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The original was posted on /r/hfy by /u/ScribblingFox98 on 2025-10-22 05:09:09+00:00.

First

Krys POV

Walking in relative silence, Krys couldn’t help but wonder what that burst of emotion in the distance was about. It was clearly the boss, but the feeling in and of itself was so jarring compared to everything else he had seen of the man so far.

His concern must have been plain on his face as Sera stepped back to walk by his side, her eyes searching his expression when she quietly spoke up. “Did something happen?”

“I’m not sure…” Krys whispered back with uncertainty, his voice clear with hesitation as he struggled to process the experience and find the words to explain what had just happened. “I think… The boss might be angry… Enraged, perhaps.” He said with a flick of his ears within his curly red hair. “About what, I’m not sure… But for a single second, it was like I could feel his presence clearly despite being in a different part of the city altogether.”

“That’s not ominous, not at all.” Sera said unconvincingly as the hints of a frown began creasing her brows. “Is it something we need to worry about? Should we start making our way to the city limits for a quick exit?”

Krys hesitated, searching through the remnants of that emotional spike for any sort of clue before eventually shaking his head. “I don’t think so… It may have just been a show of force, but he hasn’t reached out to tell me anything, so it might be fine.”

“I don’t like the complete lack of definitives in your answer… But if you say we’re good, I’ll leave it at that.” Sera said with a sigh, rolling her shoulders and stretching her arms up as if to force out the nerves before exhaling heavily with the attempt to physically eject the stress from her body before it could settle.

“If you two are done whispering to each other, we’re here.” Jodi said as he walked a few more steps up to a wall within the tunnel that bore no distinct markings, and he then ran his fingers along the bricks in the same pattern as before, when it then silently parted for them. “I’ll show you around to some more doors later. For now, just try and remember this one.”

The team made their way up as Krys offered Jodi a nod. “We look forward to it, thanks.”

Jodi averted his gaze, a lop ear twitching as he cleared his throat. “W-well, of course, you hired me as a guide. I gotta put in the token effort, ya know, don’t want anyone to say I left ya out in the cold or anything.”

“Of course.” Krys said simply as they came up into another secluded alleyway, and with a glance up, he spotted the wall to the inner-city. “Where to?” He asked as he turned to look at Jodi, already heading up the alley.

The walk was brisk and silent, with a vague sense of nervous impatience radiating off Jodi as he hurried out into the streets and took a right once they made it out of the alleyway. The group emerged into what appeared to be the border of a residential district, gradually blending into an industrial one.

Along this border road of districts was a number of matching apartment complexes, each with their own miniature plazas, the lingering smells of foods and inhalants from workers no doubt unwinding after a long day of honest work wafted through the cool night air; across the street were wide sprawling workshops that looked just a few technological stages away from initiating an industrial revolution, though it wasn’t quite there yet.

Jodi pressed onward, eventually cutting through the residential district, taking two right turns and one left as the team walked up to what looked like a once-abandoned warehouse that was mildly refurbished before giving a dozen children free rein to decorate as they desired. “Here we are! Just how I left it. No new holes in the walls, no new burns, and no funny smells.” He declared rather cheerfully, sighing like a contented old man while strolling up to the door and rapping his knuckles against it with a patterned beat.

Krys’s ears twitched as he heard steps coming from inside, someone clearly approaching at speed, when the door was ripped open.

In the next moment, a teen girl who looked to be a kind of goatkin with a touch of half-elf was standing at the door when she suddenly grabbed Jodi by the collar of his shirt and lifted him off the ground until he was eye level to her. “Where in the nine hells were you?!” She demanded, shaking Jodi with every other word. “I spent hours wandering the streets looking for you. I thought you got snatched up!” Though as she shook him, her pointed ears twitched at the clinking of coin and narrowed her gaze.

“S-sorry, Soph, it’s a long story. I-I’m here now… My new employers made sure of that.” Jodi said while gesturing a thumb over at the team, clearly having expected this reaction, and took it in stride, even though he was dangling in the air from his shirt.

