The elder hall's council chamber sat at the heart of the building, catching the midday light through the long windows on the west wall. Three paintings hung between them. The founding of Stonehall in dark earthy tones, figures breaking ground with the treeline behind them. The aftermath of a stampede, villagers tending wounded in a field while others rebuilt around them. A tavern scene, warm and golden, faces mid-laugh around a crowded table.

  Across the room, the carpet was worn pale in the paths people walked most. Shelves along the north wall held rolled maps and bound records going back generations. A hearth sat cold on the south wall, a small carved wooden figure on the mantle above it that had been there longer than any of them.

  They sat at the round table, cups in front of them, the faint sweet smell of Torren's herbs drifting from Merin's pipe as the light moved slowly across the floor.

  "So you think they have an animal we don't know about," Koss said. "Something that pulls these metal carriages without tiring."

  Merin turned his pipe over once. "How else do you explain it. No magic, horses would tire too quickly under that weight."

  "Something with the strength to pull solid metal without breaking down," Yara said. "Nothing we know fits that. Nothing that doesn't need magic at least."

  "You could just ask tomorrow." Koss reached for her cup. "I doubt they'd keep something like that back."

  Yara rolled her eyes at Koss.

  The knock came before anyone could pick it back up.

  "Enter."

  Bram filled the doorway, dust still on him from the road.

  "Message from the camp. From Captain Shai."

  Merin set his pipe down.

  Bram told them everything Shai had passed on, the meeting, the impressions, all of it. When he finished the three of them sat quietly for a moment.

  Koss looked at Yara. "Torren invited them to meet the Ironwood. Must have been some first impression."

  Yara was quiet for a moment. "For him to offer that on a first meeting. It tells us more about them than anything else we've heard."

  Merin picked his pipe back up.

  "You know how it is with humans from the core," Koss said. "The ones who move out here. It takes time before they stop second guessing themselves. Before they'll say something without thinking twice about upsetting someone."

  "Longer than it should." Merin set the pipe down. "Took me long enough."

  "These men never had that to unlearn. No one seen as better than them. No laws confirming it."

  Koss's tails moved. "There's more to it. You know what the nobles would have done with that fire tool. Or the watch. If either had been invented here. There's no chance they would find their way into the hands of commoners."

  Merin looked at his pipe. Yara said nothing.

  "Instead every man in that town has one," she said. "The ability to make fire at the flick of a wrist, for someone who doesn't have that magic. Someone cold at the end of a long day, no mage anywhere near them, trying to get a fire going at camp." She paused. "With that tool, suddenly it's not a problem."

  Bram cleared his throat.

  "There's one more thing."

  "Last night a shadowclaw came into the camp. Not near it. Into it. Captain Shai, Rika and Torren handled it. All three unhurt. The creature is dead."

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  "At the camp," Yara said.

  Bram nodded.

  Yara's jaw clenched. She looked at Merin.

  "Thank you Bram," Koss said. "Get some rest."

  He nodded and left.

  "Third unusual sighting in less than a month," Yara said. "The last two within a day of each other."

  "Something is moving through the deep Wilds," Merin said.

  Koss looked at him. "We don't know that yet."

  Merin nodded once. "We'll have to send out a scout. This would be worrying enough, but with everything going on we can't take chances."

  "Of course, I'll go see to that now." Yara got up, nodded to the others and walked out.

  "Get some rest," Koss said. "Tomorrow is a long day."

  Merin stood. He picked up his pipe, nodded to Koss, and left. She looked at her cup on the table for a moment, then followed.

  A few hours later, in front of the civic centre in Monkhaven, Mike once again stood on a makeshift stage in front of a crowd of townspeople. The five men, who were becoming increasingly recognisable by the day, stood off to the side.

  "and they've known we were here since close to the start," Mike was saying. "They sent someone to make contact. That's who the lads met. Their guard captain."

