Chapter 9 — A Contract That Refuses to Stay Small
Rain fell in straight, patient lines.
Not the violent downpour Elias remembered from Earth, but a steady curtain that soaked stone and cloth without drama. The capital looked different under it—less grand, more honest. Mana lamps glowed softer, their hum muted by water. Streets shone dark and slick, reflecting towers and banners in broken pieces.
Elias pulled his cloak tighter and followed Dain through the lower guild corridors.
They were quieter at this hour. Most trainees were out on errands or drills. Field teams had already left. What remained were clerks, strategists, and the people who decided where trouble went to be handled.
Dain stopped before a heavy oak door marked with a simple sigil—two lines crossing a circle.
"Before we go in," Dain said, "understand this."
Elias waited.
"Guild probation doesn't mean safety," Dain continued. "It means visibility. You will be tested. Sometimes unfairly."
"I'm used to unfair," Elias said.
Dain nodded. "Good. Don't get used to surviving it."
He opened the door.
The briefing room was long and narrow, lit by a strip of pale crystals set into the ceiling. A table of dark stone ran down the center, covered in rolled maps, metal markers, and a few humming devices Elias didn't recognize.
Three people waited inside.
Marshal Keene stood with her arms crossed, expression unreadable. Beside her was a man in scholar's robes, thin and sharp-eyed, already scribbling notes on a slate. The third leaned against the wall near the window—tall, relaxed, with a crooked smile and a scar that cut through his left cheek.
He looked like trouble that knew how to laugh.
Dain closed the door.
"Elias Verdan," he said. "Probationary affiliate."
The scarred man pushed off the wall and offered a short bow.
"Name's Rowan," he said. "Field lead. You're the village kid, yeah?"
Elias nodded once.
Rowan's smile widened. "Good. I like first timers."
Keene shot Rowan a look.
"Behave," she said.
Rowan held up his hands. "Always."
Keene turned to Elias.
"This is not an academy assignment," she said. "It's a contract."
She slid a metal plate across the table.
It was small. Unassuming. No rank markings.
"Escort?" Elias asked, reading the header.
"Supply convoy," Keene confirmed. "Short route. Low risk. Border-adjacent."
Low risk.
Elias didn't like the sound of that.
Rowan tapped the map.
"Two wagons," he said. "Medical supplies and stabilizers. From the capital to a relay post near the western road."
Elias frowned.
"That's close to Verdan," he said.
"Yes," Keene replied. "Which is why we're sending a mixed team."
Elias looked up.
"Mixed how?"
Keene's eyes stayed on him.
"Guild lead," she said, nodding to Rowan. "Two guards. And you."
Elias felt the weight of the words settle.
"Why me?" he asked.
Rowan chuckled. "Because you're flagged."
Keene didn't deny it.
"Because you felt the breach," she said. "Because the anomalies clustered where you were."
Elias exhaled slowly.
"So this is bait," he said.
"Controlled exposure," Keene corrected. "If something reacts to you, we want to see how."
Rowan leaned closer.
"And if nothing happens," he added, "we get supplies through and everyone goes home. Easy."
Easy never existed.
Elias nodded.
"When do we leave?"
Rowan grinned.
"Now."
The wagons waited under a stone arch near the western gate.
Two sturdy vehicles reinforced with mana braces and iron bands. The guild crest was stamped openly on their sides—no attempt at hiding. Two drivers checked harnesses while guards secured straps and seals.
Rain pattered against wood and metal.
Rowan swung himself onto the front wagon with practiced ease.
"Rule one," he said, glancing back at Elias. "Stay where I can see you."
Elias climbed up beside the rear wagon, settling into position where he could watch the road and the trees beyond.
The gate opened.
The capital slipped behind them.
The road west was wide and clean, reinforced with mana lines that smoothed the ride. Fields stretched on either side, broken by low hills and clusters of trees. Watchtowers stood at intervals, their lamps glowing faintly even in daylight.
Rowan hummed as they rolled.
"You nervous?" he asked over his shoulder.
"Yes," Elias replied.
Rowan laughed. "Good. Means you're paying attention."
They rode for an hour without incident.
Then Elias felt it.
Not sharp.
Not urgent.
A tug.
Like a thread brushing against his skin.
He straightened.
"Rowan," he said.
Rowan stopped humming.
"Yeah?"
"Something's watching," Elias said.
The thread pulled again.
Rowan raised a hand.
The convoy slowed.
"Positions," Rowan called calmly.
Guards moved. Crossbows came up. The wagons rolled to a controlled stop near a bend in the road where trees pressed closer.
Rain fell harder now, drumming against leaves.
The air thickened.
Elias felt the hum rise.
The System flickered.
[ANOMALY: LOW SIGNAL DETECTED]
Rowan hopped down from the wagon and crouched, eyes scanning the treeline.
"Show yourself," he called lightly. "We're not in the mood."
