Edward looked green.

  Ken was quietly contemplative.

  Lae’ni’s jaw tightened. Trish and Ja’ra, though, looked like they wanted to stay and explore.

  James exhaled. “Look, I want to stay and look around too. I’m close to leveling up. I can feel it.” He swept the group with his eyes. “But we have to go and at least warn them, right?”

  Edward’s voice cracked. “I don’t know why we’re standing here and not running right now. I’ve got a level up pending I’d like to complete before facing that horde.”

  Ken nodded agreement, calm but firm. “I too need to level up.”

  James straightened. “We’ll come back once we can. But the town, Hallowford, needs as much warning as we can give. Even if we won’t be the strongest fighters yet… I feel responsible. And I want to be there.”

  Trish gave her usual impish grin. “No offence, James, but that sounds like your problem, not mine. My orders are to stay here.”

  She passed the Bone wand over to Ken. “You’re going to need this more than I.”

  Then she glanced at Ja’ra and Lae’ni expectantly.

  James felt a pit open in the core of his stomach.

  Trish didn't even look remorseful.

  Trish McGregor has left the party.

  She did not immediately vanish.

  Realization was dawning on James when Ja’ra spoke.

  “Nothing personal, lad, but you are way too low-level to be here. And we are not. Orders are orders. I don’t want you to feel abandoned. Hit me up again when you hit level eight or nine, yeah? I’ll give you that dwarven chainmail we discussed.”

  Ja’ra de Porchan has left the party.

  Lae’ni spoke next.

  “I have a letter from Anne I was to pass to you at this time. Perhaps it will contain some of the answers you seek. Do not think too poorly of us. It’s better to be a pawn than not to be on the board at all.”

  James accepted the letter.

  This was Garron all over again.

  Anne had some explaining to do.

  Lae’ni Feirin has left the party.

  James turned to Edward and Ken. “You too?”

  Edward shook his head vehemently and turned to Ja’ra.

  “Have you no shame? We are comrades. Drinking buddies. ”

  Ja’ra responded. “Not fighting back on that team name may have been the hardest part of all this, to be honest.”

  He paused and directly addressed Edward.

  “You’ve got some skills, aye. We could’ve power-leveled you up. But…”

  Ja’ra gestured around them. “This is the big leagues. I can’t let this opportunity go. Stick around with James, though, and we’ll see you again.”

  He nodded once to Ken.

  James shouted after them. “We could have come straight back here afterwards!”

  The look on their faces told it all.

  This was another scheme.

  And he’d fallen for it, hook, line, and sinker.

  James dumped their packs on the ground. He was unhappy, but not a thief.

  They gave appreciative looks.

  James turned to Edward and Ken. “Let’s go save Hallowford. We’ll be back. I promise you that.”

  The gate behind them flared to life for a heartbeat, pulsing just long enough for their passage.

  They ran.

  Looking back, James saw the Card World now had twin portals burning in the dark, blue light cutting through the trees.

  He shoved the thought aside. No time.

  The outer torches threw long shadows as guards straightened. Janine came striding toward them, fast but not her top speed.

  The group ran to meet her halfway.

  James flicked an invitation to chat. Janine accepted instantly.

  Without hesitation, he shared the quest timer into the channel.

  System Event – Verdigris Echo Dungeon-Break

  Time Remaining: 9:36

  Janine took five seconds. No more.

  Then she exploded into motion. She ignored them completely as she sprinted toward the tents being raised, gathering silver members with clipped commands.

  Then they were moving, fast and purposeful, several peeling off toward the town, Janine at the front.

  The party stood forgotten in the dust.

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  James glanced at Edward and Ken. “Let’s go. Level-up back in town while I find out what the hell that was from Anne.”

  Ken raised his staff; its runes flared, throwing pale light lighting the path through the trees.

  It was around then that James decided he should probably get a horse.

  Or a hippogriff. Maybe a pegasus.

  Right now, a blazing red dragon would fit his mood nicely.

  When the first flicker of torchlight showed through the trees, Hallowford’s walls came into view — a jagged glow against the dark. James had come to grips with reality.

  If it was too good to be true, it probably wasn't true at all.

  He'd been coddled. Nudged. Manipulated into unlocking the Hub for the more powerful.

  Everything had felt scripted. He’d assumed everyone here was helpful, NPCs orbiting his rise like he was the chosen one.

  Actually, that might still be true, judging by Bob. But there was definitely an undercurrent.

  If this scripted, then the Hero’s Journey was kicking in.

  And that meant things were about to get bad.

  James was shocked out of his reverie by the town ahead.

  Platforms that had been hidden behind the ramparts now stood raised and braced, lit by braziers that spat orange sparks. Crews swarmed over them, bolting down what could only be ballistae. Not the wooden kind from storybooks either. These glowed with inlaid metal, their limbs traced in faint blue rune-light.

  It wasn’t the siege engines that made his skin crawl, though.

  It was the stockpile beside them.

  A mountain of bolts, each one nearly his height.

  And each one humming with energy. There was difference though that he didn’t understand at a glance.

  He didn’t slow to gawk.

  Edward did, but a sharp “Edward” got him moving again.

