The roar of the wilds beyond the wall was faint but constant, like a distant growl that never stopped. Viera glanced up at the immense stone wall of Varkaigrad, towering sixty meters into the air and as wide as five men lying head to toe. Even with the sun rising, its imposing shadow loomed over this part of the city. It was a bastion against the chaos outside, a lifeline during the monster waves that poured from the dungeons in surges of claws and teeth.

But for all the chaos just beyond the walls, the city around her carried on as if nothing was wrong. Merchants barked prices, children darted through alleyways, and hawkers shouted over each other to sell their wares. Viera’s lips pressed into a thin line as she glanced at the crowd. It baffled her how they could be so indifferent. Sure, Vraal’Kor wasn’t the worst hit by the waves—most monsters seemed drawn to Lithrindel for reasons she didn’t care to guess—but it didn’t mean they were safe.

Her attention shifted to Jade, walking just ahead with that maddening air of confidence, her hood pulled low. “You still haven’t told me what exactly we’re doing down here,” Viera said, trying to keep her voice low as her eyes darted to the milling crowd.

“I told you, I need something,” Jade said, her tone so casual it made Viera’s teeth itch.

“You’ll need to be a bit more specific than ‘something,’” Viera snapped, sidestepping a man hauling a cart of sacks leaking something very suspect. “We’re in the slums, Jade. Half the people here can ‘get you something,’ and the other half will murder you while doing it.”

The lower district was as wild as a drunken bear in a china shop, and just as friendly. Chaos radiated from every corner, which, naturally, someone like Jade would argue was why Viera hated it. Something about her "highborn snobbery." Sure, she’d grown up Fang’s Ascent, one of the upper districts, cushioned by the perks of a lesser sect under the Ledenyk Family. But that didn’t mean she didn’t have brains, damn it. She did have a knack for seeing patterns and logic, which made her disdain for this place feel completely justified, thank you very much.

“You said yesterday someone turned into an abomination here. Broad daylight. Slaughtered a bunch of people,” Jade said, her tone annoyingly nonchalant.

“Yeah? And?”

“Do you know what they transformed into?”

Viera frowned. “Not really. I didn’t dig too deep. It’s the lower districts—nothing for us to worry about. The Enforcers probably already cleaned it up. I’d bet five coins it was some alchemist’s experiment gone sideways.”

“The one who transformed was a drakarri, like us. It’s not the transformation itself but what they became.” Jade said, as she sidestepped a careening cart. “Scales all over. Serpentine mug. Wings. Claws. Ringing any bells?”

Viera’s steps faltered. “You’re saying someone shifted into their beast form? That’s hardly news. Anyone above red core can do that.”

“Except they weren’t red core,” Jade said, her voice dropping. “If they were, the death count wouldn’t be just a few dozen.”

That sent a chill prickling down Viera’s spine. Every beastkin knew the deal: reach red core, and you could tap into your bloodline’s power to achieve your beast form. But someone below red core pulling it off? That was uncharted—and dangerous—territory.

“I still think it’s a load of crap,” Viera said, her skepticism creeping back in. “Maybe it was some other kind of transformation?”

“Nope.”

“How can you be so damn sure?”

“I have better resources.”

That earned a scoff. Better resources, her scaled ass. Jade was so buried in her alchemy experiments, she probably wouldn’t notice if a mana bomb detonated next to her unless it knocked over her beakers. Wait.

“Don’t tell me you’ve been sneaking out,” Viera accused, eyes narrowing.

Jade hesitated.

“YOU’VE BEEN SNEAKING OUT!”

“Don’t jump to conclusions,” Jade said, voice annoyingly calm. “Anyway, you’re here now, so it doesn’t matter.”

“Jade, that old hag is going to skin us if she finds out we’re slumming it looking for trouble.”

“Bit late for that, don’t you think? And you agreed to come along, remember? I need backup in case things go south.”

“You tricked me! I thought you were looking for some shady ingredient or other!”

“That’s on you,” Jade said, smirking. “I told you where we were going. If you leapt to conclusions, that’s your problem. Both plans involved sneaking out; only one of them is apparently bothering you.”

