Caelan lay on his back as the morning silence slowly began to unwind around him. The quiet faded as the world began to ease back into motion.

  A small tap landed on his face.

  Again.

  And again.

  His eyes slowly opened to find Mynxi lying beside him, her tail flicking back and forth lazily.

  He smiled gently as the haze of sleep began to fade.

  Then her tail flicked down directly into his eye.

  Caelan shot upright with a silent scream.

  Mynxi didn’t move, still half asleep.

  “Morning, Dad… ten more minutes, please…” she mumbled.

  Caelan rubbed his eye, turning toward her. “Good morning, little one. You go back to sleep. Don’t worry — there’s no training today.”

  “Okay, Dad…”

  She was already drifting again.

  Caelan swung his legs over the side of the bed and stretched slowly.

  His bedroom door suddenly slammed open.

  Keira burst in.

  “Where are they? Have you seen them? They’ve got to be in here somewhere!”

  Caelan blinked, still waking up. “What have you lost this time, sis?”

  Keira launched headfirst into his wardrobe, throwing clothes in every direction. “My goddamn boots! Where are they? I’m so late again!”

  “Why would they be in my room? You weren’t even in here last night,” Caelan said flatly.

  “Well, I was,” Keira replied, still digging through his things. “You were already asleep.”

  “Weirdo,” Caelan muttered under his breath.

  He walked over, grabbed her around the waist, and lifted her clean off the floor.

  She froze mid-flail. “Um. The fuck are you doing, bro?”

  Caelan carried her back to the bed and dropped her where he had been lying.

  “First — stay out of my room while I’m sleeping. That’s creepy as hell. Second — training is off today. And third…”

  He pointed at Mynxi.

  “Mynxi. Super duper cuddles. Please.”

  Mynxi rolled over without opening her eyes and immediately wrapped Keira in a crushing hug.

  “Ohhhh— wait— too tight— too tight, Mynxi—” Keira wheezed.

  Caelan grabbed his jacket from the hanger beside the door. “You two go back to sleep. I’ll make breakfast and explain later.”

  As he stepped into the hallway, Keira’s muffled voice floated after him.

  “Help.”

  Caelan smiled to himself as he walked down the corridor.

  He made it to the turn in the hallway before noticing something at his feet.

  A Revolutionary Army jacket.

  Dumped on the floor.

  Caelan sighed.

  He looked at the door in front of him.

  Then kicked it clean off its hinges.

  The door crashed inward.

  Jett shot upright in his disaster of a room, gasping as he nearly fell out of bed.

  “IT WASN’T ME!” Jett shouted instantly.

  Caelan stood in the doorway, death staring.

  “Explain.”

  He pointed at the jacket.

  Jett blinked. Calmed down. Smiled weakly. “Sorry, Caelan…”

  A floorboard beneath Caelan’s boot snapped loudly.

  He tilted his head slightly.

  Jett’s smile vanished.

  “Sorry, Captain. Won’t happen again.”

  Caelan clicked his fingers once toward the jacket.

  He didn’t move.

  Jett scrambled out of bed and rushed to grab it. He tried squeezing between Caelan and the broken doorway.

  Caelan didn’t blink.

  Jett slipped past, jacket in hand, and hurried back into his room.

  Caelan placed his hand against the wall beside the shattered frame and leaned in close.

  “Next time,” he whispered calmly, “I’m sending the Lieutenant. Am I clear?”

  Jett nodded rapidly.

  Caelan stepped back and walked away.

  Jett sank onto the floor inside his room and took a long breath.

  Then Caelan’s head suddenly popped back around the corner with a bright smile.

  “I’m making breakfast, bud. Twenty minutes if you want any.”

  Jett stared at him in pure confusion and nodded quickly.

  Caelan walked off, hands in his pockets, whistling as he started down the stairs.

  He nearly skipped the last few steps.

  Joss was seated behind the front desk, reading a fresh copy of the Virelith Press.

  Caelan approached with a wide grin and dropped a bag of emerald bars onto the counter.

  “Morning, big man. Still reading that thing?”

  Without looking up, Joss replied, “Morning, Caelan. I’ll fix your mess later. This one just got dropped off this morning. Nice to have something new to read.”

  Caelan raised an eyebrow. “Second issue?”

