Talon's home was far bigger inside than Silva had imagined.
Shelves overflowed with books, maps, sealed papers, and odd trinkets, as if the blind man had gathered knowledge from every corner of the continent. The trio wasted no time explaining their need for teleportation stones—enough to get them over the Aurelian Spine, through the Dacian Kingdom and desert, and into the Sien Domain without spending months traveling.
Talon listened in silence before muttering, "Tricky."
Most of his stones were already promised to someone arriving in the morning, and breaking that deal would be messy. Still, sending three kids across half the continent the slow way didn't sit right with him. He promised to find a way. For now, they could stay the night.
With just one spare room, Silva found himself sharing a bed with June and Julie. At first, it didn't seem like a big deal—until Julie's restless kicking started. The first jab caught his leg, the second almost sent him tumbling off the bed, and by the third, he'd quietly retreated to the floor with his blanket. June slept peacefully through it all, while Julie managed to take over most of the bed. Silva lay there on the floor, staring at the ceiling.
Outside, Talon swept the courtyard beneath the moonlight.
It was an unusual time to clean.
But Talon wasn't really cleaning.
The wind moved differently tonight.
He felt every current against his skin—the breeze slipping between buildings, the air bending around walls, the tiny disturbances created by things moving where nothing should be moving.
His blindness had never made the night particularly dark to him.
If anything, the wind made it clearer.
Talon swept another collection of leaves aside and quietly sang.
The wind whispers in my ear,A warning soft and clear.A chill tells me what I fear—My enemy is near.
Dark wind leaves no traces,Only shadows changing places.I walk among this land's graces,So many unknown faces.
The wind whispers in my ear,Be careful who you trust in here.Darkness moves, then disappears—My enemy is near.
His enemy was close—was that what the wind was whispering to him now? He could sense exactly how many were hidden in the darkness, lying in wait to strike. The wind had told him.
The broom stopped.
Talon smiled.
Five.
Five disturbances in the wind.
One on the roof.
Two beyond the wall.
Another near the alley.
And the fifth had already entered the courtyard.
They were good.
Silent footsteps. Controlled breathing. Mana carefully suppressed.
Against an ordinary man, they might truly have gone unnoticed.
Against Talon—
they might as well have knocked on the door.
"Five visitors this late?"
He rested both hands upon the broom.
"How impolite."
The assassins moved.
The first descended from the roof.
Talon stepped aside before the man's feet touched the ground.
Dark wind curled around his fingers.
A single movement sent the attacker crashing across the courtyard.
The others attacked immediately.
Two came from opposite directions, blades converging upon Talon.
The broker didn't draw a weapon.
He didn't need one.
Black currents spiraled around him.
One blade was knocked aside.
Talon slipped beneath the second and released a compressed burst of wind from his palm.
BOOM.
The attacker was hurled into the courtyard wall and fell still.
The third assassin reached Talon's back.
His weapon descended.
Talon tilted his head.
Dark wind flashed.
The attack stopped before reaching him.
Talon turned.
"Too slow."
Another fierce gust knocked the intruder off his feet.
Three.
The fourth instantly realized the mission had gone south.
He edged back until his shoulders hit the wall.
Talon raised two fingers.
The wind shifted suddenly.
The assassin was pulled off his feet before he could escape.
Talon grabbed him and slammed him to the ground hard enough to end the fight instantly.
Silence fell.
Four intruders were down in seconds.
The fifth lingered near the gate, his confidence shattered.
Talon turned his bandaged gaze toward him.
The assassin stayed quiet.
Then he ran.
Talon sighed.
A shadowy gust swept across the courtyard, moving faster than he could react. A sudden blast hit his leg, sending him sprawling to the ground.
Panic set in.
The assassin opened his mouth to scream—
A hand covered it.Talon was suddenly crouching beside him.
"Shhh."
His easy smile was gone.
Above them, the house stayed perfectly still.
"The children are sleeping."
The assassin froze, staring at the blind man in fear.
Talon leaned in.
"Please, keep quiet, will you?"
The dark wind rose again.
Moments later, the courtyard was silent.
Talon stood alone under the moon.
Five intruders.
Not one had made it to the house.
Silva, June, and Julie slept on, blissfully unaware.
