"What about—" The words caught in Caleb's throat. He clung to the ladder, his forearm muscles straining against his skin.

  Corinne's grip on his hand remained steady, her smile carrying a confidence that seemed impossible for someone her age. "Don't worry about him. Mom will handle it."

  The simple declaration short-circuited his brain. Handle it? In his experience, handling violent drunks involved restraining orders, lawyers, and police reports. This medieval nightmare demanded something else entirely. Yet Corinne spoke with absolute certainty, as if her mother's word alone could shield him from a man who'd tried to strangle him just hours ago.

  She guided him down the remaining rungs, then led him through overlapping shadows cast by the dual suns—a wonder Caleb didn't have the time to appreciate. Avoiding the main courtyard, they slipped through a narrow door he hadn't noticed before, hidden behind a stack of empty barrels. The transition from stable air to the inn's interior washed him in warmth, order, and the smell of baking bread mixed with lye soap and lavender.

  They entered a small, utilitarian room that screamed staff only. Wicker baskets overflowed with linens sorted by type, awaiting washing. Shelves held neat rows of cleaning supplies, their labels hand-written in flowing script. A spout marked with a faintly glowing rune fed into a sizable copper basin that occupied one wall. Nothing was out of place.

  "Thal!"

  A contralto voice, so rich it seemed to warm the air and underpinned by an unmistakable note of command, made him flinch instinctively before recognition filtered through.

  Cassia Hearthsong stood in the doorway, and Caleb's first thought was how much Corinne resembled her mother. Warm brown hair, streaked with distinguished hints of silver, was pulled back from a fair, capable face. Cassia's kind brown eyes carried depths earned through years of running the family business. They widened in alarm as she took in his battered state.

  "Rufan Caldorn?" She stepped into the room, and despite her smaller stature, the way she stood—shoulders back, chin level—seemed to shrink the room around her. "Don't you worry your head about that good-for-nothing drunk for one second, dear. Any man who would treat his own son that way... he isn't worth the air he breathes. If he comes sniffing around my inn looking for you, he'll find a locked door and a deaf ear."

  The ferocity in her voice, a sudden shield raised in his name, surprised him. Thal's memories recognized her, yet to Caleb she remained a stranger. A stranger ready to stand between him and danger without hesitation, offering immediate, unconditional defense of someone she saw as a child in need.

  When did I become so cynical that basic human decency shocks me?

  "Corinne, fetch water and a cloth. The good ones, not the bar rags."

  "Yes, Mom!" Corinne gave his shoulder a quick, conspiratorial squeeze before darting away, practically bouncing on the balls of her feet.

  Cassia's expression softened. She peered from the scrapes on his palms to the darkening bruises on his neck, her lips thinning for a moment before the concern returned. "Take your time getting washed up. There are fresh clothes in that basket. They're from last season's lost and found, but they're clean and mended. Corinne will be right outside when you're ready."

  Alone, Caleb moved to the basin, every muscle protesting. He leaned on the cool stone, looking at the apparently magical spout. It was carved from stone, its surface etched with glowing runes that made it resemble a prop from a fantasy convention.

  A cynical part of him expected failure. He reached out an unsure hand, his fingertips brushing the carved stone as he traced the strange shapes and symbols—a flowing, wave-like sigil. The recognizable shape was a key. A memory unlocked, flawless and instructive: his mother’s finger tracing the exact same sigil on a slate, her voice explaining, "The rune answers to your will. Call the water, and it will come."

  Despite some memory-born confidence, his Earthen skepticism told him there was still a non-zero chance this thing exploded in his face. Or at least ask him to agree to a fifty-page terms of service agreement before dispensing water. He placed his palm on the stone. It felt cool, inert. He closed his eyes, gathering his thoughts and pushing his will at the object. The mental effort felt alien, like trying to move a phantom limb. Water. I need water.

  For a second, nothing. Then, a low hum vibrated through his fingers, traveling up his arm as the runes flared with a soft, blue light. Water, clear and cold, streamed from the spout.