  Joss nodded slightly, still scanning the page. “Interesting headline. ‘Is Caelan a Piece of Shit?’”

  Caelan paused.

  Then slowly nodded. “She’s probably got some valid points. Let me guess — the dungeon?”

  Joss nodded again.

  Caelan turned toward the kitchen.

  “One more thing,” Joss added. “There’s a report about something northeast. They’re calling it ‘The Dark Blade.’ At least a dozen groups heading that way.”

  Caelan stopped and glanced back over his shoulder with a smile.

  “Don’t worry, bud. Already on it. Thanks.”

  He pushed into the kitchen.

  The door swung shut behind him.

  His hands balled inside his jacket pockets.

  He shook his head and muttered under his breath, “‘Oh look at me, I’m Renn, and my code name is The Dark Blade.’ Fuck. I’m so jealous, asshole.”

  Caelan walked over to the fridge and opened it.

  He stared.

  It was absolutely rammed from top to bottom.

  Strange vegetables. Weird cuts of meat. Sauces. Things in jars. Things in bowls. Things he did not recognize.

  He looked up and down the shelves blankly.

  “The hell is all this shit, man? Like seriously. One burger. Or a goddamn cup of coffee.”

  He flapped his hands in defeated frustration.

  “And why does the fridge even work? No electricity yet — bam, fridge. I hate this place.”

  Lyra walked into the kitchen, shrugging off her jacket.

  “No, no. The Lieutenant wants you in her office, Captain. Something about breaking promotion procedures or something.”

  Caelan turned slowly, a cocky smirk forming. “Well, why don’t I fix that right now then?”

  Lyra avoided eye contact but couldn’t hide the small grin. “You wouldn’t do that. I know you better than that.”

  Caelan’s smile sharpened. “Is that a challenge, Lyra? You know I like a challenge.”

  Lyra’s eyes widened as she realized her mistake.

  “How about I cook breakfast and you put on a big smile for your good old pal Lyra?”

  Caelan considered it for a second.

  “Deal. And remember—”

  “Yes, yes,” Lyra interrupted quickly. “Mynxi likes little shapes now. Please, before I get caught in the crossfire.”

  Caelan shrugged and left the kitchen.

  He passed the quiet common room. The fireplace crackled softly, filling the space with warmth.

  He almost walked by the sofas.

  Then stopped.

  Katie was zipped up in a sleeping bag on one of them.

  “You know you can sleep in your room, right?” Caelan asked calmly.

  Without opening her eyes, Katie replied, “I know. But I like the fire. The little crackles are nice to sleep with.”

  Caelan nodded gently. “Cool. Lyra’s making breakfast, by the way.”

  Katie raised her voice slightly. “Lyra! Can I have mine hot today, please?”

  From the kitchen, Lyra hummed cheerfully. “You’ll get what you’re given.”

  Caelan continued down the hallway.

  Halfway down, a door slammed open, and Corwin slid into the corridor.

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “Breakfast! I’ll help, Mr. Captain!”

  “Morning. Lyra. Kitchen,” Caelan replied dryly.

  Corwin jogged off.

  The whole Beech & Ember rattled slightly.

  Caelan rubbed his eyes. “It’s too early for this, man.”

  Then louder—

  “AND IT’S JUST CAPTAIN FOR THE MILLIONTH TIME!”

  He reached the end of the hall and looked at the plaque on the door.

  Revolutionary HQ Command.

  He shook his head. “And she calls me the nerd.”

  He knocked twice with his knuckle.

  “Who is it?” Solara called from inside.

  “You know who it is.”

  “Can you be more specific, please? It sounds like the loser of our race yesterday. Is that you?”

  Caelan rolled his eyes. “Yes. That’s me.”

  The door opened. Solara peeked out, smiling sweetly.

  “Well, why didn’t you say so, Captain? I thought it was you.”

  She stepped aside.

  Her office was immaculate. Shelves lined both walls, filled with neatly bound files. A large handcrafted desk sat perfectly centered in the room.

  “Please, take a seat, Captain,” Solara said as she walked behind the desk.

  Caelan stayed standing, hands in his pockets.

  “I’ve always wondered. Why do you get an office and I don’t?”

  Solara smiled brightly. “Because you and your sister would plan who knows what in it.”

