The guild was just beginning to get some life in it.

The midday traffic began stopping by, searching for contracts, or simply drinking some ale.

Ennu sat behind the counter, flipping through a stack of reports, her expression unreadable. The pages turned at a steady pace.

Behind the bar, Adan leaned forward with his elbow on the counter, chin resting in his palm. He stared into the room as if waiting for something to break the silence.

The Guild Master sat apart from them, watching. He did not speak. He did not need to. Nothing happened in the guild without his notice.

A handful of adventurers lingered by the contract wall, voices low but tense as they argued over a single posting. The discussion grew sharper, words edging toward confrontation.

Hanitz looked up.

The argument died where it stood. No threats. No apology. The adventurers turned back to the board in silence, suddenly far more interested in other contracts.

He let the silence sit for longer than necessary.

He snorted.

"Idiots," he muttered, voice carrying just far enough to sting. "If they spent half as much time completing the contracts as they do arguing over them, we wouldn't have only three C-ranks."

No one laughed.

The adventurers at the wall shifted, suddenly aware of how close they were standing to the Guild Master. Boots scraped. Someone coughed. A parchment was quietly pulled free and taken to Ennu.

The door leading from the guildhall corridor creaked open.

Cold air slipped in first, followed by the sound of boots that did not hesitate.

Mera entered with her chin raised, cloak pulled tight against her shoulders, eyes already sweeping the room with sharp, assessing focus. Tess followed half a step behind her. Irritation written plainly across her face.

The change was immediate.

A few adventurers straightened. One turned away from the counter a little too quickly. Another suddenly found a reason to be very invested in adjusting his gauntlet.

Mera's gaze flicked to the contract wall, then to Hanitz.

"Where is he?"

Tess jumped in, "What happened?"

Hanitz didn't answer immediately.

His eyes lingered on the pair for a moment, weighing them the way he did contracts.

He exhaled through his nose.

"Alive," he said. "Which already answers half your questions."

Tess's shoulders loosened, just barely. "That's not an answer."

"It's the important part," Hanitz replied.

Mera's expression didn't soften. If anything, it sharpened.

The giant scoffed, noticing the Apothecary wasn't going to move until he answered.

Hanitz's eyes didn't leave Mera as he spoke.

"He's taken a job," he answered, slowly. "Should be back tonight."

Tess exhaled, relief and frustration tangling together. "Of course he has."

Mera didn't react the way Hanitz expected.

She didn't scoff. Didn't argue. Didn't press for details.

She simply nodded once.

"Tell him to meet me at home when he's back."

She turned and walked towards the exit.

She didn't slow as she reached the doors.

Her boots struck the wood in a steady rhythm, the sound sharp in the sudden quiet she left behind. The door swung open, letting a slice of cold daylight cut across the guild floor, then shut just as cleanly.

Hanitz shifted his weight, the chair groaning beneath him as he leaned back, thick arms folding across his chest. His eyes never left the door.

"What happened last night?" Tess pressed.

He didn't look at her.

"Not now, girl," he said, voice rough. "Go and get some rest."

Tess's jaw clenched, the relief she had just found twisting into something sharp in her chest.

"Every time," she snapped. "Every time something happens, I'm the last to know."

Hanitz finally glanced at her.

His expression didn't change.

He didn't answer.

The silence stretched heavier than any rebuke he could have given. His eyes stayed on her for a long moment, unreadable, offering neither agreement nor denial.

Around them, the guild seemed to notice all at once.

A few adventurers nearby went very still. A tankard paused halfway to someone's mouth. Ennu's quill hovered above the ledger.

Her frustration flared, sharp and helpless. "Unbelievable," she muttered, more to herself than anyone else.

She turned abruptly, walking towards the exit. Anger carried in every step.

The doors swung open, letting in a rush of cold air and then slammed shut behind her, the echo rolling through the guild hall.

Only then did the noise slowly return.

Tankards clinked again. Boots shifted. Low conversations resumed as if nothing sharp had just passed through the room. The other adventurers went back to normal, eyes down, attention firmly on their own business.

Hanitz remained where he was, arms folded, gaze still fixed on the closed doors.

"Ennu, girl," he rumbled. "Come here."

There was no sound of footsteps.

No scrape of wood.

The elf was simply… there.

Standing directly in front of him, hands folded neatly, eyes lifted in quiet attention.

Hanitz flinched back in his chair. "Creator's sake, girl," he snapped, scowling down at her. "I've told you, stop doing that."

Ennu didn't fidget.

She didn't apologise. She didn't avert her eyes.

She simply met his gaze, calm and steady, the usual nervous energy nowhere to be found.

Hanitz took a moment to recover, clearing his throat with a forced cough.

"The other day," he said, lowering his voice, "when I took them two unfortunate souls to the Apothecary… you were watching?"

She nodded once.

"Did you notice anything strange?"

"Yes."

The word came out clean and confident.

"She knew the woman you described."

Hanitz froze

The guild noise faded into the background again—not because it stopped, but because Hanitz stopped hearing it.

"Knew her how?" he asked carefully.

Ennu's posture shifted.

Her fingers moved, subtly, tracing an invisible line along the tabletop. "Recognition," she said quietly. "The kind you don't fake. Her tapping stopped before you finished the description… and started again once you were done."

Hanitz's eyes narrowed.

"I don't know how she knows her," Ennu continued, voice steady, "but she does."

The giant nodded slowly, the chair creaking as he leaned back.

"Aye," he rumbled. "That settles it."

His gaze drifted toward the far side of the hall, where a pair of adventurers laughed too loudly over cheap ale.

"We'll need to hire new eyes," he muttered. "I had to squash the two miserable wretches you brought me last time."

Ennu's mouth twitched, almost a smile. "I'll find better ones," she said.

Hanitz grunted.

"See that you do. I want people who notice when a heartbeat changes," he said flatly. "Not ones who leave bedroom doors open when they're searching a house."

Ennu inclined her head once.

"Yes, Guild Master."

Then she was gone.

One blink, she stood before him.

The next, she was back behind the guild counter, quill already in hand, parchment spread out as if she'd never moved at all.

A stack of forms slipped from her grasp a moment later, scattering across the counter.

"Oh! S-sorry!" she squeaked, scrambling to gather them, face burning red as a nearby adventurer chuckled and bent to help.

Hanitz watched the performance without comment.

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