“Because one doesn’t involve chasing down something potentially deadly!” Viera threw up her hands, narrowly avoiding smacking a hawker. The hawker hissed something unrecognizable, but the look on his face told her it wasn’t flattering. She muttered an apology under her breath and hurried to catch up with Jade, who was now weaving through the crowd like a damn eel through water.

“‘Both plans involved sneaking out,’ she says,” Viera muttered, glaring daggers at the back of Jade’s hooded head. “Like that makes this fine. One plan involves gathering ingredients and maybe haggling with some shady apothecary. The other? Oh, just poking a possibly homicidal drakarri with a big stick!”

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Jade didn’t look back. Of course, she didn’t.

“Would you slow down?” Viera hissed, dodging a pair of kids chasing a ball down the street. The ball hit a pile of muck, splashing it across her boots. Lovely. Just lovely. She shook her foot, grimacing, and hurried on.

“Why are you even so calm about this?” she demanded, finally catching up and grabbing Jade’s arm. “We’re talking about someone who went full beast-form without hitting red core. You don’t find that a bit terrifying?”

Jade turned her head just enough for Viera to catch the faintest glimpse of a smirk under her hood. “Terrifying? Sure. But also fascinating. Don’t you want to know how it’s possible?”

“No!” Viera snapped. “I want to not die in some piss-stained alley because you got curious, Jade. Curiosity kills more than cats, you know.”

“And satisfaction brings them back,” Jade quipped, pulling her arm free and continuing forward, unbothered as ever.

Viera groaned, following reluctantly. “Seriously, Jade, what’s your angle here? You’re not the ‘run toward the chaos’ type. Usually, you’d be holed up with your tinctures and experiments. What’s changed?”

Jade paused, just briefly. “Information,” she said simply, and the word hung there like a challenge.

“What information?” Viera pressed, falling into step beside her now.

“I can’t tell you yet.”

“Oh, of course, you can’t tell me yet,” Viera said. “Ancestors forbid you give me a straight answer. How do you even expect me to help if you’re keeping me in the dark?”

“You’re helping by being here,” Jade said with infuriating calm.

“That’s not how this works!” Viera hissed. She stepped in front of Jade, forcing her to stop. “You dragged me into this, so spill. What exactly are we dealing with here?”

Jade sighed, glancing around as if to make sure no one was listening. “Fine,” she said finally. “I have a lead that this... transformation wasn’t a one-off accident. There’s a pattern, Viera. And if I’m right, this could be bigger than just one feral drakarri.”

Viera’s stomach sank. “A pattern? As in, this has happened before?”

“Or it’s about to happen again,” Jade said, stepping around her. “Which is why we need to hurry.”

Viera followed, her heart pounding now. “So, what? You think there’s some kind of experiment going on down here? Or a curse? Or what?”

“That’s what we’re here to find out,” Jade said.

Viera wanted to throttle her. Instead, she gritted her teeth and kept walking, her boots squelching in something she didn’t want to think about. “If this gets us killed, I’m haunting you,” she muttered.

“Fair,” Jade said with a shrug.

“And another thing,” Viera said, her voice rising despite herself, “if you’re sneaking out for leads like this, what else aren’t you telling me? Do you have a death wish I should know about? Is this some kind of secret alchemist vigilante thing?”

Jade gave her a sidelong glance. “You’ve got quite the imagination, don’t you?”

“Don’t dodge the question,” Viera snapped. “Jade, I swear, if you’ve been up to something reckless—”

“I haven’t. And we already have a lead.” Jade halted abruptly.

Before them stretched a square, as riotous and unruly as any corner of the city, but Jade wasn’t gesturing to the chaos. She was pointing at someone—a Voruun, to be exact. Green-skinned, built like a fortress, with tusks jutting from his lower jaw like a pair of knives. He was hard to miss, though Viera’s eyes caught something more telling: a tattoo curling up the back of his neck.