Talon searched the attackers but found nothing to reveal who had sent them, which left him uneasy. They clearly hadn't come to rob an information broker, and judging by their preparation, something was definitely off. Glancing toward the upstairs window, his familiar smile returned. "My, my." He picked up his broom, and a dark wind swept through the courtyard, wiping away any trace of the fight as he quietly restored everything to its place. He sighed. "It's not easy to hold back without making a sound."
Then he went back to sweeping.
In minutes, the courtyard looked just as it had before.
The moon stayed high above.
The children slept on.
And the night fell silent once more.
...
Morning passed quietly over Talon's home.
Morning slowly slipped into late morning.
By the time the sun neared its peak, Silva, June, and Julie were still fast asleep upstairs. After the previous day's chaos at the academy and their late night, none of them had stirred at a decent hour. Outside, Talon lounged in the shade of a tree. The courtyard bore no trace of the night's events—the bodies were gone, the torn-up ground was patched, and everything had settled back into its usual calm.
Talon sat cross-legged in meditation, his long dark hair flowing freely behind him, a bandana still tied over his scarred eyes.
A few birds had gathered nearby—one perched on his shoulder, another settled atop his head—and he didn't seem to mind at all. Then came footsteps, steady and confident.
The birds were the first to react. Wings flared, feathers fluttered, and in seconds they vanished over the rooftops. Talon kept his eyes closed beneath the bandana, but a smile crept across his face. The one he had been waiting for had finally arrived. The courtyard gate swung open, and a young woman stepped inside.
Crimson hair fell behind her shoulders, matching the elegant armored dress she wore. Metal protected the important parts of her body without sacrificing mobility, while a sword rested at her waist.
Her posture carried the discipline of a warrior and the natural authority of someone raised above ordinary nobility.
She stopped before Talon and bowed respectfully.
"Greetings, Sir Talon."
Talon rose with an easy smile.
"Rose, my dear."
Princess Rose of the Dacian Kingdom had arrived.
"Come. Sit."
He led her inside.
Rose settled at the table while Talon disappeared into the kitchen.
Despite being blind, he moved through the house without hesitation. Cups, leaves, kettle—his hands found everything as though his eyes had never been necessary.
A few minutes later, he set a cup of tea in front of Rose and took the seat across from her. Their talk started off light, with Rose asking about the Holy Empire and Talon inquiring about Dacia. They traded bits of news about merchants, border activity, unruly nobles, and the latest rumors drifting between the kingdoms. Eventually, Rose's gaze wandered up toward the ceiling.
"You're hosting guests?"
Talon sipped his tea.
"Three."
"Important?"
"Depends who you ask."
Rose glanced at the extra cups on the table.
"You don't usually let clients stay here."
"They're not clients."
Her brow furrowed in curiosity.
Before she could say more, a loud noise echoed from upstairs.
Thud. Silence. Then Silva's weary voice broke the quiet.
"Julie!"
"I was half-asleep!"
"You stepped on me!"
"Then why were you next to my foot?"
"I WAS ON THE FLOOR!"
Rose shot a glance at Talon, who sipped his tea without a hint of concern.
"Children," he murmured.
That explained nothing.
Footsteps sounded on the stairs. June appeared first, oddly composed for someone just woken. Julie trailed behind, hair a mess and wearing the look of someone who found midday an absurd hour to be awake.
Silva was the last to arrive, clutching his blanket and looking as if sleep itself had wronged him. The three descended and halted. At Talon's table sat a red-haired stranger. Rose turned their way, her eyes sliding past June and Julie before lingering momentarily on Silva. The twins instantly recognized the fine craftsmanship of her clothing, armor, and sword.Silva simply looked toward Talon.
"I thought we were your only guests," Julie said.
Talon smiled. "You were." He nodded toward the woman. "She arrived while you three were busy trying to sleep through the whole day."
Julie yawned. "We almost pulled it off."
Rose arched a brow as Talon set his cup down. "Perfect timing."
He gestured between them. "Silva, June, Julie—meet Rose."
Then, to his crimson-haired guest: "Princess Rose of the Dacian Kingdom."
Silva straightened at once. Julie's yawn vanished. June offered a polite bow. Rose returned it with a small nod.
Leaning back in his chair, Talon felt satisfied. Everyone who needed his teleportation stones was now gathered under one roof.
