No One Knew

No One Knew

Morning settled over the Guild with the slow rumble of wagon wheels crossing the stone streets. Horseshoes struck the road in a steady rhythm. The air still carried the night's chill, each breath fading into pale mist.

Rask waited beside one of the stone pillars, his shield resting against it. One hand lay loosely on the hilt at his waist while his eyes remained on the road.

A few steps away, Elyn stood apart, her bow slung across her back. She watched the morning traffic without a word.

Leon emerged from the guild with a wide yawn, stretching as he crossed the entrance.

“Rask, you're not coming in?”

Rask didn't look away from the street.

“I'll wait out here.”

Leon glanced toward Elyn.

“You too?”

She gave no reply.

Teodor headed inside.

Leon followed.

The heavy guild door groaned as it swung open. The smell of paper, ink, and old timber drifted through the lobby beneath the low murmur of adventurers exchanging reports.

Papers covered Selene's desk in uneven stacks, several hanging over the edge.

“Morning,” she said without looking up.

Leon leaned against the counter with an easy grin.

“Morning, Selene.”

“If you lean any closer,” she replied, her pen never slowing, “I'll add another fine to your disciplinary record.”

Leon stepped back with a laugh.

“At this rate, you'll never find a boyfriend.”

Teodor stopped before the mission board.

“Requests seem lighter lately.”

“Most only need one or two adventurers.”

Selene slid a report free from the stack and skimmed it.

“There is a new assignment.”

She tapped the page.

“Guild investigation team. Western mine district.”

“Beast activity?” Teodor asked.

“According to the miners.”

Her finger rested on a folded section of the attached map.

“Officially, it's still under investigation.”

Leon took the mission sheet.

*

Outside, Elyn continued watching the passing crowd.

A young man moved calmly along the street.

Her gaze stayed on him.

His head turned.

For a brief moment, their eyes met.

Elyn's fingers tightened.

The young man rounded a corner and disappeared into the crowd.

“What is it?” Rask asked.

“Did you see him?”

Rask looked toward the intersection.

“No.”

“He looked back.”

Elyn kept her eyes on the empty street.

“At me.”

“Probably coincidence.”

Rask glanced at her.

“You're thinking too much.”

He turned and walked back into the guild.

*

Selene was already writing again by the time he reached the counter.

“If anything changes, file a full report.”

Teodor nodded.

“The investigation teams have been busy lately.”

Her pen continued moving across the page.

Nothing more was said.

Teodor turned for the door.

Leon followed.

“Where to?” Rask asked.

“West.”

Morning light spilled across the street as they stepped outside. The cold air felt sharper after the warmth of the guild hall.

Elyn fell in behind them without a word.

The streets had grown busier.

A cart forced Leon half a step aside before rattling past. A messenger hurried between them clutching a bundle of papers. Neither slowed.

The smell of hay and damp leather greeted them as they entered the livery.

Rask gathered his horse's reins. Elyn rested a hand briefly against her mount's neck before climbing into the saddle. Leon checked the straps around his belt.

Teodor pulled open the stall door.

***

The warehouse door hung half open. Light entered at an angle, cutting through dust hanging in the air. The smell of dry grain and vinegar mixed with old wood.

A draft carried the scent of earth from the corner of the warehouse, where piles of turnips were stacked.

Thomas and Zio stood before rows of sacks and crates.

Albert stood beside them.

“Move this one over there too,” he said.

Thomas hauled another crate aside.

Zio disappeared between the stacked cargo with a large crate balanced across his shoulders.

His footsteps echoed through the narrow aisle.

From time to time, Thomas and Albert glanced in Zio's direction.

Sacks changed places. Crates were rearranged. Cloth scraped against wood, then against stone, over and over until the rhythm blurred into background noise.

Thomas returned to his chair at the cashier's desk. His hand only moved to pull the ledger closer.

Albert went back to his office.

***

The western mines opened before them. Rusted cart rails disappeared into the darkness, half-buried beneath damp soil.

Cold air drifted from within, carrying the heavy scent of wet earth and old metal. Rough gouges scarred the stone walls, leaving broken fragments scattered across the uneven ground.

Teodor crouched and ran his thumb across one of the jagged stones.

A few steps farther in, small cracked bones lay scattered beside patches of dried, dark blood.