Soph turned her gaze over the team, her rectangular pupils narrowing on Krys as he, in turn, felt himself become very aware of her for some reason. The moment passed as quickly as it occurred as her eyes snapped back to Jodi as she gently set him back on his feet. “Sure, whatever, I’m just glad you’re not dead.” She said, huffing with a firm stamp of a cloven hoof before flicking his forehead. “Dinner should still be warm, if you’re hungry… Oh, and go check in with the newcomers. Attay found them on his way home from work.”

“More? Whelp, it’s a good thing my new employers are generous with their coin, so don’t be rude.” He mused, flashing a confident smile as he waggled his finger at the taller and stronger girl before quickly ducking inside after dodging a half-hearted swipe.

Soph smiled to herself as she watched Jodi hurry inside before turning her attention back to the team and focusing on Krys in particular. “We should talk alone.” She said, tilting her head to the side.

Krys hesitated for a moment, unsure of the strange sensation seemingly settling in the air between them. “Sure.” Was all he said, looking to Zax and Sera before pointing his ears back up the way they came from.

Shutting the door behind her, Soph led Krys down the road before rounding the corner and putting her home out of sight, the soft clacking of her hooves against the concrete being the only sound between them before they scraped the floor as she pivoted just enough to give Krys a vague side-eye while crossing her arms. “You’re from out of town, right? What sort of business brought you here, and why do you need Jodi?”

Krys was unsure of what to say, distracted by the odd air around her, though after a moment, he managed to nod. “Yeah, we’re from Sunspot Keep. We’re here on Guild business, in a way.”

“In a way?” Soph parroted back with a squint.

“Yeah, in a way… We’re in town for other business, but the Guild brought us in about the people that have been going missing… It’s an internal thing, but it seems they need an outside perspective.” Krys readily offered, as this much was not an issue.

“Okay, but what business brought you here specifically? I may be low on the rungs of influence around here, but I’m aware of the local players. You and yours are outsiders on this board.” She stated, clearly cautious yet confrontational.

“What players are you talking about? Outsiders might be a little rude, I may come from a frontier keep, but I was born and raised in this country, and I’ve been with the guild for years.” Krys said, now crossing his arms as he stared Soph down, his eyes searching her face as he glanced at her pointed ears, which had horns half curled around them.

Soph squinted again at Krys’ words, turning to face him more as she seemingly searched his reactions in turn. “You’re marked, like me, and as far as I know, it’s not the usual practice for marked ones to wander too far from home unless they’re up to something.” She said, tugging on the collar of her shirt and pulling it down.

While Krys initially averted his gaze to be polite, he glanced back at her and saw what looked like a red lighthouse with twin light beacons surrounded by a ring of coral on the left side of her chest. It was below her collarbone, yet high enough not to be overtly immodest.

“Yours is a little more subtle than a big mark over your heart, but the magic in the pacts we form with them tends to resonate when we see others with the same pact and alert us when we come across others with pacts from different sources.” She explained, having released her shirt and smoothed it out before crossing her arms all over again. “And I’m starting to figure out that you really don’t know what I’m talking about, considering just how stupid that look on your face is. Did you really not hear any of this from them?”

“Pacts? My eye? What are you- No, no, I haven’t heard about any of this or about any sort of players or board.” Krys said, massaging his brow as he tried to process all the information she suddenly dumped on his lap. “Where did you even get this mark of yours? Why is it so important I’m not from around here?”

Soph seemed to relax, seeming to recognize the confused discomfort Krys was in as she let her arms fall away from being crossed, one hand resting on her hip while the other scratched at the base of a horn. “Not many know the specifics since it’s not like they offer these marks to just anyone… But I got mine from earning the attention of Crimzeal while I was delving. He offered me the Pact of the Adept to help speed up my growth, and I accepted, earni…

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