  Caelan nodded. “Fair. Right. So let me guess — good haul yesterday based on this attitude?”

  Solara raised her eyebrows proudly. “Guess how much?”

  “Just tell me, please, Sol. I woke up to Mynxi’s tail in my eye.”

  Solara blinked, slightly thrown off. “Oh. You alright? Guess she keeps sneaking in every morning.”

  “Yeah, it’s fine. She sleeps in her room most of the night now. Small wins.”

  Solara nodded once, then leaned back.

  “You’ll be happy to know, after fees, every member will receive a larger payment than the last five years combined.”

  She studied him carefully.

  “So what are we going to do then?”

  Caelan inhaled slowly and nodded to himself.

  “I see your problem.”

  He thought for a moment.

  “Give them six months’ worth of pay today. Then break down the rest over the next five years as structured payments.”

  Solara smirked. “Knew you’d see it my way, Cael. Question is — how do we spin it? Each of them could almost crash the market.”

  “You handle the books. I’ll handle the people. Might have to say you twisted my arm.”

  “Well,” Solara said with a pleased smile, “consider it twisted.”

  Only then did Caelan finally sit down.

  Solara picked up her teapot casually. “I would offer you some, but well…”

  Caelan threw his hands into the air in frustration. “I know, I know. I mean Irn-Bru, I understand. But come on — one cup of coffee.”

  “Well,” Solara replied calmly, pouring herself some tea, “you did find that apple and banana — if I’m saying that right. Just wait until we use your little trick. Honestly, I still can’t believe that worked.”

  “Oh, please,” Caelan scoffed. “Whoever made this place was in a rush. There are loopholes everywhere. It’s completely broken. Plant whatever you want, leave a few torches burning for a couple of hours, bang — next day it’s fully regrown.”

  He trailed off slightly, letting out a long breath.

  Solara’s expression shifted just a little. “You were right to keep that quiet. If the wider enemies discovered it, large group movement becomes dangerous.”

  Caelan nodded. “I’m actually shocked no one’s come knocking here or at the southern town yet. Lucky bastard, Aurex. Trust him to start in a zone that spawns almost ten thousand people’s worth of food a day. And, surprise, surprise — ten zones south, there’s another 2,000. Jammy asshole.”

  Solara leaned back in her chair. “And what exactly would you have done if you woke up here? Don’t suppose you would have built a city to hide the fact?”

  “True,” Caelan admitted. “But right — how are we handling this today?”

  Solara bit her lip thoughtfully. “On my side, Aidan… the boy’s the best of both worlds between his sister and brother. It’s just…”

  “The freezing,” Caelan finished quietly. “I know. Any damage?”

  She nodded once. “Aurex saw it. Apparently stepped in during it. I don’t think he’ll say anything, but I’ll make sure.”

  “And you?” she asked.

  Caelan leaned back slightly, exhaling. “Pfft. Usual. Jett. We need to find some way for that boy to fight.”

  Solara rolled her eyes. “Believe me, I’ve tried. I’ve really tried.”

  “I know you have. At least nothing’s hitting him any time soon. And… I might have dumped Lumi and Bella on the same floor together. We’ll see how that goes.”

  Solara raised an eyebrow. “Stop avoiding it. Why did you promote Lyra? I knew she wouldn’t slow you down much, but really?”

  Caelan leaned his head back against the chair. “What did you want me to do, Sol? She and Milo were about to reach the fourth floor. She finally took on an emerald. The girl’s got heart. And tell me honestly — is she not great at pretty much whatever you ask her to do?”

  Solara hesitated. “I’m worried about putting too much on her before she’s ready. You know I think the world of her, but still.”

  Caelan nodded slowly. “Alright. I’m sorry. I should’ve talked to you first.”

  “Thank you,” Solara replied softly.

  She folded her hands together. “Now. Little Mynxi. Fourth floor solo. Elyria said not perfect, but she almost did it in one go. Whatever you three are doing in training is working. Have you reconsidered yet?”

  “I’m sorry. No,” Caelan answered immediately. “She’s too young. I can’t put that on her. Not yet. She’s still a kid at heart, no matter how long has passed…”

  The room went quiet.

  The wooden floor creaked faintly beneath them.

  “And the eighth of an inch,” Solara said quietly.

