The morning brought gray skies and the promise of rain, but the Copper Anchor's common room was warm and filled with the smell of fresh bread and bacon. Arin had spent the night in his usual corner, observing the late arrivals and early risers who moved through the inn, cataloging faces and behaviors the way Kelsa had taught him.

  His party gathered for breakfast, looking rested and ready for whatever the day might bring.

  "I've been thinking," Kelsa said between bites of eggs. "We've got at least four more days before Lord Petran's wedding concludes. That's too long to sit idle."

  "Agreed," Torvin said. "I'm getting restless. I need to hit something."

  "The guild board had several short contracts that might work," Essa offered. "Nothing that would take us far from the city or commit us for more than a day or two."

  "That's what I was thinking." Kelsa pulled a folded paper from her pocket. "I copied down a few possibilities yesterday. There's a warehouse in the dock district that's been having problems with something in the walls, scratching sounds, missing supplies, and workers too scared to go in alone. The merchant who owns it is offering fifteen gold for investigation and elimination."

  "Could be rats," Torvin said. "Or something worse."

  "Either way, it's work that keeps us close to the city and builds our reputation here." Kelsa looked at each of them. "What do you think?"

  "Worth investigating," Arin said.

  "I'm in," Essa agreed.

  "Aye, let's do it." Torvin drained his mug. "When do we start?"

  "Contract says the merchant will meet us at the warehouse at midmorning. That gives us time to finish breakfast and gather any supplies we might need."

  They ate quickly and efficiently, the comfortable routine of a party that had learned to prepare for work without wasted motion. Before they left, Arin shifted back to his slime form—the ten essence cost was worth it for the scouting advantages his natural shape provided. Humanoid form was for cities and conversations. Slime form was for work.

  The walk to the dock district took them through several of Riverhaven's diverse neighborhoods. The morning crowds were thick, workers heading to their jobs while merchants opened their shops. Arin noticed how differently people reacted to him here compared to smaller cities. In Greengate, he'd been a curiosity. In Thornbridge, a source of wariness. Here in Riverhaven, most people barely spared him a glance, they'd seen stranger things in a city this size.

  That's useful, he thought. The more normal I seem, the easier it is to move through the world.

  The warehouse was a large stone building near the river, three stories tall with loading doors facing the water. A middle-aged man waited outside, his clothing marking him as a successful merchant, not wealthy enough for silk, but prosperous enough for well-tailored wool.

  "You're the adventurers?" He looked them over with the calculating gaze of someone used to evaluating deals. His eyes lingered on Arin but showed more curiosity than fear. "I'm Aldric Venn. I own this warehouse and three others along the docks."

  "Kelsa, party leader. This is Torvin, Essa, and Arin." Kelsa's introduction was professional and brief. "The contract mentioned something in your walls?"

  "Something, yes." Aldric gestured toward the building. "Started about two weeks ago. Workers heard scratching at night, found supplies disturbed in the morning. Small things at first, a sack of grain torn open, some rope chewed through. Then bigger problems. A whole crate of preserved fish disappeared, and one of my night watchmen quit after claiming he saw shadows moving where shadows shouldn't be."

  "Has anyone actually seen what's causing this?" Essa asked.

  "Nothing clear. Just glimpses, shapes in the dark. The workers are convinced it's haunted, but I don't believe in ghosts." Aldric's expression suggested he wasn't entirely certain of that statement. "Whatever it is, I need it gone. I've got a shipment coming in three days, and I can't have my workers too frightened to unload it."

  "We'll take a look," Kelsa said. "Standard terms, we investigate, identify the threat, and eliminate it. Fifteen gold on completion."

  "Agreed." Aldric produced a key and unlocked the warehouse's main door. "I'll be at my office two streets over if you need me. Just... try not to damage too much inventory."

  The warehouse interior was dim, lit only by small windows near the ceiling that let in gray morning light. Crates, barrels, and sacks filled most of the floor space, organized into rough sections that presumably corresponded to different goods or clients. The air smelled of dust, salt, old fish, and something else, something organic that Arin couldn't immediately identify.

