Her sleep the night before had been deep and uninterrupted, a rare luxury. Enough to quiet the tension in her shoulders, enough to sharpen her focus. The road ahead would need all of it.
She turned toward the market district with clipped purpose.
The Merchant Guild rose above the surrounding stalls like a polished fortress—banners fluttering, stone columns gleaming, clerks pacing the entrance steps with ledgers clutched to their chests.
Inside, the vast hall teemed with activity: scribes tallying cargo, traders shouting final bids, runners weaving between booths.
Eis approached the inquiry table.
“I need information for northbound travel. Supplies required. Local currency. Expected conditions.”
The clerk blinked up at her—short, ink-stained fingers, spectacles perched precariously.
“North? You’ll want insulated layers, cold-weather packs, climbing gear if you’re passing the ridge paths, warming draughts, travel tonics, and mana lantern reserves. Currency’s standard gold, though some frontier towns take aurum chips.”
He slid a pamphlet toward her.
“Prices and recommended vendors are in here.”
Eis accepted it with a curt nod and stepped away from the counter into a quiet alcove behind a row of storage crates.
There, concealed from sight, she closed her eyes.
The heat in her chest shimmered faintly, responding to her thought.
Gold.
One hundred pieces.
The heat flared—a soft, controlled heat—before dissipating into a coin pouch that settled neatly into her palm. When she opened it, freshly minted coins gleamed up at her.
The east wing vendors had nearly everything Eis needed for her part of the preparations.
Ronan and Kael were handling the necessities — shared rations, medical kits, survival packs, and transport logistics.
That left Eis responsible only for her personal gear and the small comforts she wanted the team to have on the road.
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She moved steadily from stall to stall, choosing with care:
- insulated travel cloak
- cold-weather base layers
- wool-lined gloves and boots
- a compact emergency tent (just for her; the shared shelters were already covered)
- warming tonics and hand-warm packets
- mana lantern cores
- waterproofing salve for gear
- a silent-cook charm for fireless meals (a comfort she knew the others would appreciate)
- flavored drink infusions — hardly essential, but morale mattered
- cleaning scrolls — because apparently Eis had “ruined” them, and none of them could travel like savages anymore
By the time she cinched her pack closed, the gold pouch had thinned considerably.
Worth it.
Every piece.
Outside, the sun had shifted westward, turning the edges of the buildings gold as she stepped back into the street.
The city moved around her in its usual rhythm—boatmen poling through canals, merchants closing midday deals, children tossing pebbles along the walkways. Eis walked through it all with steady steps, her new pack heavy but well-balanced over her shoulder.
The Blue Lantern Inn’s sign creaked softly overhead when she pushed through the door.
Warm air greeted her immediately—bread baking, stew simmering, muffled laughter from the back room. The innkeeper, looked up from polishing mugs.
“Eis,” she said, smiling. “Didn’t expect you back until later.”
“I’ll be leaving before dawn tomorrow,” Eis told her. “Tonight will be my last stay.”
The smile faded into something gentler.
“Ah. One of those journeys.” The innkeeper set the mug aside. “I’ll wrap a traveler’s breakfast for you—hot and filling. No charge.”
“Thank you.”
“Just come back safe.”
Eis offered a quiet nod and headed upstairs.
Her room was unchanged—tidy, simple, the faint scent of wood polish lingering. Afternoon light filtered through the narrow window, dust drifting in slow spirals through the beam.
Eis set her pack down beside the bed and sat.
For a moment, she simply breathed, letting the silence sink in.
Tomorrow…
North.
The Sun Vault.
The relic’s twin.
Vauren.
And whatever connection tied her to all of this—Arin’s dreams, the resonance, the relic pulsing like a second heartbeat.
Team Argent would be coming. Ronan’s steady resolve, Kael’s silent competence, Lira’s bright confidence—they had chosen the path beside her without hesitation.
The thought anchored something in her chest.
The world was shifting, and tomorrow she would step into the storm.
Tonight, though…
Tonight was still hers.
She exhaled slowly and leaned back on the bed.
Tomorrow would come soon enough.