Kaelen sat at the table, his massive clawed hands wrapped around a tankard of something dark and foul-smelling. His yellow eyes stared at the door Jason had just exited through. His tail swayed slowly, a sign that he was thinking rather than preparing to strike. The lantern light caught the scars on his snout, making them look like rivers of old silver.

"I like him," Kaelen said finally, breaking the silence. His voice was a low rumble, like stones grinding together underground. "The little meat. He’s got attitude. Not many creatures look me in the eye. He does."

Helga grunted. "He’s got a death wish is what he’s got. You saw him. Barefoot. Bruised. No weapons. No armor. He looks like he got dragged through a war and lost."

"Same thing." Kaelen took a long drink from his tankard, the dark liquid sloshing against his scars, then set it down with a heavy thunk.

"He’s not afraid. Most creatures see me and piss themselves. They stutter. They look at the floor. They agree with everything I say just to stay alive. But him? He just... talks. Like I’m a person. Like I’m not something to be feared."

Mira’s amber eyes flicked up from her dagger. The whetstone stopped moving. "That’s because he’s stupid. Not brave. There’s a difference. A smart thing would be afraid of you. A smart thing would keep his distance and his mouth shut."

"Stupid and brave look the same from a distance," Kaelen said, waving a clawed hand. "I don’t care which one he is. I care that he makes me laugh. When was the last time someone made me laugh? Genuinely laugh? Not the nervous laugh of someone hoping I won’t eat them."

Helga pushed off from the wall and walked to the table, pulling out a chair. The wood groaned under her weight. "You’re going to get him killed. You know that, right? Taking him into Stonefang with no experience, no gear, no backup plan."

"Probably." Kaelen shrugged his massive shoulders, the motion making his twin axes clank against his belt. "But that’s his choice. He signed the waiver. He knew what he was getting into. Or at least, he signed something. Whether he read it is another matter."

Mira’s dagger stopped moving again. Her tail flicked once, a sharp, deliberate motion.

Kaelen turned his yellow eyes toward her. The playfulness drained from his expression, replaced by something harder. "Speaking of which. Mira. Don’t do anything with him."

Mira raised an eyebrow, her expression unreadable. "Do anything? That’s vague. You’ll have to be more specific."

"You know what I mean." Kaelen’s voice dropped lower, more serious. "He’s taken. The wolf. Ylva. I could smell her all over him the moment he walked into the tavern. They’re bonded. Mated. Whatever you call it. The scent was fresh too. Very fresh."

Helga’s eyes widened slightly. "Mated? As in...?"

"Something like that." Kaelen nodded, his yellow eyes never leaving Mira’s face. "So keep your claws to yourself. Don’t start something we’ll all regret. The last thing we need is a jealous werewolf tearing through our lodging because someone couldn’t control herself."

He spoke this way because they have encountered a werewolf tribe that wasn’t in this region, they were brutal.

Mira didn’t give a response. Her face remained neutral, her amber eyes half-lidded, her expression betraying nothing. She already knew this—she had smelled Ylva on Jason the moment they met in the street. The wolf’s scent was all over him like a brand. But she shrugged it off, returning to her dagger and her whetstone.

"Fine," she said flatly, her voice devoid of emotion. "I wasn’t planning anything. He’s not my type anyway."

Helga looked at her, really looked at her. The dwarf’s dark eyes narrowed as she studied Mira’s face—the slight tension in her jaw that wasn’t there before, the way her tail had gone completely still, the deliberate casualness of her posture that felt almost rehearsed.

And then Helga realized.

"Mira’s actions were intentional. All of it."

It wasn’t a coincidence that Jason had seen her naked. It wasn’t an accident that her panties had been lying in the middle of the floor where anyone could find them. The catborn had planned it. Every step. Every glance. Every word that left her mouth. She had set that scene deliberately, knowing exactly how it would look, exactly how Jason would react.

Helga’s stomach turned. She glanced toward the door Jason had walked through, then back at Mira.

"What would have happened if we hadn’t walked in when we did?"

She didn’t ask the question out loud. Some things were better left unspoken between guildmates. But she filed the knowledge away, deep in the back of her mind, in the same dark corner where she kept all the dangerous information about the people she fought beside.

Kaelen, oblivious to Helga’s realization, leaned back in his chair. The wood creaked dangerously under his weight. "The waiver. Are you sure it was a good idea? Giving it to him? Putting your name as his sponsor?"

Mira shrugged, her movements fluid and unconcerned. "He asked. I provided. That’s how transactions work. He wants something, I give it to him, he owes me. That’s the basis of all good relationships."

