Chapter 22: Threshold

The city was... a lot.

We'd seen it from a distance for half a day, but standing here, with stone walls stretching toward the sky and towers stabbing clouds like guiltless spears, it felt different. No whispers in the wheat. No scarecrows. Just crowds. Noise. Steel.

Welcome to Ardent Spire. Capital of the Sigil Dominion.

"Big," Gilger muttered, eyes squinting at the gate guards. "Smells like bureaucracy."

"Smells like sewage," Rin corrected.

They weren't wrong.

Mount Kein snorted behind us, clearly unimpressed. Even the cat, curled on Rin's pack like royalty, refused to lift its head.

We were let through without much trouble. Elira's letter helped. No one questioned a sealed sigil-written envelope from a known herbalist. We were just travelers, nothing more. At least, that was the story.

We found a cheap inn near the third ring district. Not the worst place I'd slept, which said a lot. Beds, baths, bread. The three B's of survival. The owner didn't ask questions. Good sign.

The Academy sent a courier by the second day.

Our examination wouldn't be for three months.

"Three months?" Gilger nearly spit his tea. "Do they think we're made of rent money and stolen bread?"

Rin was already tying her boots. "Then we work."

So we did.

Mercenary registration wasn't hard. Turns out anyone with a sigil and a weapon could register for minor city tasks. Guard duty. Errand jobs. Low-risk escort quests that didn't pay much but kept you fed.

The board house was a mess. Dozens of would-be warriors, mages, thieves, and part-time romantics all crowding over quest flyers.

That's where we met Thorne.

Noble accent. Expensive armor. Definitely too young to be commanding anyone, but loud enough to make up for it.

"You three look barely alive," he said, glancing at us over a paper flyer. "Hope you're not trying for the Lakeshore escort. That job's already claimed."

"We weren't," I lied.

"You should thank me," he added with a grin. "That job's boring anyway. Guarding rich kids and their wine barrels. No glory."

Rin muttered something about kicking his glory into a well.

He smiled at her like she was a puppy.

Thorne was annoying.

He was also somehow on every board we went to over the next two days. Always a step ahead. Always with new gear. Always bragging. Apparently, he was prepping to enter the academy soon. Just hadn't gotten his letter yet.

We took a minor job instead.

Task: Guard Escort for Minor House Envoy Client: House Veyra Pay: 45 Silvers + meal per day Duration: 5 days Risk: Low

Easy enough.

They handed us formal sashes and told us not to speak unless spoken to. Gilger nearly choked trying to keep a straight face. Rin didn't bother trying.

The envoy turned out to be two spoiled cousins and a cat. Not our cat. A different one. Covered in ribbons.

We rode behind the carriage, through dusty stone roads lined with sigil-run carriages and vendors yelling about firefruit and shield-thread tunics. I noticed the guards of House Veyra didn't look at us like equals. Just... help.

Fine.

I didn't need their respect.

I needed money. I needed time. And I needed the System to stop twitching every time someone said the word "Threadvault."

[System Note] Trigger proximity detected: Threadvault Residue. Source: Unknown Recommended Action: Remain passive. Observe.

Whatever that meant.

Gilger whispered behind me, "Think I could steal their cat? Trade up from ours?"

"Not if you want to keep your hands," Rin muttered.

Three days into the trip, we got our first ambush.

Not serious. Just road scum. Half-trained bandits with secondhand blades and big mouths.

Rin handled two. I snagged one with Snareweave and pinned him to a tree like laundry. Gilger made the last think he was on fire. He screamed himself hoarse.

The nobles never even looked out the window.

That night, by the campfire, I stared into the flames and thought about Earth. About toast. About mornings without knives and secrets.

Then I checked the System.

Nothing new. No upgrades. No unlocks. Just a small flashing word at the bottom of the screen:

[Observe.]

Whatever was coming next... we weren't ready.

But we were learning.

One job at a time.