Kaius stared up at the Dusty Stables with a surprisingly anxious knot in his stomach.

  It looked exactly as he remembered it. On the street level, gated stables held tamed or bonded beasts that weren’t suitable for staying in the inn. Each had an arched opening, plain but made of sturdy, quality wood. At the front, a wide staircase led up the side of the building to the entrance where the common room lay, with three more storeys stacked on top of that for individual and group rooms.

  Yet for all that the Dusty Stables was identical, he had changed. When they’d last seen Hensch, they had told him they were going on another mission; that they’d be away for a few weeks, a month tops. Yet here they were nearly half a year later, with another member and a tier higher.

  Their entire return to Deadacre cemented the feeling in Kaius’s heart. They had grown strong, but the world hadn’t.

  Everyone they passed seemed fragile, frail, and slow. They had felt that way before, of course — they’d been far stronger than the average for a long time — but the difference had never been so stark as it was now. Especially when he felt his aura brush over people. No matter how much he tried to keep it constrained close to him, there were always slip-ups. While it wouldn’t quite make people stumble, they definitely noticed the power; looked at them differently.

  With respect.

  It was an experience he wasn’t used to.

  It was like the average person had been carved from rotten deadwood, while he was forged from iron. A disconcerting feeling, to say the least.

  As a group, they had drawn attention, even more so when they reached the Guild — the entire common room had fallen silent. On the journey in, Ro and Rieker had explained they had pulled in almost all of the Iron and Steel teams. From there, word had spread about the capture. With how distinctive Porkchop was, it had been obvious that they were the ones who had returned.

  Similarly obvious was that they were Silver. Shortly after the stunned silence, the teams in the common room broke into hushed whispers, pointed looks falling upon him and his team. Rieker took charge immediately.

  “Quiet!” he had roared, silencing the common room. Kaius could remember it now, clear as day, the way that everyone had snapped to attention instantly.

  “Clearly there is news. Let people know we’ll have an important announcement in the coming weeks. Until then, leave this group be. They’re in need of rest, not badgering with questions. Those can wait until the Guild is ready to answer them. Am I understood?”

  The crowd had just nodded stiffly. Right after, Rieker had ushered them into a side room and apologised: in his experience it was easier to get this sort of thing out of the way early.

  They were sent on their way with an insistence that talk of beasts, honours, and ruins could wait for at least a week or two — longer if needed.

  Of course they hightailed it to the Stables, and now Kaius struggled to make that first step. Had Hensch worried; noticed they were gone? Had he thought they’d simply moved on like delvers do?

  What would they say to him? Other than Rieker and Ro, Hensch was perhaps the person who knew them best in Deadacre. He was a friendly man, always keen to make conversation when they relaxed in the common room. How did they explain the changes? Would he still be his same jovial self when he learned not only were they Silvers who had made the tier in record time, but that Porkchop was a greater beast?

  Behind him, Porkchop snorted and shoved him forward with his nose.

  “Come on, Kaius. Hensch will be excited to see us.”

  Kaius sighed. He knew his brother was right, but it still felt abnormally hard. Regardless, he couldn’t stand in the street all day, and it would be rude to make Kenva wait for her first experience of Hensch’s hospitality.

  “All right,” he said, shaking off his malaise. “Let’s go say hey to Hensch.”

  “Gods, you’d think he was facing a hangman’s noose,” Kenva whispered behind him, smiling.

  Kaius just chuckled, brushing the comment off. Walking up those stairs felt like returning home in a way — near identical to the few times he had told his father he’d be back in an hour and then gone hunting for the rest of the day. Regardless, it was time to face the music.

  Laying a hand on the brass handle, Kaius pushed the door in. He hadn’t heard much sound inside the inn, so he hoped it was quiet. It should be, at least — early afternoon as it was. There wouldn’t likely be anyone in for lunch, and delvers were usually a busy sort.

  Thankfully, opening the door, he found it utterly empty save for a familiar man behind the bar, wiping it down with a rag, and a large cat lying by the fire. The cat perked up, ears pricking as they came into sight.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Hensch froze, his swipe across the benchtop stopping midway as he stared at them with wide eyes.

  Kaius slowed to a halt, giving the man an awkward smile. They stood there in deadlock until the man’s bonded beast, Yan, let out a deep mrow, bowing to stretch the kinks out of his back before padding across the common room. Despite coming up to Kaius’s waist, the cat acted much like any common pet would. He stopped in front of Kaius for a moment, tail swishing through the air as he sniffed him with interest, bumped against Ianmus, then sat in front of Porkchop looking up at him. Yan tilted his head for a moment, let out another meow, then butted up and twined his way around Porkchop’s legs.

  Kaius smiled at the beast’s familiarity. It broke the deadlock.

  Hensch rubbed his eyes, staring at them in disbelief. “Are my eyes failing me, or is that ye, Kaius? I haven’t seen you in months.” He broke into a wide grin a moment later, throwing his rag to the side. “Oh, my boy, it has been far too long. Why are you all standing there? And I see you’ve got a new team member! Come in, come in! Please, sit, let me pour you some drinks.”

