Morning in Millhaven was pleasant in a way that made Nolan realize how much he'd missed normalcy.
The inn's common room served breakfast—actual hot porridge with honey, fresh eggs, bread that hadn't gone stale. People ate and talked about ordinary things: crop prices, weather, the new blacksmith who'd set up shop on Market Street. No one was discussing mana beasts or bandit attacks or the possibility of dying horribly on the road.
It was wonderful.
"You look relaxed," Selene observed, sitting across from him with her own breakfast. "First time I've seen you not tense since we met."
"Is it that obvious?"
"Little bit." She smiled. "Enjoy it. Once we're back on the road, it's back to constant vigilance."
The rest of the team filtered in gradually. Kaida looked refreshed, her usual composed self. Darion appeared still half-asleep, mumbling something about "mornings being unnatural" until he got food and tea into him.
"Different route back," Selene said once they were all gathered. "We'll take the western road—adds half a day to the journey, but it's more trafficked. Safer. Less chance of running into Rock Titans or organized bandit groups."
"Merchant Corvus won't like the delay," Kaida pointed out.
"Merchant Corvus nearly died twice. He'll accept the delay or he can hire a different team next time." Selene's tone made it clear the discussion was over.
They spent the morning resupplying. Darion restocked his arrows and bought new bowstring—"That Titan fight put more wear on my gear than I'd like." Kaida purchased herbs and alchemical supplies from a shop that specialized in magical components. Selene had her armor inspected and a few links in her chainmail replaced.
Nolan found himself in a general store, looking at various supplies and realizing he had no idea what he actually needed.
"First long journey?" the shopkeeper asked—an elderly dwarf woman with kind eyes.
"Is it that obvious?"
"You've got that look. All wide-eyed, trying to figure out what's essential and what's just taking up pack space." She came around the counter. "Here. Trail rations—dried meat, hardtack, nuts. Won't spoil, fills you up. Water purification tablets—can't always trust streams in contested zones. Fire-starting kit—flint, steel, tinder. Basic medical supplies—bandages, antiseptic, needle and thread for stitching wounds."
"That's... a lot."
"That's surviving. You're an adventurer now, boy. Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it."
Nolan bought everything she recommended, plus a few extras she suggested. His coin purse was noticeably lighter when he left, but he felt more prepared.
They met back at the inn around midday. Corvus was already there, looking anxious and ready to leave.
"About time! I've been waiting for hours!"
"You've been waiting for thirty minutes," Selene corrected. "And we're ahead of schedule. We'll leave within the hour."
The merchant grumbled but didn't argue further.
As they prepared the wagons for departure, Nolan noticed someone watching them from across the street. A hooded figure, standing in the shadow of a building. When Nolan looked directly at them, they didn't move or look away.
Suspicious, Diablo commented. Want me to—
"No. Probably just a curious local."
But when Nolan glanced back a minute later, the figure was gone.
They departed Millhaven through the western gate, joining a steady stream of traffic heading in various directions. The western road was indeed more traveled—they passed other merchant caravans, farmers heading to market, even a group of pilgrims traveling to some distant shrine.
"See?" Darion said cheerfully from his perch. "Civilization! Other people who also don't want to die horribly! This is much better."
The landscape was different here too. The western route skirted the edge of the contested zone rather than cutting through it, following the border of Aerendyll proper. The forests were managed—trees cleared back from the road, regular patrol markers visible. Safer, but also more boring.
Which was exactly what they needed.
The first day of return travel passed without incident. They camped that night at an established waystation—a fortified rest stop with walls, guard towers, and even a small inn for travelers who could afford it.
"Luxury," Darion declared, stretched out on an actual cot in the waystation's common sleeping area. "Four walls, a roof, guards watching for bandits. I could get used to this."
"Don't," Selene advised. "Most jobs aren't this easy."
"Let me have my moment of comfort."
Nolan found himself on the waystation's wall that evening, looking out at the darkening forest. Other travelers moved about below—merchants securing their goods, guards changing shifts, families settling in for the night.