Elyn lowered her bow and pointed toward an overturned mining cart. One of its wheels had snapped free, its axle bent beneath the frame. Deep drag marks carved through the dirt before veering sharply into the darkness.

Teodor rose, his eyes settling on the tunnel ahead. Daylight reached only a short distance before the mountain swallowed it whole.

“Let's go in. Stay alert.”

The wind followed them inside, driving the smell of wet soil deeper into the cavern.

Rask took the lead without a word. Leon fell in behind him while Elyn watched the rear.

Their footsteps echoed softly against the stone.

One step beyond the fading daylight, the air grew heavier.

Rask's shield scraped the wall once. The sound disappeared almost as soon as it was made, swallowed by the darkness ahead. Elyn kept her fingers resting lightly against the bowstring, ready but not yet drawn.

A dull impact echoed through the tunnel.

It rolled along the stone, broke apart, then returned in slow, uneven rhythms, as though something deeper inside was striking the cavern walls.

Teodor raised a hand.

The group stopped.

Movement stirred beside the rusted rails.

Six pale shapes slipped from the cracks in the rock.

They moved with terrifying speed, their thin bodies wrapped in skin stretched tightly over bone.

Rask met the first with his shield.

Bone cracked against stone.

The creature was hurled backward, its limbs folding at impossible angles before lying still.

An arrow flashed past his shoulder.

The second creature collapsed without a sound, Elyn's shaft buried deep through its skull.

Leon stepped forward.

Fire burst from his hands in quick succession.

Two more creatures dropped where they stood, the sharp smell of scorched flesh cutting through the damp air.

Teodor drove his palm into the ground.

Cracks raced beneath the stone.

The fifth creature stumbled as the earth split beneath its feet.

Rask's shield crashed down before it could recover.

The last creature recoiled.

It vanished into a narrow passage with unnatural speed.

Silence settled over the tunnel once more.

Five bodies lay motionless across the uneven stone.

Teodor stared into the passage where the last creature had disappeared.

“Go.”

Sparks flared as Leon lit a torch.

Firelight pushed slowly into the darkness.

The tunnel narrowed around them. Stone pressed closer from both sides, trapping the air beneath the weight of the mountain.

Their pace remained steady until the smell changed.

Warmer.

Sharper.

Like fresh blood mixed with wet metal.

Movement exploded from the shadows.

Two massive creatures burst from the widening tunnel, their bodies covered in rough black scales.

They were far faster than their size should have allowed.

Rask barely raised his shield before the first slammed into it.

The impact thundered through his arm, numbing his shoulder.

Elyn fired.

The arrow struck the creature's head and glanced away, the iron tip scraping harmlessly across thick scales.

Teodor struck the ground again.

A jagged pillar of stone erupted between them, forcing the first creature off balance.

The second ignored it.

It lunged straight for Leon.

Leon twisted aside, but there wasn't enough room.

Teodor shoved him clear.

There was no time to recover his footing.

Long claws tore deep into his right leg.

His knee slammed against the stone.

Warm blood streamed down his calf as pain ripped through him.

The creature roared and wrenched its claws free.

Rask crashed into its flank.

The blow staggered it.

Elyn loosed another arrow from only a few steps away.

At the same instant, Leon thrust both hands forward.

A burst of fire engulfed the creature's exposed throat.

Its body shuddered once before collapsing across the rusted rails.

The first beast still struggled against the stone pillar.

Rask and Leon closed in together.

Shield.

Fire.

Steel.

The creature thrashed once, then fell still.

Silence returned.

Only rough breathing remained as torchlight flickered across bloodstained walls.

Teodor braced himself against the stone and tried to stand.

His right leg gave nothing in return.

Cold numbness had already begun creeping below his knee.

Elyn was beside him almost immediately.

She dropped to one knee, pulled a small glass vial from her pack, and uncorked it with her teeth.

Clear liquid spilled over the wound.

The torn flesh had already begun turning an unnatural shade of black.

Without wasting another second, she wrapped the wound tightly with a clean strip of cloth, her hands moving quickly beneath the wavering torchlight.

***

Zio adjusted the bundle of fabric across his shoulders. The coarse material brushed against his neck as he navigated the narrow alleys of Ravenhold.