  Caelan didn’t look at her. “I didn’t want to worry you. Not yet. Not until I was sure.”

  Solara nodded once. “This won’t leave this room. If she’s not immortal like the rest of us, we’ll cross that bridge when it comes. And… the hard one. The Master Chief.”

  Caelan let out a chuckle. “The ironic thing is, literally before we got split up in there, he was asking about joining me, Mynxi, and Elyria for morning training.”

  Caelan paused for a moment, voice lowering. “The guy’s had it hard long before he met us. He needed the time. If we can’t give him that…”

  Solara blinked, slightly confused. “I was just going to say maybe we should give him first go when the next less?than?desirable group or monster appears.”

  Caelan smiled. “Or we can just do that. Aye. Now — we're grabbing breakfast or—”

  He started to stand.

  “Cael. Park it.”

  He slowly turned back around, shoulders sagging theatrically. “Yes, Sol. Can I help you?”

  “First thing. Your theory. The one you wanted to tell me about. Let me guess — monster armies?”

  Caelan’s eyes widened. “So you figured it out, too? Well, my thinking here is the goddess doesn’t want us speed?running this whole thing.”

  Solara pursed her lips thoughtfully. “You’ve more than likely put more thought into that than I have. And as you said about the size of the map… this could go on for much longer than I thought.”

  Caelan rubbed his chin. “Trust me, I know. And the type of people here? Honestly, I would’ve expected a massive spike in elimination numbers. People are taking themselves out of the war. But the elimination numbers are way too low. Whatever we selected, we understood that every person here, somewhere inside, wants and needs to be. And that can become dangerous quickly. Fuck — it already is.”

  “Cael,” Solara said quietly. “Do I need to say it?”

  He smiled faintly. “Sorry, bud. You know me when it comes to all this. Alright. Ready to go?”

  Solara folded her arms and leaned back. “Stop dancing around it for one minute. What did the monster mean by ability? Spill it.”

  Caelan glanced around the office, then sighed. “Fine. It’s an ability I learned while training with Mynxi. I move different parts of my body slightly out of proportion to the rest of my body. It couldn’t figure it out. I’m guessing that’s what it meant.”

  Solara nodded slowly. “Okay. Okay… the truth.”

  Caelan looked down. “I train my brain to go a little faster so I can react quicker.”

  Solara smiled faintly. “That is probably the most ‘you’ thing I’ve ever heard you say. Fine. Just don’t go too crazy on it.”

  “I’ll do my best.”

  The office door suddenly burst open.

  Takeshi stumbled in, out of breath. “You need to hurry—”

  Solara’s teacup hit the wall behind him.

  “KNOCK FIRST!” she snapped.

  “Well, that’s just great!” Takeshi shot back. “Bella’s about to pull the place apart trying to get to Veyra!”

  Caelan and Solara both sighed in unison.

  Caelan stood, already moving toward the door, grinning. “We’ll just be a minute, bud.”

  Solara stormed around the desk, boots echoing down the hall.

  Caelan jogged after her, calling over his shoulder to Takeshi—

  “Well, come on then. I don’t want to miss this shit.”

  They entered the common room to chaos.

  Bella was clawing wildly toward Veyra, who had somehow perched herself on top of the curtain rod near the ceiling.

  Hector was holding Bella down against the sofa cushions as she thrashed.

  “I’M GOING TO SHAVE YOUR HEAD!” Bella screamed.

  “Well, you’ll have an extra hole to breathe through if you try it!” Veyra shot back from above.

  “Please, Bella, it’s too early,” Hector begged.

  Artimage clasped his hands together cheerfully. “Now, ladies, when I was learning about conflict resolution—”

  “Be quiet, Artimage. Has that ever worked?” Solara snapped as she stormed forward.

  Bella froze the second Solara’s shadow fell over her.

  She slowly looked up, eyes wide.

  “Please don’t,” Bella whispered.

  Solara flicked her on the forehead.

  Bella pouted. “But I asked you nicely this time.”

  Solara held up her hand. “Enough. Explain.”

  Bella’s voice trembled. “Well… well…”

  “She saw me brush past Hector,” Veyra called from above.

  “YOU WERE TRYING TO HOLD HIS HAND!” Bella yelled.

  Solara flicked her again.

