Shion and Eren began their morning as they always did, crossing the Association's courtyard while the sun was still low and pale against the rooftops of Reka. The training grounds were already alive with the steady rhythm of steel striking steel, boots grinding against sand, low curses muttered through exertion.
But it felt different today.
Their movements were precise, controlled, practiced — yet something in their focus slipped between strikes and footwork. The air seemed denser, heavier against the lungs.
Around them, mercenaries carried on as usual. Pairs sparred. A veteran corrected a recruit's stance with a sharp tap of a wooden staff. Laughter rose briefly from one corner before being swallowed by the scrape of blades.
Still, beneath the ordinary noise, there was a sensation neither of them could ignore.
They were being watched.
Not openly. Not boldly. But watched.
Now they knew Reka was keeping track of them. The knowledge alone altered the weight of every glance in the yard.
They did not know who reported, or if anyone here did at all.
Every adventurer present was a possibility.
"It's useless to think about it," Shion said at last, lowering her blade after a clean exchange and stepping back into stance.
Eren adjusted her grip, pushing a loose strand of hair away from her face with the back of her wrist. "And yet we won't be able to brush it off."
Their swords met again with controlled force. The sound rang clear, but their attention fractured easily, drifting toward the edges of the yard — toward the balcony above, toward the shaded archways, toward nothing in particular.
They completed their routine out of discipline rather than conviction. Forms were executed correctly. Footwork remained steady. Breathing stayed measured.
But both of them felt the same quiet urge to leave.
Three days had seemed manageable the night before.
Now they stretched ahead like something slower, heavier.
After returning to the inn for a brief wash and a simple breakfast, they made their way back toward the Association's job board. The main hall was busier than the yard had been, clusters of mercenaries standing shoulder to shoulder as they scanned posted notices.
Shion stepped closer to the board, one hand resting lightly against the wood as she read.
Two postings stood out.
The bounty on Veylan the Red.
The missing caravan bound for Rivermark.
She read both once.
Then again.
Eren leaned slightly closer, her shoulder nearly brushing Shion's as her eyes moved across the parchment.
"Aren't they connected?" she asked quietly.
"Probably" Shion replied without looking away, her gaze narrowing as she traced the details a second time "Rivermark lies on the eastern continent. To reach it from here, they would have taken ship at the port"
"Then why post it in Reka?"
"Because the caravan may have originated here. Or from the capital" Shion said, straightening slightly "Merchants travel outward with bulk goods. The further they bring them, the higher the profit"
Eren folded her arms loosely across her chest, considering "If the caravan vanished too far from Reka, taking this could become a problem"
"Yes"
"The guards might think we're leaving for good"
Shion finally stepped back from the board, allowing another mercenary to move into her place.
"That depends" She said calmly. "If the disappearance occurred before embarkation, or along the coastal road, it remains within reach. If it happened beyond the port…" She let the thought hang.
Eren's jaw tightened slightly. "Then it looks like distance. And distance looks like avoidance"
Silence settled between them again, though this time it was analytical rather than tense.
"The bandit," Eren added after a moment. "Eastern forest. That's closer. Still within the region."
"And visible" Shion said "No one could claim we vanished. A bounty that large will draw others as well. Movement in that direction would not appear unusual"
Eren studied the notices once more, eyes narrowing slightly as though measuring weight rather than words.
"If they are connected" She said "taking one might lead us to the other"
"Or confirm they are not"
Shion's fingers tapped once against the wooden frame of the board before falling still.
"We have three days" She said evenly. "We choose something that keeps us inside Reka's reach"
Eren gave a faint nod.
"Not too far" She agreed "Not too quiet"
Around them, the hall continued its low murmur of negotiations and ambition. Notices were torn down. Others were claimed.
Reka was watching.
If it wanted to watch, then it would see them working.
They walked to the clerk's desk and asked for the bandit's job.
Probably the safest bet out of the to, but they kept the caravan's job in mind, just in case it was near and related.
The clerk marked the job as taken, her usual scribbling on her ledger.
Shion and Eren left to the woods, to search for this Velyan figure.
The posting said he was operating on the eastern woods.
He might have been using the Kelpie as cover up, until recently that it was contained.
There was no other way for a bandit to operate without someone noticing the robberies, assaults and disappearances in the area.