The embers of the campfire pulsed like a dying heartbeat, casting flickering shadows across the weathered faces of the two men. Julius poked at the coals with a stick, sending up a swirl of sparks that danced briefly before vanishing into the night.
"You ever miss it?" Julius asked suddenly, his voice rough from years of shouting orders.
Kael glanced up from sharpening his hunting knife. "Miss what?"
"The war. The chaos. Knowing exactly who your enemies were." Julius smirked, but there was something hollow in it.
Kael ran the whetstone along his blade in one smooth motion. The rhythmic shink-shink filled the silence before he answered. "I don't miss getting stabbed, if that's what you're asking."
Julius barked a laugh, reaching for the flask between them. "That arrow through your thigh at Karath was pretty funny."
"Funny for you," Kael grunted, accepting the flask. The liquor burned like molten iron going down. "I was the one who had to limp for three weeks."
They fell into comfortable silence, the kind that only exists between men who've fought side by side. An owl hooted somewhere in the pines, and the wind carried the distant howl of a wolf.
Julius' expression grew serious. "Things are stirring, Kael. The kind of things that make war look like a tavern brawl."
Kael studied his friend's face in the firelight. Julius wasn't one for dramatics. "Abyss Walkers?"
Julius shook his head. "Just the beginning. There's something..." He trailed off, staring into the flames. "Never mind. You'd think I'm going senile."
Kael didn't press. They'd been friends long enough to know when to push and when to let things lie. Instead, he tossed another log on the fire. "Whatever it is, try not to die before I can bail you out again."
Julius grinned, the tension broken. "You still owe me for that time in Blackport."
"That was fifteen years ago!"
"And yet my coin purse remains empty."
They lapsed into silence again, each lost in their own thoughts as the fire crackled between them.
Kael woke before dawn, his hunter's instincts pulling him from sleep the moment the birds began their morning songs. The sky was just lightening to slate gray when he slipped silently from his bedroll, leaving Julius snoring softly.
The forest was alive with morning sounds - the rustle of small creatures in the underbrush, the distant cry of a hawk, the whisper of wind through pine needles. Kael moved like a shadow, his bow at the ready.
He returned as the first true rays of sunlight pierced the canopy, two plump hares dangling from his belt. Julius was already packing his gear, his movements efficient and practiced.
"Sleep well, old man?" Kael asked as he set to skinning the catch.
Julius stretched, his back popping audibly. "Better than sleeping on rocks, which is what you usually offer."
They worked in companionable silence - Kael preparing the meat, Julius packing away bedrolls. The rabbits were roasting over the fire when Julius finally broke the silence.
"Heading north today," he said casually, too casually.
Kael turned the spit, watching the fat drip into the flames. "Huh. I'm going west."
Julius paused in his packing. "West? What's in the west?"
"Hunting work," Kael said with a shrug. "Good pay."
Julius studied him for a long moment before nodding. "North's got... family business."
They both knew they were lying. They both knew the other knew. It was an old dance between them.
The rabbits finished cooking and they ate quickly, the silence now tinged with something unspoken. When the meal was done, Julius stood, brushing crumbs from his tunic.
"Try not to get killed," Kael said, packing away his own gear.
Julius grinned as he mounted his horse. "You first."
With that, they parted ways - Julius turning his horse north toward the Shrouded Grove, Kael heading west toward Hollowfang Peak. Neither looked back.
By midday, Kael reached the foothills of the Hollowfang Peaks. The mountains rose like broken teeth against the sky, their slopes scarred with mining tunnels. He moved carefully now, his senses alert for any sign of Syndicate patrols.
The first one he spotted was lazy - a bored-looking mercenary leaning against a boulder, picking his teeth with a knife. Kael's arrow took him in the throat before he could make a sound.
Quick as a shadow, Kael dragged the body into the brush and stripped it of its cloak and insignia. The disguise wouldn't hold up to close inspection, but it would get him through the outer guards.
As he fastened the Syndicate cloak around his shoulders, he noticed something curious - the dead man's arms were covered in strange, twisting burns, like his veins had been filled with fire. Kael filed that information away as he moved toward the mine entrance.
The mine entrance was a gaping maw in the mountainside, flanked by two bored-looking guards. Kael kept his head down and walked with purpose, nodding to them as he passed.
"Late for your shift," one grunted.
Kael grunted in response, not trusting his voice. The guard seemed to accept this and waved him through.
Inside, the tunnels widened into a vast cavern lit by flickering torches. The air was thick with dust and the acrid tang of something metallic. Syndicate members moved about with purpose - miners hauling carts of ore, black-robed figures murmuring over scrolls, armed guards patrolling the walkways.
Kael kept his head down and moved with the crowd, listening.
"--said the Emberheart is nearly charged," a woman was saying to her companion.
"About damn time," the man replied. "You seen the eggs today? The veins are glowing brighter."
Kael's pulse quickened. He needed to find those eggs.
A heavy hand clapped him on the shoulder. "You! New face."
Kael turned to face a hulking man with a commander's insignia. Up close, Kael could see the same strange burns creeping up the man's neck.
"Yeah?" Kael kept his voice rough, like a man who'd spent too long in the mines.
"We're short in the lower tunnels. You're on orb duty."
Kael nodded, falling into step behind him. As they descended deeper into the mountain, the air grew hotter, thicker. The walls began to pulse with a faint red glow.
"What's the orb for?" Kael asked, careful to keep his tone casual.
The commander glanced back, his eyes reflecting the crimson light. "You ask too many questions, new blood."
They reached a massive chamber where a dozen miners swung pickaxes at a glowing red crystal embedded in the wall - the Emberheart. Its light pulsed like a heartbeat, casting eerie shadows across the sweating workers.
A wiry man next to Kael wiped his brow. **"First time?"
Kael grunted in affirmation, accepting a pickaxe from a passing worker.
"Don't worry," the man said with a grin that showed several missing teeth. "You get used to the heat." He nodded toward a heavy iron door at the far end of the chamber. "That's where they keep the real treasures."
Kael's grip tightened on the pickaxe. "Oh?"
"Aye. Five of 'em. Big as a man's chest."** The miner leaned closer, his breath reeking of cheap ale. **"And if you listen real close at night, you can hear 'em... breathing."
Before Kael could respond, a shout echoed through the chamber.
"YOU!" The commander was pointing straight at Kael, his face twisted in suspicion. "I don't recognize you. Who the hell are you?"
Every eye in the chamber turned toward them. The pulsing light of the Emberheart cast the scene in bloody hues. Kael's hand drifted toward the knife hidden in his sleeve.