  Holy Mackerel!

  He stared, mesmerized, as the water flowed without a pump, without pipes, without any logical explanation his old world could offer. It just… was. Because he willed it to be. He, Caleb Foster, a middle-aged nobody from suburbia, had performed an act of magic.

  This had to be what Corinne experienced, he realized with desire. Yet only a faint reflection of the real thing. A hint of what could be. He studied his hand, then turned back to the luminous symbol. Corinne's status display flickered in his mind's eye, its crisp edges and concrete [+10% INT] overlaying the water spout. Those statistics were a language, representing a dialogue with reality itself. A dialogue that excluded him. And after the alley, after Rufan, he knew he couldn't survive as an outsider to that conversation. He needed a voice. He needed access.

  He cupped his hands, the stream cool against his skin. As the water washed away the dirt and blood, it also cleansed him of his final dregs of disbelief. This was real. The simple act became a sacrament, each splash a confirmation of his impossible new reality.

  He paused, leaning over the basin as the water stilled into a murky, copper-tinted mirror.

  The face staring back wasn't his. Gone were the tired blue eyes and receding hairline of a man with a Dad bod. In their place was a stranger, a boy barely sixteen. Unruly auburn hair framed a thin, almost gaunt pale face. His eyes, a startling moss-green, held a haunted look that felt both stranger and natural from Thal's memories. A wave of vertigo hit him, so intense he had to grip the basin to keep from collapsing. The reflection held an undeniable reality. This was his face now. As he pushed a wet strand from his forehead, he saw the ears, tapered to a subtle point. A choked, guttural cry escaped his throat.

  This isn't me. This CAN'T be me. But I feel it. Every inch of this body is now... mine. The knowledge washed over him. I'm in a teenager's body. With pointed ears. In another world. He pressed his palms against his temples, fingers digging into auburn hair that wasn't his, yet responded to his touch. Get it together, Foster.

  The clothes Cassia had indicated were indeed simple. A linen shirt that had seen better days but smelled of lavender sachets, dark trousers with careful patches at the knees, and, miracle of miracles, leather shoes. They were worn soft by previous owners, the soles thin but intact. After hours of bare feet on stone and filth, the worn leather felt like armor against the world.

  He found Corinne waiting outside, practically vibrating with nervous energy. She led him down a short hallway to a small office. Ledgers stacked on shelves, what appeared to be an abacus beside an inkwell, the nerve center of the inn's operations. Cassia sat behind a modest desk, her demeanor shifting subtly. Still warm, still kind, but now businesslike.

  "Corinne says you've helped in the kitchen before." Cassia folded her hands, merchant's rings catching the light from a small window. "Do you have any skills, Thal? Can you share your Status screen?"

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  The question he'd been dreading. Caleb shifted in his chair, the worn leather creaking beneath him like an accusation. "I... I can't access it."

  Her brow furrowed. "You're past your sixteenth birthday?"

  He nodded, grimacing.

  The transformation was instantaneous. Warmth vanished like water on a hot stone, replaced by something intense and dangerous. Not directed at him—her gaze seemed to pierce through walls, seeking a target across town.

  "He... what?" Her voice dropped to a whisper that carried more threat than any shout. "That man is a monster."

  Corinne's expression darkened, her fists closing tightly at the mention of Rufan's cruelty.

  His corporate instincts reframed the situation: he was delivering a crisis management pitch. As he searched for the right words, he breathed in the scent of roasting garlic and thyme drifting from the kitchen down the hall.

  The aroma sparked a composite memory formed from scattered moments: the rhythmic thump of a cleaver, the sting of onion vapor, and Corinne’s flour-dusted cheek as she’d passed him a bowl of peeled potatoes. The memories gave him his angle. More vivid, though, was another memory altogether.

  "Now watch closely," Evelynn said, her hands steady on the knife. "Rock the blade, don't chop. Let the weight do the work."

