Ryn had learned to wake before dawn.
The streets of Bramblewick were still quiet, but he no longer felt comfort in the stillness.
Something had changed. The air itself seemed to hum, charged with tension. Even the birds seemed to hesitate before taking flight.
His satchel throbbed faintly against his chest, the lines of the map inside pulsing like a heartbeat.
Someone's here. Watching.
He barely noticed Kael's approach until he was beside him.
"You're early," Ryn muttered, trying to mask the tremor in his voice.
Kael smirked faintly. "And you're already tense. That's… new."
Ryn shot him a glare. "I have a reason to be tense."
Kael's smirk faded. "Yeah. I know. I feel it too."
Ryn frowned. "You feel it?"
Kael's jaw tightened. "The city… it's different now. The maps are different. Something—or someone—is leaving traces."
Ryn swallowed hard. "Traces?"
Kael nodded. "Not just the anomalies. Patterns. Small, deliberate manipulations. Someone wants you to see them, but also to fail."
Ryn's stomach tightened. He had feared the rogue cartographer before, but now the fear had weight. It was no longer abstract. No longer distant.
It was real. And it was close.
They walked through the market cautiously. The day had begun, vendors shouting their wares, children laughing, normalcy masking danger.
Ryn's eyes scanned every corner, every shadow. And then he saw it: a symbol scratched into the base of a lamp post. A jagged spiral, almost imperceptible, curling like smoke into the cobblestone.
He froze.
Kael's eyes followed his. "You see it."
Ryn nodded. "It's… not an anomaly. Someone left this."
Kael frowned. "The rogue cartographer."
Ryn's hands tightened around the satchel. "They're… closer than I thought."
Kael's voice softened. "Closer than we expected. And they're testing you, Ryn. Seeing how you respond."
Ryn traced the spiral with his fingers, feeling the faint pulse beneath the stone. He had no quill with him. No immediate map to guide the energy.
What do I do now?
Kael's hand landed lightly on his shoulder. "We assess. We plan. You don't panic. Not yet."
Ryn looked up, surprised. Kael's calm wasn't patronizing this time, it was steadying. He actually trusts me to make the next move.
Ryn nodded. "Okay. Assess first."
They spent the next hour following subtle clues: small disturbances in the streets, ink trails that shimmered briefly before fading, symbols scratched into crates and benches.
Every mark, every trace, was deliberate. Calculated. Controlled.
And Ryn realized something terrifying: the rogue cartographer wasn't just watching him, they were learning from him. Learning from his moves, his hesitations, even his strengths.
This isn't practice anymore. This is a game.
By mid-afternoon, the city seemed to hold its breath.
Ryn and Kael approached the square where the first anomaly had emerged. The stones bore faint scars from previous battles, reminders that the streets had memories.
And there, near the fountain, another symbol appeared, larger, more complex than the first. Lines coiled like snakes, overlapping and twisting.
Kael stepped closer. "They're sending a message. Not for us, for you."
Ryn swallowed hard. "What does it mean?"
Kael shook his head. "I don't know. But the intent is clear: they want you to react. They want to see if you panic. And if you fail… the city pays."
Ryn clenched his fists. "I won't fail."
Kael's eyes met his, sharp and unwavering. "Good. But don't fool yourself. This is only the beginning. And you won't always have me beside you."
Ryn felt a chill. Kael's words were not a threat, they were a warning.
That night, alone in his room, Ryn traced every spiral, every twist, every subtle manipulation left by the rogue cartographer in his satchel map.
It pulsed faintly, like a heartbeat, reacting to his touch.
I have to be ready. I have to anticipate. I have to protect the city.
The weight of responsibility pressed down on him heavier than any anomaly, heavier than any punishment.
And somewhere, far away, another hand lifted a quill, deliberate and slow, scratching a line across a blank page:
Ryn Elowen. You are mine now.
Ryn swallowed.
Mine. Not just the maps. Not just the anomalies. Me.
The city, the guild, the people… Kael… all of it now rested on his shoulders.
And he had to be ready.