The gangs. Of course. This district was practically their playground. Viera knew tattoos like his weren’t just for show; they were emblems, markers of allegiance. And judging by the stylized fang inked in black, she could guess which one.

“Why him?” she asked, though she already had a sinking feeling.

“Just follow.”

The Voruun didn’t just stand out; he dominated the space. Even in the chaos, the crowd parted subtly around him, their movements deliberate, wary. His tusks gleamed as he barked orders at a wiry, hooded figure whose hunched posture all but screamed flight risk.

“Jade,” Viera hissed, grabbing her cloak before she could take another step. “You can’t be serious. That’s Fang Circle. Do you even know what they do to people who get in their way?”

Jade shrugged off her grip. “Relax. We’re not getting in their way. We’re just… observing.”

“Observing?” Viera’s voice dripped with sarcasm. “Oh, right. Because standing a few meters from a gang enforcer and staring is exactly how you go unnoticed.”

Jade shot her one of those looks. The kind that said, Trust me, I’ve got this. Except Viera knew Jade never “had this.” Not really.

“Just follow,” Jade repeated, already slipping into the crowd.

Viera bit back a groan, muttering under her breath as she trailed behind. “This is the worst idea I’ve ever agreed to.” Fifth time this week.

The square opened up as they moved closer, the bustle thinning enough for Viera to get a clearer view. The Voruun’s deep, guttural voice was unmistakable as he argued with the hooded figure. The smaller man shifted uneasily, fidgeting with a tension that practically radiated ready to run.

“What exactly are we looking for?” Viera whispered.

Jade didn’t answer. Her sharp gaze darted around the square like she was piecing together an invisible puzzle. This wasn’t her first trip to this district; of that, Viera was certain. Somehow, Jade had been slipping out unnoticed—and managing it regularly. That was no small feat, especially for someone of their rank.

Viera clenched the amulet in her hand. She was a crafter, not a fighter. Yellow core or not, she was firmly in the “average” category for Varkaigrad.

Jade’s gaze flicked toward a building, her eyes narrowing as if she’d just spotted a missing piece of the puzzle. “A signal,” she said, her tone clipped.

“A signal for what?” Viera pressed.

Jade didn’t answer. Instead, she grabbed Viera’s wrist and tugged her toward a nearby alley, weaving through the crowd with practiced precision. Her focus was unshakable, her eyes glued to the ground as they moved, as if avoiding even the faintest misstep.

Viera followed, her pulse quickening, her mind racing. They were too close to the Voruun now—close enough to hear his voice clearly now.

“…not my problem if the shipment’s late,” he growled. “Tell them to wait. They know the risks.”

“But the boss said—” the wiry man began, only to be silenced by a guttural snarl.

“I don’t care what the boss said. You tell them we’re handling it. End of discussion.”

Viera strained to catch the exchange, but Jade held up a hand, signaling her to stay put. The conversation dragged on in tense bursts, the wiry man visibly shrinking under the Voruun’s glare. Eventually, he nodded, darting into the crowd like a frightened hare.

The Voruun lingered, his eyes scanning the square before turning and striding toward an alley on the far side.

“Perfect,” Jade murmured.

“Perfect?” Viera repeated, confused.

Then the scream came—a piercing, blood-curdling cry that silenced the square for the briefest of moments before chaos erupted.

Viera barely had time to process it before she saw it.

The Voruun was skewered where he stood, a massive, bone-white claw punching clean through his chest. Blood sprayed in violent arcs as the claw retracted, and a serpentine maw, jagged and grotesque, lunged forward to seize him. The creature was a nightmare made flesh, its scaled body coiling and snapping as its claws pinned the Voruun like a child’s toy.

A guttural roar echoed through the square as the beast tore into its prey with a macabre sort of glee, ripping flesh and muscle from bone in a grisly display.

Viera’s breath hitched as pandemonium swept over the square. The crowd surged like a living tide, people shoving and scrambling to escape the carnage. Her first instinct was to reach for Jade, but her outstretched hand met only air.

“Jade!” she shouted. She spun around, her heart hammering as she scanned the throng, but… Jade was gone.