  "Torvin, watch the door," Kelsa ordered quietly. "Essa, stay in the center where you can reach any of us quickly. Arin, can you scout the perimeter? Check the walls, especially any gaps or openings."

  S T A R T I N G N O W

  Arin flowed toward the nearest wall, keeping low and using his natural ability to squeeze through tight spaces. The warehouse's stone walls were old, with cracks and gaps where mortar had crumbled over the years. Perfect entry points for small creatures, or larger ones, if they were flexible enough.

  He activated Stealth, feeling the familiar drain on his essence as his form became harder to detect. Moving slowly along the wall's base, he searched for signs of intrusion, scratches, droppings, and disturbed dust.

  Near the back corner, he found what he was looking for.

  A section of wall had a gap at floor level, perhaps six inches wide and a foot tall. The edges showed fresh scratches, and the dust around it had been disturbed recently. Arin extended a thin pseudopod into the gap, sensing the space beyond.

  A tunnel. Not natural, something dug this.

  He pulled back and flowed toward Kelsa, deactivating Stealth to conserve essence.

  F O U N D E N T R Y P O I N T B A C K C O R N E R T U N N E L B E H I N D W A L L

  "A tunnel?" Kelsa frowned. "That's more than rats. Can you tell how big?"

  S I X I N C H E S W I D E B U T M A Y O P E N U P I N S I D E

  "Could be giant rats," Torvin said, moving closer. "Or tunnel runners. Or a dozen other things that like to dig."

  "Only one way to find out." Kelsa looked at Arin. "Can you scout inside? See where it leads and what's living there?"

  C A N T R Y W I L L B E C A R E F U L

  He flowed back to the gap and began squeezing through. His slime form made this easy, he simply compressed himself, flowing through the narrow opening like water through a crack. The tunnel beyond was dark, but his Darkvision activated automatically, revealing rough-hewn walls that extended deeper into the earth.

  The smell was stronger here. Organic, musky, with an undertone of decay. Something was definitely living in these tunnels.

  Arin moved slowly, keeping Stealth active and his senses alert. The tunnel descended at a slight angle, then opened into a larger chamber about twenty feet from the warehouse wall. His core pulsed with surprise at what he found.

  Not rats. Not tunnel runners.

  A nest.

  The chamber was perhaps fifteen feet across, its floor covered with scraps of cloth, shredded paper, and other soft materials arranged into a rough bed. Bones littered the edges, fish bones mostly, but also some that looked like they might have come from dogs or cats. And curled in the center of the nest, sleeping in a pile of intertwined bodies, were the creatures responsible.

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  Razorbacks, Arin recognized from descriptions in the guild bestiary materials. Pack hunters. Usually found in forests, not cities.

  There were six of them, dog-sized creatures with coarse gray fur, long snouts filled with sharp teeth, and claws designed for digging. Their backs were lined with bony ridges that gave them their name, natural armor that made them difficult to kill from behind.

  Level 8 or 9, based on their size. Dangerous in a pack, but manageable for a Silver rank party if we're smart about it.

  He retreated carefully, not wanting to wake them, and made his way back through the tunnel to the warehouse.

  R A Z O R B A C K S S I X O F T H E M N E S T U N D E R W A R E H O U S E

  "Razorbacks?" Torvin's eyebrows rose. "In a city? That's unusual."

  "They must have been displaced from somewhere," Essa said. "Forest fire, flooding, something that drove them to seek shelter in urban areas."

  "Doesn't matter why they're here," Kelsa said. "What matters is removing them before they hurt someone. Arin, what's the nest layout?"

  Arin described what he'd seen, the tunnel dimensions, the chamber size, the sleeping pile of creatures. Kelsa listened intently, already formulating a plan.

  "The tunnel's too narrow for Torvin or me to fight in effectively. We need to draw them out into the warehouse where we have room to maneuver."

  "Smoke them out?" Torvin suggested.