After the introductions, Talon set a small wooden box on the table, instantly catching Rose's attention. Inside were just three teleportation stones—dark, polished, and etched with delicate silver patterns. Each held enough spatial mana to travel vast distances, exactly what Rose had been seeking. But they were also all that remained.
"Three?" Rose asked.
Talon gave a single nod.He had originally intended to give Rose several stones for her journey, but Silva and the twins had complicated matters. They also needed to travel south, and obtaining more stones on short notice would be difficult.
Fortunately, their routes overlapped.
Talon unfolded a map of the continent.
Rose had come searching for a fire-attributed treasure powerful enough to help her break through her current bottleneck and advance into the Master Aura Stage.
Talon stumbled upon a promising lead, his finger tracing the map until it stopped on northern Dacian kingdom—where a volcano awaited.
Reports surrounding the volcano went back generations: abnormally concentrated fire mana, unusual ores, powerful fire-attributed beasts, and occasional fluctuations from deep beneath the mountain that couldn't be explained by volcanic activity alone.
Whatever was there, Talon believed it was Rose's best lead.
Rose studied the location.
"In my own kingdom..."
Talon smiled.
"Sometimes people search the whole world for something sitting in their backyard."
Rose ignored the remark and continued examining the map.
Talon pointed farther south.
Silva, June, and Julie were also making their way through Dacia, though he kept their true destination to himself. As far as Rose knew, they planned to continue past Dacia and cross the great southern desert. That gave Talon an easy plan. The first stone would be shared, sending all four travelers to the area near the northern Dacian volcano. Rose could start her search there, while Silva and the twins used it as a midpoint on their way south. The second stone would stay with Rose, allowing her to return once she was done at the volcano. The third belonged to Silva's group, letting them skip the vast desert after passing through Dacia and head toward their goal. Three stones. Three jumps. Nothing wasted.
Rose considered the arrangement.
June and Julie exchanged glances.
Silva looked at the map, following the route with his finger.
It wasn't perfect. They would still need to travel through parts of Dacia on foot, but a journey that might have taken months had suddenly become considerably shorter.
Rose finally nodded.
"That works."
Talon closed the box, moved on without hesitation, and waited patiently for nightfall.
Teleportation across such a distance required careful preparation, and Talon spent the remainder of the day checking the formation embedded within the first stone.
By the time everything was ready, darkness had settled over the capital.
The four gathered in Talon's courtyard.
Rose stood calmly with her sword secured at her waist. June and Julie carried small traveling packs, while Silva checked Cornelius's letter one final time before securing it inside his bag.
Talon placed the first stone on the ground.
Its silver markings were already beginning to glow.
"The destination is fixed near the village beneath the volcano," he explained. "Once you arrive, Rose can continue toward the mountain. The three of you can decide your route south from there."
Rose took the second stone.
June secured the third.
Then the four gathered around the first.
Silva looked back at Talon.
The blind broker stood near the doorway, long black hair shifting gently in the evening wind.
For someone who had known them for barely a day, he had done considerably more than Silva expected.
"Thank you."
Talon gave him a small smile.
"Visit again when you're older."
Julie glanced at the courtyard.
"Why when he's older?"
"So he can pay me."
Silva's gratitude immediately decreased.
Talon chuckled as June crouched beside the teleportation stone, pressing her palm to its surface. Mana flowed, igniting one silver marking, then another, until all of them glowed. The air shifted with a soft, resonant hum—
Darkness began gathering around the four travelers.
Silva instinctively reached for his staff as black currents twisted around his legs.
"Is it supposed to look like that?"
Rose remained calm.
"It's spatial distortion."
That didn't reassure him.
The darkness climbed higher.
Around their waists.
Their shoulders.
Their faces.
Space itself seemed to bend around them, Talon's courtyard stretching strangely as the formation separated them from their surroundings.
Julie clutched June's arm. Silva felt his stomach sink. Rose stayed frozen. The stone gave a sudden flash. WHOOM.
For an instant, the four became nothing more than silhouettes within the swirling darkness.
Then they vanished.
The courtyard became empty.
The teleportation stone crumbled into grey dust.
Silence returned.
Talon stood alone beneath the moonlight.
The wind passed through the place where the four travelers had been only moments earlier.
"Safe journey."
The wind carried his words into the night.
Far away, beyond the Aurelian Spine, four travelers were about to arrive in the Dacian Kingdom.
And waiting above their destination— only the wind knows.