Nothing moved.
Then the ground ahead rippled.
Not exploded.
Rippled.
A shape pushed up through wet soil, tearing free with a sound like cloth ripping.
Another followed.
Then a third.
Corrupted beasts.
Lean. Fast. Their hides were slick with rain and dark veins pulsed beneath the surface.
"Three," Rowan said. "Maybe four."
One of the guards swore.
Rowan glanced back at Elias.
"Stay back," he said.
The beasts charged.
Rowan moved first.
He stepped forward and drew a short blade from his hip, the metal singing softly as mana flared along its edge. He didn't meet the charge head-on. He sidestepped, let the first beast pass, and sliced cleanly through its hind leg.
The creature howled and went down hard.
The guards fired.
Bolts slammed into corrupted flesh, staggering the second beast. The third leapt, clearing the distance in a blur.
It landed on the rear wagon.
Elias moved.
He jumped down, pain flaring in his side, and grabbed a fallen spear. He planted his feet and thrust upward as the beast reared back.
The spear punched through its chest.
The beast thrashed.
Elias held on.
He felt the mana surge—wild, unstable. The spear vibrated in his hands.
He twisted and yanked it free.
The beast collapsed.
The last creature hesitated.
Smart again.
It circled, eyes fixed on Elias.
Rowan noticed.
"Oh no," he muttered. "Don't do that."
The creature lunged for Elias.
Rowan intercepted, blade flashing. The fight ended fast.
Silence returned, broken only by rain and heavy breathing.
Rowan wiped his blade and looked at Elias.
"Well," he said. "That answers a question."
Elias leaned on the spear, chest heaving.
"Which one?" he asked.
Rowan smiled thinly.
"Whether things react to you," he said. "They do."
They didn't linger.
Bodies were burned. The road was cleared. The convoy moved on.
But the thread didn't fade.
It tugged harder as they neared the relay post—a small stone compound set near a crossroads, lamps glowing bright against the rain.
Elias felt it pulling not toward the woods—
—but toward the buildings.
"Rowan," he said quietly.
Rowan frowned. "Yeah?"
"It's not outside," Elias said. "It's inside."
Rowan swore under his breath.
The gate to the relay post stood open.
Too open.
Rowan raised his hand again.
The convoy stopped.
"Guards," Rowan said. "Cover."
He stepped forward alone, blade low, posture relaxed.
"Hello?" he called. "Guild delivery."
No answer.
Elias felt the tug spike.
A door inside the compound slammed shut.
"Contact," Rowan snapped.
Something moved on the roof.
A figure dropped down between them and the inner gate.
Human.
Alive.
And wrong.
The man's eyes locked onto Elias instantly.
A smile spread across his face.
"There you are," he said softly.
Elias's stomach dropped.
The System flared.
[WARNING]
[HOST RECOGNITION CONFIRMED]
Rowan's blade came up.
"Back away," Rowan said. "Slowly."
The man laughed.
"You brought him to us," he said. "That's generous."
Shapes moved behind him.
More figures.
Not corrupted.
Worse.
Believers.
Elias stepped forward.
"Rowan," he said. "They're not here for the supplies."
Rowan didn't look away.
"I know," he said. "They're here for you."
The man tilted his head.
"Walk with us," he said to Elias. "And no one else gets hurt."
Rain poured harder.
The world felt very small.
Elias clenched his fists.
"No," he said.
The man sighed.
"Pity."
He raised his hand.
Mana twisted.
The gate exploded inward.
Rowan moved.
Fast.
Blades flashed. Bolts fired. The compound erupted into chaos.
Elias grabbed the spear again and ran.
Not away.
Toward the man who smiled at him like this was destiny.
They met in the rain.
Steel rang. Mana flared. The ground shook as spells cracked stone.
Elias ducked a blast that scorched the air above his head and slammed his shoulder into the man's chest. They fell hard.
The man laughed even as Elias drove the spear down.
It pierced his side.
The man coughed blood—and smiled wider.
"Good," he said. "They were right about you."
Elias pulled back.
"Who?" he demanded.
The man's eyes gleamed.
"The ones waiting," he whispered. "The ones who remember."
Rowan's blade ended it.
The body went still.
Silence fell again, broken by rain and labored breathing.
The survivors regrouped.
Two guards were injured. None dead.
Rowan wiped blood from his cheek and looked at Elias.
"That," he said slowly, "was not low risk."
Elias stared at the corpse.
"No," he agreed. "It wasn't."
Rowan clapped a hand on his shoulder.
"Congratulations," he said grimly. "You just turned a simple escort into a problem."
Elias closed his eyes briefly.
The System flickered.
[CONTRACT STATUS: COMPLETE]
[NOTE: ESCALATION DETECTED]
Elias looked up at the rain-soaked sky.
The contract had ended.
The consequences had not.
Elias learned something important that day.
No matter how small the job looked…
the world would make it about him.