  "Could work, but it might damage the merchant's goods. Fire in a warehouse full of dry goods is asking for disaster." Kelsa thought for a moment. "Arin, can you wake them and lead them back through the tunnel? Draw them into the warehouse where we can engage properly?"

  C A N D O T H A T W I L L N E E D T O M O V E F A S T

  "We'll be ready. Torvin at the tunnel exit, shield up. I'll flank left, Essa stays back for healing and ranged support. Arin, once they're through, circle around and hit them from behind."

  They moved into position. Torvin planted himself near the gap in the wall, his shield raised and warhammer ready. Kelsa drew her sword and positioned herself to the side, where she could strike at anything that emerged. Essa retreated to a stack of crates that provided cover while maintaining a line of sight to the tunnel entrance.

  Arin flowed back through the gap, his core pulsing with anticipation. This was the kind of work he'd been trained for, scouting, then supporting his party in combat. The razorbacks were dangerous, but his party was prepared. They'd faced worse.

  He reached the nest chamber and found the creatures still sleeping. For a moment, he watched them, these displaced predators that had probably been driven from their home by circumstances beyond their control. In another life, he might have felt sympathy.

  But they'd chosen to prey on human territory, to threaten workers and steal supplies. And left unchecked, they'd eventually hurt someone, maybe kill them. That made them a threat that needed to be eliminated.

  This is what adventurers do. Protect people from dangers they can't handle themselves.

  Arin extended a pseudopod and slammed it against the tunnel wall, creating a loud crack that echoed through the chamber.

  The razorbacks woke instantly, their heads snapping up and their nostrils flaring as they searched for the source of the disturbance. Six pairs of eyes locked onto Arin's form, and six throats produced growling snarls that promised violence.

  He didn't wait for them to charge. He turned and flowed toward the tunnel as fast as he could manage, hearing the scrabble of claws on stone behind him as the pack gave chase.

  The tunnel seemed longer on the way back, the sounds of pursuit growing closer with each second. Razorbacks were fast, faster than a slime could flow, but the narrow tunnel forced them to run single file, slowing their advance.

  Arin burst through the gap into the warehouse, flowing immediately to the side as the first razorback emerged behind him. Its claws had caught him during the chase through the tunnel, scraping across his trailing mass.

  [-6 Mass]

  Torvin was ready.

  His warhammer caught the creature mid-leap, the impact producing a sickening crunch as the razorback was hurled sideways into a stack of crates. It didn't get up.

  Arin flowed over the fallen creature, absorbing what he could before the next emerged.

  [+14 Mass]

  [+10 Essence]

  The second razorback emerged and met Kelsa's sword, her blade finding the gap between its bony ridges and opening a deep wound along its flank. The creature screamed and twisted, trying to bite her, but she was already moving, drawing it away from the tunnel entrance to make room for the next.

  Essa's hand glowed with holy light, ready to heal or to strike depending on what the battle required.

  The remaining four razorbacks poured out of the tunnel in a rush, spreading out as they entered the larger space. They were smart enough to recognize they'd been led into an ambush, but their pack instincts drove them to attack rather than retreat.

  Arin circled around, using his Stealth to avoid detection as he positioned himself behind the pack. When he struck, it was with his full mass concentrated into a Charge that hit the rearmost razorback like a battering ram.

  [-5 Essence]

  The creature went down hard, stunned by the impact. Arin didn't give it time to recover, his acidic nature went to work immediately, burning through fur and flesh.

  The battle was chaotic but controlled. Torvin held the center, his shield deflecting claws and teeth while his hammer struck devastating counterblows. Kelsa danced around the edges, her sword finding weak points with surgical precision. Essa stayed back, healing the minor wounds Torvin accumulated and occasionally launching bolts of holy light at any razorback that tried to break away.

  And Arin did what he did best, he struck from unexpected angles, disrupted the pack's coordination, and eliminated threats before they could overwhelm his party members.

  Within three minutes, all six razorbacks were dead.