  The memory was so vivid he could smell the onions, feel Evelynn's hands over his. Katie doing homework at the breakfast bar, Jack stealing pieces of cut vegetables when he thought no one was looking.

  He blinked back the painful remembrance. "I'm good with a knife... for vegetables," he clarified. His [Savant of the Mind] and [Savant of the Body] hummed beneath his thoughts, promising rapid skill acquisition. "And I'm a quick study."

  "He has, Mom!" Corinne burst in, unable to contain herself. "He helped us peel a whole crate of potatoes last harvest festival! He was super fast! He's a really hard worker, I know he is!"

  Caleb met Cassia's eyes, finding a steadiness he didn't feel. "I can clean, serve, mend—whatever you need. I'm more capable than I look." He touched his throat where Rufan's fingertips still bloomed purple against his skin. "I won't bring trouble to your door. He—" His voice cracked, and he swallowed hard against the sudden tightness. "Rufan kept what was rightfully mine. My chance. But I don't need him. I just need a fair shot at earning my own way." The words tasted strange in his mouth. Half Caleb's desperate pragmatism, half Thal's wounded pride.

  Cassia studied him with those shrewd eyes, weighing his potential against his risks. The silence stretched until Caleb's nerves screamed.

  "Alright. Here is the offer." She leaned back, decision made. "Provisional pay. Three silver a day. You'll help Gareth in the kitchen with prep work. Have a cot in the staff quarters and two square meals a day. You work hard, you prove you learn as fast as you claim to, and we'll talk about more pay and more responsibility."

  Three silver. Caleb lacked any reference point for its value, but Thal's memories supplied one. At this rate, a single spirit stone would cost over a month's work.

  "I can also hold your earnings for you, if you like. A private bank, of sorts. To keep it safe."

  The offer's value hit immediately. Safe from Rufan's grasping hands. Safe from street thugs like Narbok. Caleb nodded quickly. "Yes. Please. That would be... yes."

  Relief washed through him, making his legs feel unsteady. The tension he had carried since the alleyway finally eased. Safety. Food. A place to sleep. He had done it. And as the warmth of that realization spread through his chest, a chime rang out, and translucent blue box shimmered into existence in the lower corner of his vision.

  [New Skill Gained: Diplomacy (F) - Practiced]

  Caleb blinked as the notification settled into his awareness. Diplomacy—and not the Novice level most Skills started at. Practiced. His lips quirked into a smile. All those soul-crushing meetings, the endless client placation, the corporate dance of reading rooms and managing egos—apparently they counted for something here. He'd handled Cassia's suspicion like he'd once handled hostile clients, identifying pain points and offering solutions that left everyone mostly satisfied. His past life bleeding through, given form and rank in this strange new world.

  "Good." Her warm smile returned, transforming her face. "Let me give you a proper tour. You've been here before, I know, but now you're one of us."

  One of us. The phrase settled warmly into his belly. Finally, there is some hope in all of this darkness.

  She led him from the office back into the inn proper. As they approached the heavy oak doors, Caleb saw no handle, only delicate carvings of intertwined oak leaves and hunting beasts. He instinctively slowed, but Cassia stepped confidently onto the stone threshold. A faint sigil on the floor pulsed with a soft light for a heartbeat, and the massive doors swung inward, smooth and silent. Automatic doors, his mind supplied, stunned. Powered by runes.

  He followed her inside, and his breath caught. He'd glimpsed it through Thal's memories, but experiencing it firsthand was different. The main common room soared four stories, with a polished wooden gallery circling the upper level. A fireplace easily wide enough to roast a whole boar dominated one wall, its hearth built from river stones fitted together with an artisan's exactness. The air itself felt expensive—beeswax polish, herbs hanging from the rafters, the rich smell of meat roasting with exotic spices. It was a perfect, stable temperature, free of the damp chill from the forest outside or the oppressive heat from the massive fire. More runes, he assumed. A whole integrated system.