The path was mostly empty, shielded from the afternoon sun by the tall brick buildings on either side.

He kept a steady pace until he stopped in front of a quiet clothing shop.

The wooden door opened. A man stepped out and took the bundle, his arms dipping slightly under the weight.

“Thank you,” the man said.

Zio gave a brief nod. He didn't linger.

He turned around and walked back toward the warehouse, his boots resuming their steady rhythm over the damp cobblestones.

***

“Thomas, come here.”

Albert's voice came from his office.

“Grain… potatoes,” Thomas read from a scrap of paper as he walked.

Soft footsteps sounded from outside the warehouse.

Thomas glanced over. “Back already?”

Zio stepped inside.

“Here.” Thomas handed him a bottle of water and some bread.

“Thanks.”

Zio sat on a bench. Water spilled from his lips, dripping onto the floor, leaving dark spots before drying.

“Later, take these to this location,” Thomas said, pointing at a spot on the map spread across the table.

“Alright,” Zio said, looking it over.

“Two sacks of grain. Two crates of potatoes,” Thomas said. “The other carriers aren't back yet. You can take part of it first.”

“Why not all at once?” Zio asked flatly.

Thomas sighed, glancing at him.

“Fine, if you don't mind.”

Zio bent forward. His hands gripped a crate. He lifted it without a sound.

Thomas shifted his foot half a step, watching him again.

Zio carried the crate to the grain pile and set it on top. He climbed down without looking back.

He grabbed the mouth of a sack, pulled it onto his shoulder, then lifted another. The rough fabric scraped his arm.

Thomas shook his head a few times.

Zio walked out of the warehouse again.

Albert stepped out of his office.

“Thomas, check the stock of medicinal ingredients.”

***

The air inside the medical post carried the sharp scent of alcohol and medicinal herbs long soaked into wood and cloth.

Teodor sat on the edge of a narrow bed while fresh bindings were drawn tighter around his right leg. A warm cloth pressed against the torn flesh.

Pain shot through his calf before settling into a dull ache beneath the knee.

The elderly healer paused to inspect the bandage before tying it off with practiced hands.

“Good thing you made it in time.”

He gave the thick white wrap a light pat.

“The poison was strong. A little longer, and you might've lost the use of this leg.”

His fingers pressed lightly along the bandage one last time.

“The bone's only slightly cracked. Stay off it for a few weeks.”

Teodor looked down at his leg.

“Heh... annoying.”

Leon stepped away from the wall and offered an arm.

Teodor accepted it without protest.

Together they made their way toward the door.

Warm afternoon light spilled inside as Leon pushed it open. The wind swept through the room, washing away the smell of medicine with dry grass and road dust.

They left the medical post behind and followed the winding dirt road back toward the city.

***

The sky above Ravenhold had yet to darken, though the daylight had begun to soften. Long shadows stretched across the stone streets as the sun drifted toward the western horizon.

At the western gate, Rask led the horse with the reins gathered short in one hand.

Teodor walked beside it.

Each step landed unevenly against the cobblestones.

Without a word, Rask slowed whenever Teodor began to fall behind.

Ahead, Leon and Elyn turned toward the guild.

Leon walked a little faster than before, his spear resting low across his shoulder. Elyn followed close behind, her bow hanging at her side.

Around them, wagon wheels rattled over stone while merchants called out their last sales before shuttering their stalls.

Rask led Teodor toward the inn.

The stone steps felt steeper than they had that morning.

Teodor caught the iron railing and pulled himself upward one step at a time before disappearing through the doorway.

•••

On the opposite side of the city, Zio stepped out of the warehouse alongside Thomas.

The heavy wooden doors closed behind them, leaving the scent of grain still clinging to their clothes.

Thomas stretched with a long yawn, then rubbed the back of his neck.

“Coming back tomorrow, or are you finally going to explore the city?”

“I already did.”

Thomas glanced sideways.

“That was work. I meant after work.”

He chuckled.

They continued side by side, their footsteps merging with the steady stream of people heading home.

Ravenhold moved around them, its streets slowly settling into the evening.

At the next street, Zio rolled his shoulder, easing the soreness that lingered beneath his clothes.

Not far away, Teodor and Rask disappeared into the evening crowd.

The city swallowed them without pause.

No one looked twice.

No one knew.