The TCA camp had grown quieter by nightfall. The other parties had retreated to their tents to rest and process their rewards. The field where the portals had stood was empty now, the grass still bent where the black towers had risen. The sky was clear, filled with stars that seemed brighter than usual, as if the death of the Ashen Expanse had cleared away some old haze.
Nathan sat outside his tent, his three summons in their small forms around him. Mirko was curled against his leg, Kuro was a black shape on his other side, and Shiro was perched on a nearby crate with regal stillness. The Tower World Map Fragment glowed softly in his palm—a piece of something larger, its surface covered in lines and symbols Nathan didn't yet understand.
Smithy approached quietly. He had been given his own tent near the party's, still under watch but no longer treated as a prisoner. "You're studying the fragment."