  Before they could say anything, Hensch’s hands were already blurring, reaching underneath his bar to pull out four tankards. From the hand-pull on the bench, he drew the flagons full of foaming dark ale. “Do I have to repeat myself? Sit, sit. I’ll fetch you something to eat. My lunch isn’t long gone, so there’s still plenty left. Come, sit!” he insisted.

  Kaius immediately relaxed. What had he been worried for? This was Hensch. The man was sent by the gods themselves.

  “It’s good to be back, Hensch. We have a hell of a tale to tell you.”

  Filing in, they sat around a table, and moments later Hensch had a flagon in front of each of them alongside an impossibly fresh plate of roast meat and steamed grains.

  Hensch turned to Kenva. “And what might your name be, miss? This lot were just a trio last I saw. I think I’ll have to update the rooms if you’re joining — of course I am assuming, considering you’ve come here with them, you’re in for the long haul.”

  “Kenva,” she said with a smile, taking a long drink. “You know, these two talked up your hospitality, but I see it wasn’t for no reason.”

  “Ah, you flatter me,” Hensch said, waving her off.

  “I do not, I think,” Kenva said. She raised her flagon. “This beer is definitely some of the best I’ve had, and the food smells divine.”

  Hensch only smiled, clearly pleased by Kenva’s compliment. Then the innkeep paused for a moment, looking over to Kaius and Porkchop. “It’s not like me to pry, but I must say that Porkchop seems to be the wrong colour, and I get quite the sense of solidity from all of you that was noticeably absent just a few months ago.”

  “Ah, yes, that,” Kaius said, smiling as he met his team’s eyes. Before, he’d been nervous to talk to Hensch, but now he remembered how warm the man was. There was only a mischievous glee at the surprise he expected. “We’ve made Silver,” Kaius said simply.

  Much to Kaius’s disappointment, Hensch seemed to take the statement in stride. “Ah, Silver. Of course. That would explain it all. Your bond, too, I assume?”

  “I have,” Porkchop said.

  Kaius broke into a grin as Hensch froze.

  “Excuse me?”

  “I have reached Silver,” Porkchop said again.

  Hensch snapped to Porkchop, a schooled expression on his face. “You have reached Silver. Of course. My mistake. And I suppose that your newfound ability to talk has come from that transformation?” Hensch hedged.

  Kaius couldn’t hold it any longer. He burst out laughing, while Ianmus and Kenva covered their smiles with their hands.

  “I seem to have been the victim of a joke?” Hensch said, smiling good-naturedly.

  “Sorry, Hensch, it’s not that. Porkchop has always been able to talk.”

  The innkeep paused again. “Always?” he questioned, giving calculating looks to Kaius and Porkchop. “But the only beasts that I know are able to talk… are greater beasts....”

  “That is generally the case, yes,” Kaius said, nodding sagely.

  Hensch seemed to relax somewhat. “So you’re saying in this case Porkchop is some rare exception. That makes sense. It would be ridiculous for a greater beast to be willing to be treated like a common animal, would it not? Yes, yes, of course. I couldn’t imagine the embarrassment if I had treated a greater beast as such.”

  “Oh no,” Kaius said. “Porkchop is a greater beast. A greater meles, to be precise. I grew up in the Arboreal Sea — we met there.”

  Hensch paused again. “Ah. I see. I need to digest this — your name is truly Porkchop?” He raised his eyebrow and looked between Kaius and Porkchop.

  Kaius coughed, scratching the back of his head. “That was something of an inside joke that stuck.”

  “We do not use the spoken tongue as you do,” Porkchop said. “Beastspeech is more visceral. My name does not translate exactly, and frankly is just as silly and embarrassing anyway. Porkchop is fun. I like it.”

  Hensch nodded sagely. “A wise and gracious position, as expected of one of such august patronage.”

  Inwardly, Kaius felt disappointed, but Hensch’s unflappable countenance proved as unbreakable as adamant. By the gods, the man had found out he’d been hosting a greater beast for the better part of a year, and all he did was feel a little embarrassed about being impolite.

  Ridiculous.

  “Well then, I must say it is a pleasure to speak to you in person. And you, Kenva — it is lovely to meet you for the first time. Now, tell me of your travels — I assume something must have gone awry for your journey to have been extended by half a year, and for you to have picked up another party member?”

  Ianmus laughed. “Oh, you don’t even know the half of it. We would love to tell you some stories — and just between the five of us, perhaps do not be too surprised if we cause a bit of a hubbub in the next few weeks, as we share a few secrets more widely for how people can grow as strong as we have.”

  “Bah. Think nothing of it. I am an innkeep. We all double as secret-keepers in my profession. Nothing surprises me anymore. Why, just today, I had some of my favourite clientele let slip that I’d been hosting a greater beast for the better part of a year. You wouldn’t believe it, looking at me.” The man grinned.

  Kaius couldn’t help but laugh at the joke. Gods, it was good to be back in the Dusty Stables.

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