  For the first time since arriving, a spark of pure and simple awe stirred inside him. Someone had designed this. Someone understood how it all worked. The basic water rune had offered a glimpse of potential, but this unified network demonstrated genuine mastery. He felt a sudden, driving need to understand how it all worked. To be a part of that, to even begin to comprehend it, he had to get his foot in the door.

  His analytical mind catalogued details with newfound appreciation. Runic stones embedded in the ceiling beams provided steady illumination—no flickering candles or smoking torches. Private booths tucked into alcoves offered discretion for sensitive conversations. Polished mahogany and gleaming brass fixtures formed a masterwork of a bar.

  Then the walls captured his attention completely. Trophies covered every vertical surface, each positioned for maximum impact. The iridescent carapace of a beetle the size of a compact car. A skull that seemed to be mostly teeth arranged in nightmarish rows—some kind of massive spider? A steel shield bent inward, the dent suggesting something had punched through three inches of metal like paper.

  Small brass plaques identified the donors: "The Bloodoak Legion," "Vireth's Whispers," "The Runesworn Covenant." The inn doubled as a shrine to deadly achievements, a gathering point for professional monster hunters. The walls themselves were a record of violence wrapped in glory, each trophy marking another notch on someone's blood-soaked ledger.

  "Catches the eye, doesn't it?" Cassia's voice held pride. "Gareth's father started the tradition forty years ago. 'Every trophy tells a story,' he used to say. 'And stories bring customers.'"

  And customers there were. The room hummed with a low thrum of power and coin. A table of dwarves in battered steel mail argued loudly over a map, their tankards slamming on the wood. In a secluded booth, a robed figure with elegantly pointed ears—a full-blooded elf, Caleb realized—ignored their meal, eyes fixed on a glowing rune they drew in the air. Near the bar, a merchant in silks too bright for this frontier town laughed, trying to impress a table of mercenaries whose scarred faces and notched blades told their own stories. This was a place where adventures were bandied over ale, and in a quiet corner, a bard readied his lute, preparing to turn those deeds into song.

  They passed through the common room toward the back of the building. The sounds of comfort—laughter, clinking glasses, a lute being tuned—faded as they entered a utilitarian hallway. The decorations here were practical: hooks for aprons, a schedule board, notices about supplier deliveries.

  "Now then." Cassia paused before a heavy door. "Gareth can be... particular. But he's a fair man. Just focus on your work and you'll do fine."

  From beyond the door came a rhythmic impact—THUMP-THUMP-THUMP—of a cleaver striking wood with mechanical rhythm. The sound built to a crescendo before a single word exploded through the wood:

  "More!"

  Cassia's sigh spoke of years of practice. "That would be your new boss." Her hand rested on the latch. "Try not to lose a finger."

  She pushed open the door, and Caleb was hit by a wall of purposeful motion. Steam billowed from a dozen pots, cooks weaved around each other in a dance of hot pans and sharp knives, and orders were barked and obeyed in a seamless flow. The THUMP-THUMP continued unabated, a massive figure working at a butcher's block with economical violence.

  Gareth Hearthsong stood six-foot-three, built like someone who'd spent decades hauling carcasses and working dough, with iron-grey hair cut short and a sturdy, olive complexion that hinted at his mixed blood. His movements held a craftsman's economy despite their power. The cleaver in his grip seemed an extension of his will, reducing what looked like an entire haunch of some creature to exact portions with terrifying efficiency.

  "More parsley!" he roared after tasting a dish. "Needs more green! Fix it."

  A young man—maybe twenty, streaming sweat—scrambled to comply, nearly colliding with a girl managing three separate sauce reductions simultaneously. The kitchen was a dance of barely controlled chaos, a blur of hot pans and sharp knives where every cook moved with practiced efficiency.

  Cassia cleared her throat.

  Gareth's cleaver paused mid-swing. He turned, and Caleb got his first clear look at the man's face. Scowl-lined, stern, with gently pointed ears marking his half-elven heritage. His uncompromising forest-green eyes fixed on Caleb, and the look was an assessment that found him wanting.

  "This the new boy?"