"He’s weak, Mira. You saw him. Barefoot. Bruised. No weapons. No armor." Kaelen’s yellow eyes were serious now, the usual humor gone. "The Stonefang tunnels aren’t a beginner dungeon. Goblins, spiders, environmental hazards, narrow passages where you can’t swing a weapon. People die in there. Experienced people die in there."

"People die everywhere," Mira said, her voice soft but sharp. "In beds. On streets. In alleys next to dead orcs." She paused, letting the words hang. "At least this way, he gets a share of the reward. Ten percent. If he survives. If he doesn’t, well... no one will miss him except that wolf of his."

Helga spoke up, her voice rough like gravel. "What about the last one?"

The room went cold.

Kaelen’s tail stopped moving entirely. Mira’s dagger froze mid-stroke, the blade half-sharpened, the whetstone pressed against the edge.

Helga continued, her dark eyes fixed on the table, not meeting anyone’s gaze. "The last person who did a crawl with us. The unlicensed one. The one you sponsored, Mira. What was his name?"

Silence.

"Fenrik," Mira said quietly, the name falling from her lips like a stone into deep water.

"Fenrik." Helga nodded slowly. "That’s right. Fenrik. He was strong. Had experience. Knew how to handle a blade. Had his own gear, his own supplies, his own backup plan." She looked up at Kaelen, her eyes hard. "He didn’t make it out."

Kaelen’s jaw tightened. His claws tapped against the tankard. "That was a different dungeon. Different circumstances. Different threats. You can’t compare—"

"Was it?" Helga pressed, leaning forward. "We took a risk on him because he reminded you of someone. Because you liked his attitude. Because he made you laugh. Sound familiar?" Her voice was sharp, accusatory. "And he died. Horribly. Remember? The spiders got him. Dragged him into a crevice while we were fighting. We heard him scream for ten minutes before it stopped. Ten minutes. I still hear it sometimes when I close my eyes."

Mira set her dagger down on the table. The clink of metal against wood was louder than it should have been. "That’s not going to happen this time. Fenrik was reckless. He ran ahead. He didn’t listen. Jason is different."

"You don’t know that."

"I know the Stonefang tunnels." Mira’s voice was sharp, almost a snarl. "I’ve crawled them three times. Twice solo, once with a full party. The goblins are small, the spiders are stupid, and the only real danger is the environmental collapse in the lower chambers. If Jason stays in the back, keeps his mouth shut, and does exactly what he’s told, he’ll be fine. Better than fine. He’ll walk out with coin in his pocket and a story to tell."

Helga shook her head, her braided beard swaying. "You’re assuming he’ll listen. You’re assuming he won’t panic. You’re assuming a lot about someone you just met."

"He signed the waiver. He agreed to the terms." Mira’s amber eyes locked onto Helga’s. "If he disobeys, that’s on him. Not us. Not me. Not Kaelen. I won’t carry that guilt."

Kaelen raised a hand, his massive palm cutting through the tension. "Enough."

Both women fell silent, though their glares remained.

Kaelen looked at Helga. "You don’t want him on the crawl. Say it plainly."

Helga met his yellow eyes without flinching. "I don’t want another body on my conscience. Fenrik was bad enough. I don’t need a repeat. And I don’t need to hear that wolf howling when we come back without her mate."

"Fenrik wasn’t your fault. You know that. You did everything you could."

"Fenrik was my responsibility. I was supposed to watch the rear. I got distracted by a shaman. Turned my back for two seconds." Helga’s jaw tightened, her teeth grinding. "I heard him scream. That’s on me. That will always be on me."

The room was silent for a long moment. Even the lantern seemed to dim.

Then Kaelen spoke, his voice soft for once. "We’ll keep Jason in the middle. Between me and Mira. You watch the rear like always. If something happens—anything—we pull out. No heroics. No unnecessary risks. No leaving anyone behind."

Helga nodded slowly. "Fine. But if he dies, I’m not carrying his body out. And I’m not explaining it to the wolf."

Mira picked up her dagger again. "He’s going to be a problem. I can feel it in my bones. The way he looks at things. The way he talks. He’s hiding something."

Kaelen let out a rumbling laugh that shook the table. "Problems keep life interesting. Without problems, we’d just be sitting around getting fat and boring."

Helga sighed, a long, heavy exhale. "You’re going to get us all killed one day, Kaelen. I mean it. Your love of ’interesting’ is going to be the death of this guild."

"Probably." Kaelen raised his tankard in a mock toast. "But not today. Today, we plan. Tomorrow, we prepare. The day after, we crawl. And maybe—just maybe—the little meat surprises us all."

He drank deeply. Mira resumed sharpening her dagger, the whetstone scraping in slow, deliberate strokes. Helga stared at the door Jason had walked through, her dark eyes heavy with memory and doubt.

They had made their choice.

Now they would have to live with it but there was something that happened that day that only Kaelen knew about.