  She knelt slightly, voice calmer. “Bella, we’ve been over this. No one is trying to take Hector from you. Alright?”

  Bella went quiet for a second.

  “True…”

  Then she gasped dramatically.

  “THAT’S WHAT YOU WANT ME TO SAY SO YOU CAN HAVE HIM TO YOURSELF! HANDS OFF, SPARKLES!”

  Another flick.

  “Sorry,” Bella mumbled.

  Hector cautiously released her. “See? Just another silly misunderstanding, my love.”

  From the upstairs balcony, Elyria appeared, holding Mynxi in one arm and dragging Keira by the back of her jacket with the other.

  “It is too early in the morning for this,” Elyria stated flatly.

  Mynxi waved happily. “Good morning!”

  Everyone instinctively replied in unison, “Good morning.”

  Elyria lifted Keira slightly. “Also, don’t think Auntie Keira is at the level of super duper cuddles yet.”

  Keira dangled there dramatically before spotting Solara.

  “AH. So now you show your face. Could’ve told me training was off today. Almost got eliminated for that!”

  Solara smirked. “Sorry. Must’ve slipped my mind.”

  “Let me at her!” Keira demanded as Elyria dropped her.

  She landed, rolling her shoulders. “So how do you want to settle it this time?”

  A bedroom door behind her creaked open.

  Lumi shuffled out, still half asleep, wearing what looked suspiciously like a wizard hat.

  Caelan blinked. “Is that a sleeping wizard hat?”

  No response.

  Lumi walked up to Keira, gently turned her around, and wagged a finger at herself before leaning in and kissing Keira on the head.

  “Good morning, Kei?Kei… WILL YOU PLEASE STOP WAKING ME LIKE THAT?”

  Keira wrapped her in a hug. “Ow, bitch, you know me better than that.”

  “You’re lucky you’re cute,” Lumi muttered, hugging her back.

  Caelan walked toward the breakfast table. “Alright, come on. What else?”

  The front door slammed open.

  Aidan stumbled in and face?planted onto the floor.

  “Good morn— ow… I’m going to be sick.”

  Caelan rolled his eyes.

  A crash came from the kitchen, followed by Lyra’s giggles.

  Before taking his seat, Caelan stepped into the kitchen to find Milo and Lyra in the middle of a tickle fight.

  A broken plate lay on the ground.

  “Way to keep it quiet, idiots. Hurry up and put it out,” Caelan muttered.

  From the next room, Mynxi’s small voice floated in.

  “Dad, is breakfast ready?”

  Caelan exhaled slowly. “Please put out the food. Wait — where’s Corwin?”

  “Bathroom, I think,” Lyra answered between laughs.

  Caelan stepped back into the common room and inhaled deeply.

  “BREAKFAST. MEETING. NOW!” he roared, loud enough to rattle the Beech & Ember.

  Elyria walked up and smacked his arm lightly. “Not so loud.”

  Everyone began scrambling into the common room.

  Garron, still half asleep, shuffled down the hallway.

  He reached Braen’s door just as she opened it.

  He stopped and extended a hand politely. “After you.”

  Braen stared at him. “No. Please. Ladies first.”

  Braen shoved him forward. “If I wanted to go first, I would have. Now walk.”

  Garron blinked. “Is this one of those dumb code things?”

  Caelan, already tired, rubbed his face as everyone finally settled.

  “Please, please, everyone just sit and eat breakfast. I’ll make this quick, and we can all go back to happily torturing one another, I promise.”

  Lyra and Milo emerged from the kitchen, carrying plates as if nothing had happened. Within seconds, the entire room was seated and eating as if chaos had been a shared hallucination.

  Solara stepped up beside Caelan, shaking her head. “No wonder they think we’re all insane.”

  Caelan nodded confidently. “Well… It’s sort of our whole thing.”

  Solara addressed the room. “Alright, good morning everyone. I’ll start with the good part. Yesterday, the Revolutionary Army’s income was almost equal to the previous five years combined.”

  Muffled celebrations rippled around the table, mouths too full to cheer properly.

  Caelan beamed. “Oh, I’m going to spend it all in a week. Oh damn, it will be amazing.”

  “And that leads me to our second point—” Solara continued.

  Keira nearly spat out her food. “GIVE ME MY MONEY.”