"Couldn't sleep?" Kaida appeared beside him, moving with her characteristic quiet grace.
"Just thinking."
"About?"
"How normal this all seems. A week ago I was running for my life through the wilderness, terrified and alone. Now I'm... part of a team. Doing actual jobs. Making money—well, paying off debt, but still." He smiled slightly. "It's strange how fast things can change."
"Strange but good, I hope?"
"Yeah. Good." He paused. "Can I ask you something?"
"Of course."
"Yesterday, when you said there were too many coincidences—the bandits and then the Titan—did you really mean someone might be targeting us?"
Kaida was quiet for a moment, choosing her words carefully. "I meant that the probability of two major threats in two days, in the same area, is statistically unusual. Could be random. Could be purposeful. Without more evidence, I can't say which."
"But you're suspicious."
"I'm always suspicious. It's kept me alive this long." She turned to look at him directly. "Are you worried someone might be targeting you specifically?"
The question caught him off guard. "What? No, I—why would anyone target me?"
"You're a powerful mage who appeared out of nowhere, with unstable control and mysterious origins. In our line of work, that makes you interesting. And interesting people sometimes attract the wrong kind of attention."
She's probing again, Diablo warned. Carefully, but she's probing.
"I'm nobody," Nolan said, keeping his voice level. "Just someone who lost everything and is trying to figure out how to move forward."
Kaida studied him for another moment, then nodded. "Fair enough. But if you ever need to talk—about anything—I'm a good listener. No judgment."
"Thanks. I'll remember that."
After she left, Nolan stayed on the wall, watching the stars emerge. Kaida's offer had seemed genuine, but Diablo was right—she was too curious, too observant. How long before she started putting pieces together?
You can't hide forever, Diablo said. Eventually someone will figure out what you are. What we are. The question is what you'll do when that happens.
"I don't know."
Then you'd better start thinking about it.
The second day of travel was equally uneventful. They made good time on the well-maintained road, passing through two small villages where they stopped for brief rests and supplies.
At the second village, a young boy approached their wagons, eyes wide with excitement.
"Are you adventurers?" he asked breathlessly.
"We are," Selene confirmed.
"Real ones? Who fight monsters and go on quests?"
"Real ones."
The boy's face lit up. "I want to be an adventurer when I grow up! I'm going to join the Guild and fight dragons and save kingdoms!"
"That's a worthy goal," Selene said seriously. "But make sure you train properly first. Learn to control your magic, practice with weapons, study tactics. Being an adventurer isn't just about bravery—it's about preparation."
"I will! I promise!" The boy ran off, presumably to tell his friends about meeting real adventurers.
"You were good with him," Nolan observed as they resumed traveling.
"Kids need heroes. Dreams to chase." Selene's expression was distant. "I was that kid once. Saw adventurers pass through my neighborhood, decided that's what I wanted to be. My father..." She paused. "He supported it. Even when it meant I wouldn't follow him into politics."
It was the most she'd ever said about her family. Nolan wanted to ask more—about her mother, her childhood, how she'd ended up leading the Warriors Three. But something in her expression said the conversation was over.
They camped that night in an open field, the road having left the forested areas behind. The sky was vast and clear, stars stretching from horizon to horizon.
"Two more days to Eldoria," Darion announced over dinner. "Then we collect the rest of our payment, Corvus goes his way, and we go ours. Easy job, all things considered."
"Don't jinx it," Kaida warned.
"I'm not jinxing anything. I'm being optimistic."
"Optimism is just jinxing in disguise."
"You elves are so superstitious."
"We're cautious. There's a difference."
Nolan listened to their banter, feeling something warm settle in his chest. This. This was what he'd been missing since his family died. Not just survival, but belonging. People who knew each other well enough to argue about nothing and everything. Who watched each other's backs not out of obligation but because they genuinely cared.
Don't get attached, Diablo warned. You know how this ends.
"Maybe it doesn't have to."
It always does.
That night, Nolan took first watch with Selene. They sat by the fire, the others sleeping nearby, surrounded by the quiet sounds of the plains—wind in the grass, distant animal calls, the crackle of burning wood.
