The group cautiously approached one of the port's wooden cabins. The wind's furious howls seemed intent on pushing them back and the snow blurred their vision like a white curtain. Nadia with a cold determined face knocked softly on the door. After a moment of silence filled only by the storm's roar the door creaked open. A short human woman with cheeks flushed from the cold and sleepy eyes appeared saying in a voice barely audible over the wind,
"What do you want?"
Nadia pulled her cloak's hood lower to hide her face and said in a loud but calm voice,
"We're looking for the White Devil Guild Can you help us?"
The woman glanced at Nadia then the others as if sizing them up. With a slow gesture she pointed to a snowy alley to the left of the cabin and said,
"Keep going left until you reach a big building with a sign showing a horned helmet."
Nadia nodded briefly in thanks and the group set off again. The narrow snowy alleys of Kabobak Port swallowed them like a library of shadows and cold. The few people they passed bundled in thick winter clothes, stared with strange cold gazes—a mix of curiosity and suspicion. Rio walking beside Ayhan, felt those looks pierce him like invisible daggers. His heart raced but he kept his head down.
Finally a massive shadow emerged through the storm—the White Devil Guild. A colossal cabin larger than any other in the port with walls blackened by time and a huge sign bearing a horned helmet. The wind rattled the sign its creaking like a sinister wail. Nadia glanced at the group her eyes like icy blades filled with warning. In a low, firm voice, she said,
"Don't stare at anyone. Stay quiet. Let me do the talking."
They all nodded in agreement. The guild's massive wooden door opened with a rumbling sound and they entered. The interior was cold, dark, and foreboding. Black stone floors worn by years of warriors' steps gleamed faintly in the dim torchlight. Huge wooden pillars covered in ancient strange carvings, held up the high ceiling, their shadows dancing like living creatures on the walls. The air smelled of burnt wood, sweat, and rusted metal, and the cold scraped the skin like death's breath.
To the right wooden tables and chairs were filled with people holding metal mugs speaking in hushed tones. Their faces half-lit by torchlight looked tired and weathered—warriors with old scars swords hanging at their waists and magical staffs leaning in corners. To the left large boards plastered with torn papers and illegible writings hung on the wall like silent cries of unfinished missions. Rio glancing around felt every pair of eyes in the guild fixed on them—gazes unclear if curious or threatening.
Zelina her eyes gleaming with excitement and curiosity struggled to stay silent. Ayhan grew more cautious his hand resting on his sword's hilt ready to defend. Nadia as if searching for something specific moved slowly through the hall. The heavy stares of the guild members weighed on their shoulders like stones. Finally Nadia reached a large wooden table at the hall's end. A young human man lay sprawled across it feet on the table a book covering his face snoring loudly in the tense atmosphere.
Nadia tried several times to wake him but he didn't stir. With an exasperated sigh she slammed her fist on the table. The sound echoed like thunder and the man jolted falling off his chair. In a trembling, shocked voice he shouted,
"I'm awake! I'm awake!"
Nadia cleared her throat and said coldly,
"Sorry, but we need help."
The man still collecting himself brushed dirt from his clothes and said with a nervous smile,
"Yes, happy to help."
But when he looked up and saw four pairs of dragon eyes his face paled. He scrambled behind the table sweat glistening on his forehead in the torchlight. In a voice shaking with stress he said,
"I'm Matthew. How can I help you?"
Nadia paused her eyes cold and focused like ice. In a calm but firm voice she said,
"We need to get to the human empire's capital and need a guide."
Matthew still reeling forced a shaky smile and lunged for a ledger beside him. Flipping through it hastily he said,
"Yes, we have a three-person team that lucky for you is heading to the human empire."
He closed the ledger stood and looked around. Then he shouted,
"Mr. Ivan, over here!"
From the far end of the hall a hulking shadow rose from a chair. A tall man with brown hair reaching his neck approached slowly. Each step made the air heavier. Ivan in scratched weathered gray leather armor looked like a warrior from legend. A massive sword at his waist caught Rio's eye—not as grand as Elian's but still fearsome and imposing. Ivan's black eyes like deep pits stared from under his brow as if searching their souls. His scarred face showed no emotion but his presence filled the hall like a mysterious shadow.
As he neared Ivan glanced at Nadia and Rio from under his eyes as if assessing them. In a calm but deep voice he said to Matthew,
"What's up?"
Matthew still sweating said in a trembling voice
"Meet Mr. Ivan, one of our experienced guild members. They're also heading to the human empire's capital. You can travel with their group."
Ivan sipping from a metal mug locked his gaze on the four dragons glowing like strange stars in the guild's darkness. He casually set the mug on the table and extended his hand to Nadia. She hesitated raising her hand to shake but Ayhan suddenly stepped forward gripping Ivan's hand firmly. In a loud warm voice speaking in the human tongue he said,
"Pleasure to meet you. I hope we can work together."
Nadia shocked by the move glanced at Ayhan. His gaze meeting hers from under his eyes held a strange unfamiliar warmth she hadn't felt before. But in the guild's cold dark atmosphere that moment was like a fleeting spark quickly lost in the heavy shadows. Ivan with a mysterious smile curling his lips released Ayhan's hand and stared at the group. His presence like a silent storm made the guild's air tenser and the other warriors' gazes now heavier seemed to await something ominous.
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