The night passed slowly, with every rustle in the trees making me jump.
I'd volunteered for first watch, partly because I was too nervous to sleep and partly because I wanted to prove I could handle basic guild responsibilities. But sitting by the carefully banked campfire, listening to the forest sounds around us, I was starting to understand why experience mattered so much in this work.
Every shadow looked suspicious. Every distant sound could be a threat. I found myself gripping my sword handle and questioning whether that bird call was actually a bird.
"Relax," came Dmitri's quiet voice from behind me. "Tension makes you miss important details."
I turned to find him approaching with the silent movement that seemed natural to him. "I thought you were sleeping."
"Light doze. Habit from longer missions." He settled beside me, immediately scanning the area with focused attention. "What have you observed?"
"Lots of normal forest sounds," I said, feeling inadequate. "Some movement in the trees, but I can't tell if it's animals or..."
"Three people," Dmitri said quietly, his voice carrying absolute certainty. "Moving in coordinated formation approximately two hundred meters northeast of our position."
I stared at him. "How can you possibly know that?"
"Ground vibrations through my feet. Air current disruptions from their movement. Sound patterns that don't match local wildlife." He was completely still, like he was reading information from the environment itself. "They've been maintaining parallel course for the past two hours."
"That's... incredible. How did you learn to do that?"
"Survival necessity when you're doing logistics in dangerous territory," Dmitri replied matter-of-factly. "Can't plan supply routes effectively if you don't know what threats are present."
"Is that normal for logistics specialists?"
"Probably not. But normal logistics specialists don't work for Broken Chain." He was quiet for a moment, apparently gathering more information from sources I couldn't perceive. "They're testing our defensive positioning."
"What do you mean?"
"Moving closer, then backing off. Probing for reaction patterns and security protocols." Dmitri's expression remained calm, but I could see the tactical assessment happening behind his eyes. "Professional surveillance technique."
"Professional?"
"Not bandits. Bandits would either attack or leave. These people are gathering intelligence for a planned operation."
The implications of that made my stomach clench. "Should we wake Jane?"
"Not yet. Let him rest while he can." Dmitri shifted position slightly, apparently adjusting for better environmental awareness. "Jane's going to have a very long day once he realizes how complicated this mission just became."
"Complicated how?"
"Mr. Tanaka is hiding something significant about his cargo. Professional teams don't waste time on routine trade escorts unless the goods are valuable enough to justify the effort."
"You think he lied about the jewelry?"
"I think we're protecting something worth killing for, and our client didn't trust us enough to provide accurate mission parameters." Dmitri's voice carried the frustration of someone whose careful planning had been undermined by incomplete information. "Which means we're operating without proper threat assessment or resource allocation."
"That's bad."
"That's potentially catastrophic. Guild protection protocols are based on accurate risk evaluation. When clients lie about mission requirements..." He didn't finish the sentence, but his expression suggested the outcomes weren't pleasant.
We maintained watch in comfortable silence, with Dmitri occasionally providing quiet updates about our watchers' movements. His ability to track people through environmental changes was unlike anything I'd seen before. It was like he was reading a tactical situation from signals completely invisible to me.
"How many people in Broken Chain have abilities like yours?" I asked eventually.
"Everyone has specialized capabilities," Dmitri replied. "Jane's administrative skills are actually enhanced by tactical intelligence that borders on precognition. Sarah's explosive expertise combines with spatial reasoning that lets her calculate blast effects with mathematical precision. Marcus can analyze psychological patterns in ways that make him incredibly effective at negotiation and conflict resolution."
"What about Captain Hazama?"
"Captain Hazama's abilities are..." Dmitri paused, apparently searching for appropriate words. "Beyond normal classification. But that's probably not surprising."
Morning came with gray skies and the kind of humidity that suggested rain later. Our watchers had withdrawn sometime before dawn, but Dmitri confirmed they were still in the area, maintaining distance while paralleling our route.
"They're waiting for something," he said as we broke camp with efficient teamwork. "Optimal engagement opportunity, backup arrival, or specific location advantage."
Jane was notably less cheerful than he'd been the previous day, apparently sensing the tension even without Dmitri's specialized awareness.
"Mission parameters appear to be evolving," he said while completing his morning documentation. "Should I prepare incident reports for upgraded threat classification?"
"Probably wise," Dmitri replied while adjusting our travel formation for better security positioning.
Hiroshi looked like he hadn't slept at all. His nervous energy from the previous day had intensified into something approaching panic, and he kept checking the cargo wagon with obsessive frequency.