  “So,” Solara went on calmly, “a one?time bonus will be paid out to all of you today. Obviously minus fees.”

  A loud collective groan followed.

  “And on top of that, the remainder will be distributed over the next few payments. None of you will be out of pocket.”

  Caelan tutted loudly. “Anything else, Lieutenant?”

  She shook her head. “Your turn.”

  “Alright,” Caelan said, standing straighter. “Well done on the dungeon yesterday. All out in one piece. Total win in my book. However, far from perfect. That includes me.”

  Lyra burst into laughter for no apparent reason.

  The room paused.

  Caelan ignored it. “We’ll be reviewing long?term formations and plans based on what we experienced. I don’t want to run into one of those again without understanding it better.”

  Solara reached for a plate. “Is that everything? Before they leave me nothing?”

  Caelan held up a finger. “One more thing. Since you all know I love a challenge… yesterday I was defeated by none other than our amazing Lieutenant. The smartest. The prettiest. The best thing in my life.”

  Keira leaned back. “She made you say that, didn’t she?”

  Caelan nodded.

  Solara kicked him under the table.

  “So,” Caelan continued, “I’d like to announce her prize.”

  Solara blinked. “What prize?”

  Elyria dead?eyed her from across the table. “Don’t talk while you eat. Even Mynxi doesn’t do that.”

  Mynxi nodded seriously.

  “Well,” Caelan went on, “our little northern project is finally finished—the outside bath house, built beautifully by Joss and Takeshi. So I thought — who better to test it than our lovely, hard?working ladies? One full week up there.”

  Solara shook her head. “No, seriously, Captain, we can’t—”

  “Captain’s orders.”

  She exhaled. “Yes, Captain.”

  Lumi shot out of her chair. “I can finally use them?”

  “You’ll all be leaving after breakfast.”

  Lumi sprinted for the door. “Need something from the shop! Don’t leave without me!”

  “Lum?lum, you’re still in your— and she’s gone,” Keira muttered.

  —

  Moments later, everyone gathered at the front gate of the Beech & Ember. A cart stacked nearly ten feet high with bags waited by the road.

  Mynxi hugged Caelan tightly. “Dad, don’t you want to come?”

  Caelan knelt, smiling. “You don’t want your dad getting in the way of the fun. Go have a great week with your aunties.”

  Mynxi hesitated, then nodded.

  “Be a good girl. Hold Ely’s hand the whole way.”

  She gave a thumbs?up. “I’ll keep them safe, Dad.”

  “I know you will.”

  Solara checked her clipboard. “Alright, everyone, let’s move. We’re already behind. And Captain, I want the inn cleaned top to bottom when we return. No parties.”

  Veyra blinked. “How do you already have this planned? You found out an hour ago.”

  The women began walking.

  Milo leaned toward Caelan. “Are we actually going to clean?”

  Caelan laughed and stepped in front of the remaining men. “Now, boys… would I do that to us? I’ll run a mop over it five minutes before they get back. What we are doing this week is following Aidan’s example and spending our bonuses without anyone to moan about it. Who’s with me?”

  The men cheered.

  Milo forgot he was holding Aidan and dropped him.

  Aidan hit the ground.

  Silence.

  “Maybe let him sleep that off first,” Caelan amended.

  Cheering resumed.

  “Right. Got a few things to do. If I don’t see you here later, I’ll catch you all at Whaa Whaa’s.”

  He walked into the busy streets of Virelith, hands in his pockets, looking entirely unconcerned with the world.

  A woman in sunglasses and a hoodie fell into step beside him.

  “Good morning, Sarah,” Caelan said without looking at her.

  “Well, I could be better,” Sarah replied dryly. “If you’d taken me into the dungeon, I might’ve slept instead of being annoyed enough to hit you.”

  “You knew the rules before you agreed.”

  “We need an interview piece or something. Did you read the second issue?”

  “Yeah. Not bad. Still hate that code name he gave himself.”

  “Sure you do,” Sarah replied.

  They walked casually through the street.

  “I was thinking of covering Linda in the next issue?” she offered.

  “Give it a few. Don’t flood everything at once.”

  “I need something regardless.”

  Caelan waved dismissively. “You’re the Hidden Blade. Make the story if you have to.”

  Sarah studied him for a second, then nodded.

  “Understood, Captain.”