Telo glanced up from the command table as Dem entered the tent, Talsi close behind. "This the one?"
Dem nodded. "Sentry Chief Telo—this is Talsi. Special recruit for our next mission."
Talsi lifted her right hand in a small wave. "Does special recruit outrank Sentry Chief?"
Telo gasped. "Um—no."
"Depends," Dem said mildly. "You're probably wondering why I brought you here."
"Not at all," Talsi said. "I assumed I caught your eye."
Telo laughed. "Oh, I like her already."
"It's because of your beastkin," Dem said softly.
The words fell heavy. Talsi went still. Because of the shamanic magic woven into tribal tattoos, most people couldn't even say such things openly.
"We need a fisher," Dem continued. "Easier to show you."
He raised a hand. "Escadomai."
Pink mist bloomed—and vanished.
A moment later, a fisher peeked out from a pile of clothes. Long-bodied and soft brown, short-legged with a narrow muzzle, it chittered excitedly before spinning in tight circles.
The fisher scampered up Dem's leg, bobbing her head with barely contained enthusiasm.
"I can see other tribals' beastkin," Dem said, "and I can induce the shift despite the magic meant to prevent it. We need a fisher for a specific task. Can you do that?"
The fisher rubbed her head beneath his chin, licked his jaw, then hopped back down.
"That answers that." Dem nodded. "Tomorrow, you'll accompany me, Telo, and Teya Bearclaw. Short trip."
The fisher spun again, tail flicking.
"We'll give you a moment," Dem said, ushering Telo out before releasing the transformation and stepping outside himself.
A few minutes later, Talsi emerged fully dressed and immediately wrapped Dem in a tight hug.
"That was amazing," she breathed. "Did you see me?"
"I did," Dem laughed. "Very impressive. First shift usually comes with surprises. How do you feel?"
"Great," she said, glowing. "You've made a very good impression, Sentry Commander."
"So I don't have to pay you."
"There's payment?" Talsi leaned in conspiratorially. "Do we need to return to your tent for that?"
Telo snorted. "It's always the quiet ones."
"I do have some loot," Dem said. "It's yours—assuming we find what we're looking for."
Talsi winked. "I'll be here at dawn, Commander."
The group set out shortly after dawn, Dem leading them on horseback until they reached the lake. There, they tied off the mounts and continued on foot.
"You'll have to explain how this works, Teya," Dem said, stepping away from the horses and motioning for her to lead.
"It's a lot like your sense of smell," Teya replied, moving carefully into the foothills. "I can follow a general scent of metal in the air."
"No rush," Dem said. "We'll follow."
Out of curiosity, he sniffed the breeze. Nothing metallic at all.
Teya guided them up a steep incline where the footing grew treacherous enough to require hands. She stopped abruptly on a small summit. "Beneath us."
Dem accessed his storage ring and produced a pick and shovel—basic tools he always carried. Without comment, he began breaking the hardened dirt while Telo cleared it aside.
Despite the chill, Dem and Telo worked shirtless. Slowly, a square hole took shape. At about a meter deep, they struck stone.
"Rock," Telo said.
"Same here." Dem climbed out, letting Telo clear the rest.
"Hey," Talsi said, crouching at the edge. "Is something wrong with that rock? Why is it perfectly flat?"
Dem studied it. "It's a ceiling." He nodded toward the pick. "We'll try chipping through. If it's too thick, we may need drill bits from Frostridge."
"Or explosives," Telo added with a grin.
"Or that," Dem agreed.
Teya took the pick while Dem and Telo scanned the surrounding formations, searching for an obvious entrance.
"You know," Telo said, squinting at the rocks, "this could be gold or silver."
"Maybe." Dem paused. "Do you remember any flat surfaces in the other maprooms?"
Telo shook his head. "All domes. Even the entry chambers. What's that mean?"
"Maybe nothing," Dem said—then turned sharply. "Teya's calling us."
When they reached the pit, Teya and Talsi were seated at the edge, peering into darkness.
"You punched through?" Dem asked, dropping down. "Light a torch."
"Just enough to see through," Teya said, handing one down. "But there's a big space below."
Dem dropped the torch. It struck stone almost immediately, landing on a tiled floor ten feet beneath them.
"Toss my clothes down," Dem called. "Try not to hit the torch."
"Toss your clothes?" Teya blinked. "Why would—"
Dem shifted mid-sentence. Though the hole looked far too small, the oversized black rat squeezed through and landed lightly below.
"Toss his clothes," Telo said, laughing at Teya's stunned expression. "Some of us already knew."
Teya stuffed the clothes through the opening. "I didn't."
"Just found out last night," Talsi added cheerfully.
Below, Dem shifted back, dressed, and lifted the torch.
"This…" His voice echoed faintly.
Telo pressed his face to the hole. "What is it?"
Dem stared at rows of weapon racks, shelves stacked with arms, and mannequins dressed in armor. "It's an armory."
"What'd he say?" Talsi paced above. "I can't hear him."
"He said it's an armory," Telo replied.
Dem whistled softly. Many pieces carried elemental enchantments—old, but potent. "I'm going to look for an entrance."
The chamber was massive—over two hundred feet wide, twice that in length. No doors. No seams.