"Mr. Tanaka," Jane said as we resumed travel, his voice carrying the patient tone of someone conducting an official interview. "Given recent developments, I need to review mission specifications for accuracy."
"Recent developments?"
"Professional surveillance team maintaining parallel course since yesterday afternoon," Jane replied calmly. "Coordinated movement patterns suggesting planned operational intent. Resource commitment indicating high-value target assessment."
Hiroshi went pale. "I don't know what you mean."
"Sir, I'm required to document all mission-relevant information for guild records and client protection protocols," Jane continued with bureaucratic relentlessness. "Incomplete mission specifications can result in inadequate resource allocation and increased casualty risk."
"Casualty risk?"
"When clients provide inaccurate cargo assessments, guild protection effectiveness is compromised by inappropriate tactical planning," Jane explained with the precision of someone quoting regulations. "Current situation suggests significant discrepancy between stated mission parameters and actual threat environment."
"I told you, it's just jewelry!"
"Sir," Dmitri interrupted gently, "we're currently being tracked by professionals who've maintained surveillance for over twelve hours. That level of resource commitment is not consistent with random bandit activity or opportunistic theft attempts."
"People don't deploy specialized teams for costume jewelry," Jane added bluntly. "Whatever you're transporting, it's valuable enough to justify significant operational investment."
Hiroshi's composure finally cracked completely.
"Alright!" he said, stopping the wagon abruptly. "You're right. It's not jewelry. But I swear I didn't know anyone would come after it!"
"What is it?" I asked, though I was starting to suspect the answer would be something way beyond C-rank mission parameters.
"A summoning scroll," Hiroshi said miserably. "Last valuable thing my clan possessed before we lost everything. I don't even know what it does exactly, but the buyer in Riverside offered enough money to solve all my family's financial problems."
Jane's expression went through several rapid changes before settling on barely controlled fury.
"A summoning scroll," he repeated with dangerous calm. "You hired guild protection for a summoning scroll and told us it was jewelry."
"I couldn't afford the real mission cost!" Hiroshi protested. "Summoning scrolls require A-rank security protocols! The fees would have been more than I could possibly pay!"
"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT KIND OF PAPERWORK IS INVOLVED IN MISSION RECLASSIFICATION?!" Jane exploded. "Emergency threat assessment forms! Resource reallocation documentation! Client deception incident reports! LIABILITY WAIVERS!"
"What exactly is a summoning scroll?" I asked, trying to interrupt Jane's administrative meltdown.
"Specialized tools for summoning creatures," Dmitri explained while Jane continued his bureaucratic rant in the background. "Messenger eagles, tracking dogs, combat familiars. Very rare, extremely valuable, typically owned only by high-ranking guild members."
"How valuable?"
"Enough to fund a small guild for several months," Dmitri said grimly. "Or finance major criminal operations. Depending on the specific scroll's capabilities."
"And now people know we're carrying one."
"Professional people who've been planning an acquisition operation," Dmitri confirmed. "Which explains the surveillance pattern and resource commitment."
Jane had apparently worked through his initial fury and was now in full crisis management mode, pulling out forms and making rapid calculations.
"Mission status: officially reclassified to A-rank due to client deception and confirmed high-value cargo," he announced. "Current team composition inadequate for threat level. Backup protocols should be initiated immediately."
"How do we call for backup?" I asked.
"Emergency communication procedures require—" Jane started, then stopped. "Oh. We're twelve hours from the nearest guild facility and our communication equipment is rated for C-rank missions."
"So we're on our own."
"We're dramatically under-resourced for the actual mission requirements," Jane corrected with professional precision. "But yes, essentially on our own."
Dmitri had been scanning the area during our conversation, and his expression was growing increasingly concerned.
"We need to move," he said urgently. "Movement patterns have changed. They're not maintaining distance anymore."
"What does that mean?"
"It means they've decided to stop observing and start acting," Dmitri replied, already moving toward defensive positions. "Whatever their operational timeline was, something just triggered immediate action."
Through the trees ahead, I could see figures emerging from concealment. Not the desperate bandits I'd been imagining, but organized professionals wearing gear that suggested serious military experience.
"A-rank mission," Jane muttered while frantically shuffling through emergency protocol documentation. "Of course it's an A-rank mission. Why is it always an A-rank mission?"
Looking at the professional team advancing on our position, I realized my first guild mission was about to become a lot more educational than anyone had planned.
And significantly more dangerous than our C-rank preparation had anticipated.