Night had fallen over Valenport by the time Ryn and Mira slipped through the city's twisting streets toward the docks. The moon hung low, a sliver of pale silver against the starless sky, barely enough to light their path. Every shadow seemed alive, every sound amplified by the silence.
I watched them go, the weight of the poison still dragging at my limbs, but the sharper ache came from the tightening knot in my chest. Leaving them behind felt like stepping into the unknown with a blade at my back.
Loran and I melted into the city's veins, winding through alleys slick with rain and soaked in the sour stench of refuse and sweat. Our footsteps echoed softly, the careful cadence of hunters on a deadly trail.
"The Council's grip is tightening," Loran muttered, eyes scanning every window, every rooftop. "They're flooding the city with their mercenaries, and their eyes are everywhere."
I nodded, thoughts racing. "We hit their supply lines first. No reinforcements, no traps set in the shadows."
"Easy to say," he replied. "But their web's tangled tight. One wrong move and we're the ones caught."
A flicker of movement caught my eye—something small, darting in the shadows. I signaled Loran to halt. From the darkness emerged a figure, breath visible in the cold night air.
"Information," the stranger whispered, thrusting a folded parchment into my hand before vanishing like smoke.
Unfolding the note revealed a map — routes, safe houses, coded meeting points. A treasure trove of secrets that could unravel the Council's plans.
But it came with a cost. My pulse hammered against my ribs as the venom pulsed in my veins like a second heartbeat, demanding recklessness and caution all at once.
Meanwhile, at the docks, Ryn and Mira moved like ghosts, their footsteps silent over the creaking boards. The guards were more numerous than expected, faces grim and eyes sharp.
Mira's fingers tightened around a vial of serum—a rare antidote she'd fashioned in secret, her only gift against the poison now coursing through me. Ryn's daggers gleamed faintly under the moonlight, promises of swift death.
They struck swiftly — disabling guards, cutting ropes, destroying crates filled with weapons and supplies. Each explosion of chaos a message flung in the Council's face.
But every victory was shadowed by the knowledge that time was running thin.
Back in the city, Loran and I reached a covert warehouse marked on the map. Inside, we uncovered more than just weapons — coded letters, lists of names, even a ledger with payments made to the Serpents and mercenaries alike.
It was the proof we needed. The Council's corruption ran deeper than anyone had dared imagine.
But as we prepared to leave, the sharp metallic click of crossbows echoed from the rafters.
Trapped.
Loran cursed under his breath, drawing his blade with a grin that didn't reach his eyes. "Looks like they wanted us here all along."
I felt the venom flare, threatening to consume me, but a new fire ignited — the desperate need to survive, to fight for every breath left.
The shadows closed in.
And the war for Valenport's soul was only just beginning.
Night had settled over Valenport like a suffocating cloak, muffling the city's usual clamor into a tense, watchful silence. The moon was a thin sliver in the starless sky, its pale light barely illuminating the twisting alleys and crumbling rooftops beneath. Every shadow seemed to shift and breathe, as if alive—watching, waiting.
Ryn and Mira moved through the labyrinthine streets toward the docks with the quiet grace of predators. Their footsteps fell soundlessly on rain-slicked stones. Ryn's dark eyes scanned every corner, every narrow passage, calculating threats, escape routes, and the distance between them and danger. Mira's steady breaths betrayed none of the nervous energy she carried, but the subtle tightening of her jaw revealed the storm beneath her calm.
I watched them disappear into the night, a weight pressing down on my chest far heavier than the venom that still gnawed at my insides. The poison clawed relentlessly at my body—a slow, cruel fire that dulled my strength but sharpened my mind in strange ways. Leaving Ryn and Mira behind felt like stepping away from the fragile thread holding my sanity together, but the city was bleeding, and I had no choice.
Loran and I slipped into the dark arteries of Valenport, moving with practiced stealth through alleys slick with rain and lined with the stench of rot and desperation. Our boots made little sound, but the city itself seemed to hum with menace. Each corner held a potential ambush, every shadow a lurking assassin.
"The Council's noose tightens," Loran murmured, eyes flicking to every window, every rooftop. "They've flooded Valenport with mercenaries. Their hunters move like ghosts."
I tightened my grip on my sword's hilt, feeling the pulse of the poison against my veins like a cruel metronome. "We cut off their supply chains first. No weapons, no reinforcements. We starve their power."
Loran chuckled, but the humor didn't reach his eyes. "Easy to say. Their web is woven tight—one wrong step, and we're caught in the snare."
A sudden flicker of motion in the gloom made me freeze—something small, darting too quickly to catch. I raised a hand; Loran mirrored me, eyes narrowing.
From the darkness emerged a figure cloaked in threadbare gray, breath visible in the chill night air. He was a messenger, ghosting through the city's veins as we did.
"Information," the stranger whispered urgently, thrusting a folded parchment into my hand before slipping back into the night like smoke.
I unfolded the note, heart pounding. It was a detailed map—routes marked in red ink, hidden safehouses, coded meeting points—an intricate web of the Council's secret operations. The kind of intelligence that could unravel the entire corrupt network strangling Valenport.
But the gift came with a cost—the poison burned hotter in my veins, a cruel reminder that time was slipping away.
Meanwhile, under the moon's watchful gaze, Ryn and Mira reached the docks—a sprawling maze of rotting wood, rusted chains, and cargo crates stacked like silent sentinels. The harbor smelled of salt, oil, and decay, the very air thick with the anticipation of violence.
The Council had anticipated their arrival. Guards moved like specters in the dark, faces shadowed beneath worn leather caps, eyes sharp and unyielding.
Mira's hand rested on a small vial of serum, her secret weapon—a potent antidote brewed from rare herbs, the only hope against the venom eating away at me. Ryn's daggers gleamed faintly, catching the moonlight as promises of swift death.
Without hesitation, they struck—quick, lethal, like shadows born of the night itself. Guards fell silently, ropes were cut, crates were smashed. Explosions echoed through the harbor, the thunder of their assault sending ripples of chaos through the Council's carefully orchestrated plans.
Each victory was a spark thrown into the dark, but the knowledge that the Council's forces were closing in kept their hearts pounding.
Back in the city's winding alleys, Loran and I approached a covert warehouse—the kind of place forgotten by the innocent but vital to the corrupt. The map had led us true.
Inside, amidst the dust and shadows, we found more than just weapons. Coded letters, lists of names—innocents marked for death—and a thick ledger stamped with the Council's seal. Payments made to Serpent cells, to mercenaries, bribes to officials. Proof of the rot at the heart of Valenport's power.
It was the confirmation we needed. The Council wasn't just corrupt—they were orchestrating a war in the shadows, and the city itself was the battlefield.
As we prepared to slip away, the sharp metallic click of crossbows echoed from above, sending a shiver down my spine.
Trapped.
From the rafters, dozens of mercenaries revealed themselves, weapons aimed like hungry wolves closing in.
Loran cursed under his breath, unsheathing his blade with a grin that didn't reach his eyes. "Seems they wanted us here all along."
My body trembled—not from fear, but from the venom's cruel fire and the fierce will to survive.
The shadows closed around us, and the fight for Valenport's soul was only just beginning.