"You're settling in well," Selene said after a while. "With the team, I mean. Feels like you've been with us longer than a week."
"It does, doesn't it? Though I still feel like I'm faking it half the time."
"Everyone feels that way at first. Hell, I still feel that way sometimes." She poked at the fire with a stick. "Being a leader means pretending you know what you're doing even when you don't. Acting confident even when you're terrified. It's exhausting."
"You always seem so sure of yourself."
"That's the act working." She smiled wryly. "Inside, I'm constantly second-guessing every decision, wondering if I'm going to get someone killed. But if I let that show, the team loses confidence. So I project certainty I don't always feel."
"That sounds hard."
"It is. But it's the job." She looked at him. "You'll understand when you've been doing this longer. The weight of other people depending on you. It changes how you see everything."
They sat in comfortable silence for a while longer before Selene stood to make her rounds, checking the perimeter. Nolan watched the fire, thinking about what she'd said.
The weight of people depending on him. He'd felt that with his family—the responsibility to help provide, to protect his siblings, to ease his parents' burden. And he'd failed. When it mattered most, he'd been too late, too weak, too unprepared.
Because you fought me, Diablo said. If you'd embraced my power fully, you could have saved them.
"And lost myself in the process."
Is that worse than losing them?
Nolan didn't have an answer for that.
The third day brought them within sight of Eldoria's outer farms. Civilization proper, not just way stations and small villages. The road became a proper highway, wide and well-maintained, with regular patrols and mile markers.
"Almost home," Darion said with satisfaction. "Hot meals, real beds, and absolutely no one trying to kill us. Perfect."
"You really need to stop saying things like that," Kaida muttered.
But for once, nothing went wrong. They reached Eldoria's gates as the sun began to set, the city's walls a welcome sight after days on the road.
The guards waved them through with minimal fuss—the Warriors' Guild credentials got them expedited entry. Inside, the city felt overwhelming after the quiet of the road. Too many people, too much noise, too much everything.
But also safe. Familiar. Home, as much as anywhere could be for Nolan.
They escorted Corvus to his warehouse in the merchant district, where he paid the remainder of their fee with only token grumbling about "nearly dying twice" and "additional wagons."
"Pleasure doing business," Selene said with professional courtesy. "If you need escorts again, you know where to find us."
"I'll... consider it," Corvus replied, which they all knew meant he'd hire them again. Good service was hard to find.
They returned to the townhouse as darkness fell over the city. The building looked exactly as they'd left it—solid, unassuming, theirs.
"Home sweet home," Darion declared, unlocking the door. "I'm taking a real bath, eating real food, and sleeping in a real bed for at least twelve hours."
"Seconded," Kaida agreed.
Nolan climbed the stairs to his small room, dropped his pack, and sat on the bed. Three days on the road, two major fights, countless smaller moments of danger and discovery. And they'd made it back.
All of them. Together.
For now, Diablo reminded him. But the cult is still out there. Still hunting. And eventually, they'll find you.
"Maybe. But I'm not alone anymore."
We'll see if that matters.
A knock on his door interrupted his thoughts. Selene stood in the hallway, looking tired but satisfied.
"Good work out there," she said. "Seriously. You handled yourself well. Showed good judgment, adapted to situations, worked with the team. That's what I need from members of the Warriors Four."
"Thanks. That... that means a lot."
"Get some rest. Tomorrow we report to the Guild, file our completion, collect the bonus for the Titan kill. Then probably take a day or two off before the next job." She paused. "You've earned it."
After she left, Nolan lay back on his bed, staring at the ceiling. His first real mission, completed successfully. Money earned—well, debt paid down, but still. Experience gained. Confidence built.
Maybe he could actually do this. Be an adventurer. Have a life beyond running and hiding and fear.
Or maybe, Diablo said, this is just the calm before the storm.
But Nolan was too tired to argue. Sleep claimed him quickly, and for once, he didn't dream of fire and death.
Just peace.
However temporary it might be.