Bad Company?

The walk out of the Spire felt like a funeral march, but for his pride. The guards at the gate didn't even look at him this time; he was just another piece of trash taking itself out.

He was just past the main gates, the city's bustling noise starting to swallow him, when a sliver of a familiar voice caught his ear from a slightly open service entrance to the side.

"...handled. He's out now. No further complications."

It was Master Kaelen. The tone was different - cold, utterly devoid of the kind curiosity he'd shown before.

Driven by a growing unease, Riku slowed, peering back toward the door. As if feeling the weight of his gaze, Kaelen turned. Their eyes met through the opening.

The change was chilling - the kind scholar was gone. In his place was a man whose face contorted with a sudden glare that made it looked like it was down for something deeply personal, as if Riku had personally offended him for years. It lasted only a second. Then, without a word, Kaelen slammed the heavy door shut.

That was him they were talking about, right? The look on Kaelen's face when he passed the first test… it had to be him. "He's out now."

The words echoed inside his head. He was Riku. But 'handled'? 'Complications'? The pieces refused to fit. The friendly act, the last-minute rescue at the gate - it had all been a performance? But for what? To get him inside just to fail him? None of it added up.

Forget dejection. Now he was angry, and curiosity burned away the shame of failure. He wasn't going back to Lowtown with just a failure. He was going back with at least a clue.

Instead of heading for the main route back where he came from, he ducked into a narrow alley, circling around the massive base of the Spire. He found what he was looking for in the back: a high-walled courtyard, its entrance guarded but with a sightline through the iron bars. Inside, he saw them.

Spirits. Dozens of them, contained not in some mystical energy field as should be, but in simple, reinforced cages. They were mostly lower Tiers - Grieflings, a few Phantoms - pacing or huddled. It looked less like a secure vault and more like a kennel.

And there was Lady Ironwood. Her back was turned to him, her voice a low, commanding murmur to a subordinate. "...ensure the next batch is more resilient. The attrition rate is unacceptable."

Then, as if she'd simply grown bored, she gestured with a hand. Vines, sharp as scalpels and moving faster than a snake strike, lashed out from the ground inside the cages. In a blink, the heads of three captive spirits were cleanly severed. They dissolved into mist without a sound.

It was efficient. Brutal. But utterly unnecessary. They were already caged.

Her head didn't turn, but Riku knew, with a cold certainty, that she was aware of him and that's the reason for the kills. The slight tilt of her helmet, the pause in her speech - she had sensed his presence the moment he arrived. The execution was a message.

She finally turned, her severe features showing feigned surprise. "You. The Designer boy." Her voice was like cold and totally unkind. "This is a restricted area. Lost again?"

Before Riku could stammer an excuse, she turned to the guard beside her. "See this one out. He seems to have a problem with directions."

That was his cue. Time to go. Now.

He didn't wait for the guard. He muttered a quick "Sorry, wrong way," and practically ran back the way he came, his heart thumping a frantic rhythm against his ribs. He'd seen too much. The fake kindness, the caged spirits, the casual slaughter.

The Ascendancy wasn't just a protective order; it was a farm. And right now, he was a fly that had buzzed too close to the operation.

He didn't take the main road back to Lowtown. That was too exposed. Instead, he chose a smaller, dirt path that cut through the woods skirting the city - a shortcut Borin had mentioned once. The cover of the trees felt safer, even as the daylight began to wane.

The city's noise faded, replaced by the creak of branches and the rustle of leaves. The peaceful sounds should have been calming, but every shift of shadow made him jump.

"Creepy place." He muttered under his breath. "Why exactly did I even make the decision to follow this path?"

"I still can't wrap my head around this Ascendency stuff. That's nothing like what I read in the books at Borin's shack, nor is it what people explain it as." He put a hand on his chin. "What a complex piece of code—I mean mystery. Yes, mystery. It's not a game."

The sound of a bird flapping its wings, leaving its nest, made him jolt in fear. He turned quickly and saw it was just a bird.

"Phew. I could die of a heart attack in this place. How the hell does that old man walk through this place at ease? Well he's been here for long. NPCs know their—stupid Riku, it's not a game."

He was alone, with only his paranoid thoughts for company.

Until he realized he wasn't alone.

He caught a flicker of movement between the trees to his left. Then another, on his right. Too fast to be an animal. Too deliberate.

He picked up his pace, the feeling of being watched pressing down on him like a physical weight. "No no no, screwed, screwed, screwed. I'm freaking screwed. Ah, shit! I'm being stalked, I'm being stalked. Why are my breaths getting short? Somebody help me." He muttered.

The shortcut now felt like a trap. The forest path, empty and growing dark, was the perfect place for an 'accident' to happen to a failed aspirant who knew too much.

The city was out of sight. The safety of the slums was still far ahead. And the movements in the woods were getting closer.