  The gates were still open. And time was running out.

  Edward and Ken peeled off toward the level-up rooms.

  There would be no celebrating this time.

  James hesitated for a second, then turned toward Anne’s office, without reading the letter. He wanted answers.

  The door was locked.

  When he twisted the handle harder, despite the lock, electricity bit into his fingers.

  Runes flared around the handle, searing light into the grain.

  System Notice – Access Denied: Administrative Quarters Locked

  Reason: Elevated Access Required

  Message received.

  He headed to the commons instead.

  The commons were packed.

  Not just busy, full

  Magic users sparked when they gestured. Bladesmiths showed off new hilts. Trapsmiths casually bragged about what their caltrops did to skeletons.

  The dungeon-break was on everyone’s lips.

  James weaved through the crowd and found an unclaimed couch against the far wall. He sat, leaned back, and let his head rest.

  Then, with two minutes left on the clock, he slipped into his Commander’s Space.

  Charlie barreled toward him the instant he arrived.

  Squire launched from nowhere, scrabbling up his pant leg to shoulder height before thinking better of it and settling into his collar like a scarf with opinions.

  Charlie, bigger now, fully healed, coat gleaming, scars smoothed into muscle, slowed just enough for James to scratch behind his ears.

  James smiled and summoned a bone.

  “Fetch.”

  He hurled it toward the distant dart board.

  It soared…

  And landed ten feet short.

  “…Well, that’s depressing.”

  Charlie didn’t care. He bolted after it anyway, claws skidding across the slick floor, tail high.

  Squire followed for two steps, then stopped dead, turned, and gave James the most withering look a palm-sized rodent had ever delivered.

  “Yeah, I know,” he said. “It’s a bone. You have taste.”

  James watched Charlie run.

  He’d healed well. Better than expected. He could feel the loyalty growing there. The trust. Fighting together would surely increase their bond. Skeletons may be just the thing.

  Wasn’t this exactly what Charlie was trained for? James thought of Ja’ra, Lae’ni, and Trish. None of them would hesitate for a moment. Life here was different. Even Bob thought he needed to get bonding to 100%.

  James bit his lip and decided to let future James deal with it.

  Instead, he got to work.

  Card: Thorncat

  Uncommon. Fast. Lethal. But not ideal against undead.

  He motioned the Thorncat card forward from his lineup, bringing it into the open area of the Space. Its edges brightened in quiet recognition.

  He pushed his trigger into place with intent.

  Trigger: On Full Health.

  Trigger Slot Assigned – On Full Health

  Select Enhancement:

  Before he could decide, a cluster of enhancement cards drifted loose from his lineup, circling the Thorncat like leaves caught in an invisible current.

  “Augment,” James muttered. “Let’s see what you can do for Thornhide.”

  He plucked the Augment card from the air and pressed it into the Thorncat’s field. The card accepted instantly, Thornhide lighting up as its only valid trait.

  He was already picturing it: the Thorncat crouched low, spines firing in arcs, a living dart tower.

  Satisfied, he turned to apply a normal enhancement.

  As Augment was not there to pick, he picked Balanced Boost

  Both cards settled without conflict.

  James blinked. “Oh. That’s new.”

  Focused Enhancement Applied – Balanced Boost (+0.5 to all stats per Commander level).

  Trigger Locked – On Full Health (Thorncat)

  Effect: Augment – Thornhide (x2).

  The Thorncat’s form flared brighter for a heartbeat, green and gold weaving together until the glow looked volatile.

  James grinned. “Combos. Finally.”

  He turned to the next card.

  He drew the card forward from its place along the lineup. The wolf’s image loomed in the air, broad-shouldered, scarred, and watchful.

  He pushed a Focused Boost

  Focused Enhancement Applied – Might (+3).

  Satisfied, James waved off the rest of the enhancement cards. They drifted back toward their resting positions along his imagined wall.

  A quiet sound made him glance down.

  Charlie had returned, panting, the bone clamped proudly in his jaws. He dropped it at James’ feet like an offering and sat, tail thumping once.

  James smiled and reached into his inventory, breaking off a strip of jerky. He offered one to each of them.

  Charlie took his immediately, crunching through it in one contented bite.

  Squire, on the other hand, accepted hers delicately, padded a few steps away, and set it down to inspect it like it might explode.

  James snorted. “Yeah, sure. Be suspicious. That’s fair.”

  3… 2… 1…

  System Event – Verdigris Echo Dungeon-Break in Progress

  Wave 1 Incoming

  Quest Obtained – A Dime a Dozen

  Objective: Defeat 100 Level 1 Basic Skeletons

  1 Gold Piece per 12 skeletons destroyed (per participant)

  Bonus Objective – Before They Reach Hallowford

  Reward: 1 Bone Arrow per skeleton destroyed

  Participation Level Limit:Item Unlocked – Bone Arrow (Basic)

  Effect: Arrow made of bone

  Applies minor magical knockback on hit

  Single use

  James exhaled.

  The letter would have to wait even longer.

  He stepped out of the Space—

  —and into a party?

  ??? System Note: Squire tried to set her own trigger.

  Trigger: On Cheese Proximity

  Effect: Pounce.