"That's odd." He slowed, scanning floor and ceiling alike.
Then he found it.
A narrow borehole—barely hand-width—drilled into the granite wall.
With no other leads, Dem stowed his clothes and torch, shifted, and squeezed into the passage. It ran through several feet of solid rock, opening into a small chamber with a single door.
He shifted back, set the torch in a wall sconce, and opened the door.
A familiar dome greeted him.
Blue torches flared to life in sequence, casting eerie light over the entry room. A raised dais stood at the center; a collapsed outer entrance lay buried beyond.
Dem approached the dais and smiled. "Fisher."
Perfect.
He paced back to the borehole, shifted, and retraced his path until he stood beneath the opening.
"Found the dais," he called up. "Fisher engraving."
Telo grinned. "Good thing we brought one. Any better way in?"
"Yes. Twenty paces northeast—collapsed entrance. I'll clear it from inside."
"I'll find it from up here," Telo said, pacing from the hole.
"What does that mean?" Teya asked, following with her pick. "A fisher sigil? And why do we have one?"
"Quiet," Telo said. "I'll lose count."
He stopped. A section of rubble lay piled against the rock face. "Collapse. Let's move it."
As they worked, Teya kept glancing between Telo and Talsi.
"Dem can tell what our beastkin forms are," Telo explained.
"He can?" Teya looked at Talsi. "Is that why you're here?"
Talsi nodded. "I'm the fisher."
"Amazing," Teya said, smiling as she lifted another stone. "I wonder what I am."
"Wolverine," Telo said. "Dem told me. You okay moving rocks, Talsi?"
"Yes," Talsi replied dryly. "I'm missing fingers—not an arm."
After half a day of clearing rubble, the two teams finally began to hear one another. Dem worked steadily upward along carved stairs while the others descended from above.
It was nearly dark when the ground beneath them gave way.
The outer team slid downward in a small avalanche of stone as Dem dodged the sudden rockfall from below.
Telo sat up moments later, coated in dust. "Everyone okay?"
Talsi had somehow stayed on top. A fist punched upward from beneath the rubble as Teya forced herself free—scraped and bruised, but intact.
"Let's not do that again," she muttered, wiping grit from her face.
Dem helped her up and handed her a flask. "Drink."
She took a long pull. "Thanks. So… the rare metal I sensed—that was the armory?"
Dem nodded. "Which means you're in on this now. You'll be part of the maproom teams going forward."
Teya blinked. "So I'm really a wolverine? Or was Telo messing with me?"
"I'll show you," Dem said, heading toward the dais. "Talsi—step onto the sigil after you shift."
Talsi nodded. "Got it."
"Escadomai."
In a wash of crimson mist, Dem's companions shifted: a fox, a fisher, and a wolverine.
The wolverine froze, staring down at her black paws and heavy claws, then looked up at the fox and fisher in stunned silence.
Dem scooped up Telo's clothes. "Talsi, step on the dais. I'll switch you back and give the two of you some privacy."
Talsi stepped forward. The instant her paws touched the sigil, the wall ahead slid downward, revealing a short passage into the maproom.
Dem moved through first, releasing their beastkin forms as he went. He tossed Telo his clothes and stepped fully inside.
Yellow torches ignited one by one, illuminating the domed chamber and its centerpiece—a raised topographical map of the continent.
Dem located their position and fitted the circular tool into the slots around the fisher symbol. With a firm turn, it clicked into place. The torches shifted from yellow to blue.
Telo clapped once. "That's three." He pointed at the glowing sites. "Red Fox. Swiftwind. Whitehill."
Teya and Talsi entered more slowly, taking in the scale of the chamber.
"What is all this?" Teya asked.
Dem tapped the red fox symbol. "Follow me."
They returned to the dais, now marked with transport runes. Dem stepped onto it and vanished.
A heartbeat later, Telo followed. Then Talsi. Then Teya.
Teya stared around, wide-eyed. "Where are we?"
"Under the bay near Red Fox," Dem said.
"How do we get back?" Talsi asked.
"Step on the dais," Dem replied. "Or choose another destination from the maproom."
Talsi slipped back inside, studying the symbols. "Three active sites… so you have to activate each one locally first?"
Dem nodded. "Nine sigils. Nine clans."
"Figures the fisher site had extra rooms," Telo said. "Still didn't see a door."
"There wasn't one," Dem said with a grin. "Just a hole big enough for a rat. I'm guessing the armorer was a smaller beastkin."
"How'd they move all that gear?" Telo paused. "Never mind. Storage ring."
"What are you going to do with it all?" Teya asked.
"Nothing yet," Dem decided. "Let's head back."
Once returned to the Whitehill maproom, they resumed clearing stone.
"Talsi," Dem said, pulling an armband from his ring—black leather branded with a galloping horse. "I want you to join the Sentry Force."
She extended her arm. "Sure. Knew you liked me."
Dem slid the band into place. "You'll set up here. We'll tell Whitehill we're building an armory from reclaimed gear. Officially, your title is Quartermaster."
Talsi nodded solemnly. "That sounds important." She glanced at Telo. "Do I outrank the Chief?"
"No," Telo said flatly. "As Chief, I'm second in command."
Talsi snorted. "Relax, stringbean. It was only a question."