Aiden dreamed he was watching someone else's memory.
He stood in a forest like the one they'd just left, but cleaner, clearer—edges too sharp, too crisp. The way dreams get when your brain forgets what fog really looks like.
A clearing opened in front of him. No sound, no smell—just silence, until it cracked open with a shout.
"Left side—watch the flank!"
Five figures burst from the treeline. They moved like a unit, each one flowing around the other without colliding. Like they'd done this a hundred times.
Aiden didn't recognize their faces—but he knew them.
The woman in gold-tinged armor. The guy with the green chain-whip. A narrow-eyed rogue with short, jagged hair. A mage at the rear, hands aglow with purple fire. And at the center—
Kael.
No system-enhanced stats. No glowing abilities. Just a sword in his hand and an expression like steel.
The creature they fought was massive—scaled, armored, something between a centipede and a serpent. Its jaws split into three rows of teeth, acid dripping from the sides.
The chain-wielder darted in, catching a leg with a bladed hook. The rogue vanished and reappeared behind the monster with a blink of smoke. The mage cast a barrier just in time to block a toxic spray.
Kael didn't do any of that.
He stepped forward and drove his sword through its skull.
Just like that.
Not flashy. Not powered by magic. But final.
The others cheered. Laughed. The whip-user slapped Kael's back.
"Drinks are on me!"
"You said that last time."
"And did I not pay?!"
"No, and you didn't pay the last other fifty times you said so," said the rogue.
"Well, I meant to!"
Kael just shook his head, laughing quietly with them. His armor was covered in gore, but his face was calm. Easy.
He belonged.
The mage clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Gods, Kael. What would we do without you?"
The rogue grinned. "Get eaten. Fast."
And then, just like that, the memory peeled apart.
Laughter cracking.
Voices fading into the fog.
Aiden reached forward—but the clearing crumbled like ash.
And he woke up.
The mat was stiff beneath his back. Morning light spilled across the wall in a thin line from the window, pale gold and cold. Smoke from the hearth had long since faded.
Kael sat where the fire had burned out, not blinking, not moving.
Just… watching.
Aiden shifted slowly. "Were you up all night?"
Kael nodded. "Didn't feel tired."
Aiden pushed himself upright, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "You didn't sleep?"
"I don't think I need to," Kael said. "I sat. I didn't feel like sleeping. Didn't feel anything much, really. Just watched. Listened. The wind. The village. You breathing."
He said it plainly. Not as a threat, not as a guard. Just as a fact.
Aiden blinked, still shaking off the dream.
"So are you feeling okay?" he asked.
Kael looked down at his hands. "I feel fine, just a little strange. Not… bad. Just different."
Aiden didn't know what to say to that.
So he said nothing.
Kael stood and stretched, though he didn't need to. "Come on. We should check outside. Offer to help before we ask for anything."
Aiden nodded and followed.
He didn't mention the dream.
He didn't have to.
Maerstead in the morning was quiet.
Most of the villagers were already at work—patching fences, pulling up root plants, sweeping ash from fire pits. The smell of baking bread drifted from a clay oven built into a small stone wall. A few children darted between houses, laughing, wooden toys clacking as they ran.
Aiden spotted Bones curled under the shade of a fruit cart, tail flicking lazily. A passing toddler tossed a crust of bread near him. The Gravehound sniffed it, sneezed, and let it be.
He was playing harmless well enough.
Aiden sat at the communal hearth and accepted a bowl of warm grain from a quiet teen who didn't ask questions. Kael took his seat nearby, watching the square with his arms folded.
Eventually, Elder Bren arrived.
She walked with slow confidence, staff clicking against cobblestone. Her hair was braided tighter today, and she wore a heavy fur over her shoulders despite the mild air.
"Hope you didn't mind the bed," she said. "You're the first strangers we've had in a while."
Kael nodded respectfully. "It was good rest."
"You headed west, you said?"
"We are."
"Well," Bren said, settling on the bench opposite them, "before you go, I've got something you might be willing to look into."
Kael didn't answer. He just looked at Aiden.
Aiden blinked. "Wait—you want me to decide?"
Kael shrugged. "You've got better instincts."
Aiden narrowed his eyes. "That's definitely a lie."
"It sounded polite, though."
Bren cleared her throat. "Our herds have been going missing. First the goats. Then the smaller oxen. Even when we moved them inside the fence, something's been getting to them. No blood. No bones. Just… gone."
Aiden's system lit up with a soft chime.
[New Quest Available – "Missing Herd"]
Type: Side Quest
Location: Maerstead
Summary: Livestock have begun vanishing at night despite protective measures. The villagers suspect a predator, but no signs remain.
Reward:
• +50 XP
• +5 Stat Points (Assignable)
• +1 Reputation (Maerstead)
Danger Rating: Low–Moderate
Accept? [Y/N]
Aiden hesitated. Then smiled a little.
+5 points.
He could start working toward more mana, maybe even Intelligence, if that helped him learn more skills.
This wasn't just free food and a bed anymore.
He looked at Kael.
"We'll take it," Aiden said. "Happy to help."
[Quest Accepted – "Missing Herd"]
Objective Updated:
• Speak to shepherd Farren near the lower pasture
• Investigate signs of predator entry
Bren nodded once, firm and measured. "You've got good hearts," she said, "or just enough energy to spare. Either way, thank you."
Kael gave her a respectful dip of the head. "No debt between us. Just doing what's fair."
She looked between the two of them, her expression softer than before. "Most wouldn't bother. Not for a village like this."
Aiden gave a half-smile. "You fed us. Let us sleep under a roof. Least we can do is keep your goats from vanishing into thin air."
Bren gestured toward the far fence. "Kid named Farren should be near the pasture wall, east side. He's quiet, but observant. You'll want to listen more than talk."
With that she tapped her staff twice on the stone and turned to go, her fur cloak catching a small gust as she crossed back toward the village well.
Kael murmured, "I'm counting on you to ignore that advice."
"Rude," Aiden said.
He gave a short whistle, two sharp notes.
A second passed.
Then—thump-thump-thump—the sound of paws on packed dirt.
Bones burst around the corner of a grain store, tongue lolling, tail bouncing with every stride. Still in his "pup" form, still faintly glowing, but with a kind of cocky energy that said yeah, I know I'm fast.
He slid to a halt next to Aiden and sat immediately, like he'd never been anywhere else.
Aiden ruffled the fur behind his ears. "C'mon, big guy. Time to go monster hunting."
Kael adjusted his cloak. "Let's hope it's not a monster."
"Let's hope it is," Aiden said. "I could use the experience."
Without another word, the three of them turned toward the east, walking side-by-side into the lifting mist. The air was colder this way, the grass longer. Fences stood like tired skeletons among the trees.
The trail bent around a low ridge.
Somewhere up ahead, a boy named Farren was waiting.
And somewhere beyond him—
Something else was, too.