
Rica (off-screen): "Form up!"
Ren, Rica, Marian, and Elly charged in from the main road, weapons and spells at the ready. The tide turned fast.
Ren: "Take one alive!"
The Hornbeast slammed the last standing cultist into the ground, pinning him with a hoof to the chest. The man hissed and spat—but didn't resist.
Cultist (snarling): "You think you've won?"
Ren stepped forward, eyes sharp.
Ren: "Where are the children?"
The cultist laughed—until Elly raised her blade and pressed it just beneath his chin.
Elly (cold): "He didn't ask twice."
The man's bravado cracked. He coughed once, then nodded.
Cultist: "Under the Guild. Catacombs. We were using the old chapel tunnels. You're too late—"
Rica (snapping): "Move!"
...
Guild Seekers swept through the tunnels like a silver tide. Candles still burned along makeshift altars—half-finished rituals abandoned in haste. Inside a barred storeroom, a dozen children huddled together. Dirty, scared—but alive.
One of them, tear-streaked and clutching a faded scarf, looked up.
Girl: "Mama...?"
The mother burst in seconds later, crying out.
Mother: "Elma!"
She dropped to her knees, holding the girl close. The silence that followed wasn't peaceful—but it was filled with relief.
Josh leaned against the wall, bleeding but grinning.
Josh: "Guess we did alright."
Jonax (quietly): "Yeah. You did."
She glanced at him—longer this time.
Jonax: "Thanks... for earlier."
Josh: "Anytime. Might start charging you, though."
Jonax rolled her eyes, but the smile tugging her lips was genuine.
From across the room, Ren watched the reunion, a shadow still lingering in his gaze.
Elly (beside him): "They're safe. That matters."
Ren: "And the cult knows we're here."
Elly: "Let them come."
Hey guys! ??
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– Rein Silvers ???
Who do you think has feelings for who?