  "Everyone okay?" Kelsa asked, breathing hard but uninjured.

  "Few scratches," Torvin reported. "Nothing serious."

  "I'm fine," Essa said. "Good work, everyone."

  Kelsa nodded, surveying the carnage. "Let's check the nest, make sure there aren't any more. Arin, can you confirm it's clear?"

  He flowed back through the tunnel, moving more carefully this time despite the apparent victory. The nest chamber was empty except for the debris and bones he'd seen before. No eggs, no juveniles, no signs that more razorbacks might return.

  N E S T I S C L E A R N O O T H E R S

  "Good. Let's collect evidence for the merchant and report our success."

  They gathered what proof they needed, a few razorback teeth and one of the distinctive bony ridges, then cleaned up the worst of the mess. The bodies would need to be disposed of properly, but that was the merchant's problem. Their job was done.

  Arin took stock of himself as the last razorback fell. He'd absorbed four of the six creatures, the others were too damaged by Torvin's hammer or Kelsa's sword to be worth consuming. The gains more than offset what he'd lost during the chase and fight.

  [Current Mass: 138% of base]

  [Current Essence: 168/200]

  "Good haul," Torvin observed, noting Arin's slightly larger form. "Those things were decent-sized."

  N O T B A D F O R P E S T C O N T R O L

  Aldric Venn was visibly relieved when they found him at his office and reported the contract's completion. "Razorbacks? In my warehouse? How did they even get there?"

  "Probably displaced from outside the city," Kelsa explained. "They dug a tunnel under your foundation. You'll want to have that sealed properly, or something else might move in."

  "I'll hire stonemasons today." Aldric counted out fifteen gold coins and handed them to Kelsa. "Thank you. Truly. My workers can get back to their jobs now."

  "That's what we're here for."

  They stopped by the guild hall on the way back to deposit their shares. As they left, Torvin was grinning. "Fifteen gold for an hour's work. I could get used to Riverhaven."

  "Don't get comfortable," Kelsa warned, though she was smiling too. "That was an easy contract. The harder ones pay better, but they earn that pay."

  "Still, it's a good start." Essa stretched, working out the tension from the fight. "We've made a contact, demonstrated our capabilities, and earned decent money. Not bad for our second day in the city."

  They made their way back toward the Copper Anchor, walking through streets that were becoming more familiar with each passing day. The rain that had threatened all morning finally began to fall, a light drizzle that sent most pedestrians hurrying for cover.

  "What's next?" Torvin asked. "Another contract, or do we rest?"

  "Rest for now," Kelsa decided. "We've still got time before Lord Petran needs us. Let's use it wisely, maybe do some individual training, and check out the equipment we've had our eyes on. We don't need to take every contract that comes along."

  They reached the Copper Anchor and settled into the common room, claiming their usual table. Arin shifted back to humanoid form as he took a seat.

  "Building reputation takes time," he said.

  "Exactly." Kelsa glanced at him with approval. "You're learning." The afternoon crowd was light, mostly adventurers like themselves who'd finished morning work and were deciding how to spend the rest of the day.

  Arin found himself thinking about the razorbacks, about how they'd been driven from their territory and forced to adapt to an unfamiliar environment. In some ways, their situation wasn't so different from his own. He'd been forced from the only home he knew, and had to learn to survive in a world that wasn't designed for creatures like him.

  The difference is that I found people who accepted me. Who helped me become something more than just a survivor.

  He looked at his party, Torvin arguing good-naturedly with a barmaid about the quality of the ale, Essa writing something in a small journal she carried, Kelsa studying a map of the city with the focused intensity she brought to everything.

  This is what Levi wanted for me. Not revenge, not anger, connection. Purpose. A life that means something.

  The thought settled into his core, warm and steadying. He still had goals that burned beneath the surface, still carried the weight of promises made to a dying creator. But those goals didn't have to consume him. He could pursue them while also building something worthwhile, becoming someone Levi would have been proud of.

  One contract at a time. One day at a time.

  That was enough.