  "Now. The village is called Stonehall. It's a few miles west of us, past the treeline. The people there—" He paused, picking the words carefully. "They're not all human. Different races. Some you might recognise from old stories, some you won't. What I can tell you is they've offered to help us and we're meeting their leaders tomorrow morning."

  Someone near the front said it before anyone else could.

  "What do they look like?"

  A few people laughed, the nervous kind.

  Mike looked out at the crowd. "I'll let the lads answer that one."

  Liam stepped forward first.

  "So the one we've met most is Shai, she's their guard captain. She's a cat beast-kin, kinda like a human but with cat ears, a tail and cat's eyes. If any of you have seen anime before, you know what I'm talking about." He grinned at the crowd. "She came and introduced herself when we were out training one morning. Helped us get our bearings, pointed us toward food and resources we didn't know about." He paused. "Straightforward. Knew what she was doing."

  "There's also Rika," Ste said. "She's a bird beast-kin, they seem to be different members of the same race. She has wings and feathers but otherwise mostly human looking. Oh, and she can fly. Also asks a lot of questions."

  "A lot," Parmo said with a laugh. "Imagine an excitable little sister. She kind of comes across like that."

  A few laughs.

  "And then there's Torren. He's a half-orc, hard to miss, very tall." Ste paused. "He's calm, well spoken. Knows a lot about plants and cooking. Honestly, he's the most shocking out of the three of them and it's got nothing to do with his green skin or his tusks. He's just not what you'd expect when you first see him. You know Hagrid from Harry Potter? Imagine that but green."

  Someone near the front. "Are they dangerous?"

  "Not to us," Paul said. "We've met them twice, the second time we had a cup of tea with them. Torren was over the moon we were fellow tea enthusiasts." He shrugged. "They got excited about a lighter, a watch. Things we don't think twice about. I think we have a lot they've never seen before. That's not nothing, knowledge goes both ways. They know this place, we don't. We know things they've never imagined. Seems worth a conversation."

  A woman near the middle. "How many of them are there?"

  "Village of about four hundred," Mike said. "Mixed. Humans, beast-kin, others."

  Someone asked about the meeting tomorrow, who was going. Mike answered steadily.

  Someone asked about trade. John, who was stood near the boys, fielded that one quietly from the side. "It's too early to say, but the idea is on the table."

  The questions thinned out after a while. Mike gave it a moment, then wrapped it up.

  "Tomorrow morning we're heading out to meet their leadership. Me, the boys and the people who are part of the council I mentioned earlier." He looked out at the crowd. "We'll bring back everything we learn. Any decisions that affect this town get made with this town. If any of you fancy sticking your head over the barricade for a look tomorrow, fair enough. Just maybe don't make it obvious. We don't want to make our guests uncomfortable before we've even had a chance to talk to them, do we?"

  He nodded and turned to the boys.

  People started moving. Small groups forming, conversations starting up.

  A woman stopped next to Paul on her way past. Even after the physical changes, she still looked to be in her mid sixties. Sharp eyes, arms folded.

  "Cat ears?" she said.

  "Yeah," Paul said.

  She looked at him for a moment. "Right then." And walked off.

  Parmo watched her go. "I feel like that's the best possible reaction anyone could have had."

  "Honestly, yeah." Lee said.

  Mike stepped down from the stage. Janet was already beside him, notebook open.

  "Fourteen questions, none of them forcing us to mention the Wilds or the empire earlier than we'd like," she said. "Well done, you too lads."

  "Give it a few hours, that could still change," Mike said.

  By the time the square had emptied night was already starting to take hold.

  The following morning the five of them showed up at the civic centre a little before half ten. Mike and the council were already outside. Frank had his hands clasped behind his back, scanning the street out of habit. Gary was talking at John about something. Mags had a travel bag over one shoulder. Diane was flicking back and forth through her notebook, stopped, flicked back again.

  "Right," Mike said when he saw them. "Let's go meet some people."