Chapter 275: Two Weeks of Proof

The Blackwood Adventurers’ Guild began without Kael standing at its doors.

That alone would have impressed Galahad.

Kael was instead in the eastern cellar beneath the manor, holding a lantern in one hand while staring at a dragon egg that continued to refuse every opportunity to become less mysterious.

The containment room remained quiet. The reinforced stand beneath the egg showed no damage, the protective markings surrounding the chamber remained undisturbed, and the observation ledger rested on its usual table near the entrance. Kael had begun checking the egg often enough that the process no longer felt ceremonial. He inspected the room, reviewed the latest entry, compared the egg’s surface to what he remembered, then waited.

Nothing dramatic happened.

The shell remained dark and hard beneath the lantern light. The faint warmth Kael had come to expect was still there when he placed a careful hand against it.

Then the System appeared.

[Unknown Egg — Observation Update]

Condition: Stable

Viability: Confirmed

External shell change: None observed

Heartbeat: Present

Developmental activity: Minimal

Immediate intervention required: NO

Kael exhaled.

"Still alive."

That was enough.

No cracking shell.

No sudden pulse of ancient power.

No mysterious voice whispering his name.

Just a living egg waiting for a time neither Kael nor the System understood.

He entered the date into the observation ledger and added a short note confirming there had been no visible physical change since his previous inspection. He did not write a page describing the color of the shell or invent theories about what the creature inside might become.

The egg existed.

It was healthy.

He had not forgotten it.

For now, that was all the record needed to say.

When Kael returned upstairs, Walter was sitting in his chair.

Kael stopped in the doorway of the administrative room.

Walter held a cup in one hand and a folded agricultural report in the other. Edwin sat across from him with the calm expression of a man who had apparently accepted that an elderly farmer could simply occupy whatever chair he wanted inside House Kael’s administrative rooms.

Lily stood beside the table.

Kael pointed.

"That’s my chair."

Walter looked down at it.

"Seems to work."

"I know it works. That’s why I use it."

Walter took another drink.

"You were gone."

"For less than half an hour."

"Then you didn’t need it."

Kael looked toward Edwin.

"Why is he here?"

Walter answered first.

"Because apparently when you make one village school children three days a week, someone has to remind you that children still live on farms the other four."

Kael entered.

"That is why Rennick made the schedule seasonal."

"And I came to make sure the old bastard remembered what seasonal means."

Lily covered a smile.

Kael sat in the chair beside Walter instead.

"You two know each other?"

"Everyone knows Rennick."

"Does everyone like him?"

"No."

Kael nodded.

"That makes sense."

Walter unfolded the agricultural report.

The Oakridge school opened tomorrow.

That fact had pulled several separate parts of Blackwood’s development into the same conversation. Master Rennick had built a teaching schedule around planting and harvest. Edwin had budgeted instructor pay. Lily had organized household attendance lists. Rowan had nearly finished the last necessary building work.

Walter had apparently reviewed whether the school schedule actually matched the local agricultural calendar.

Kael looked over the paper.

"What did you find?"

"Mostly that Rennick still remembers how farms work."

"Mostly?"

Walter tapped one section.

"He has older children staying longer on one of the three lesson days."

"Problem?"

"Not now. Could be later when field work increases."

Kael nodded.

"So we adjust seasonally."

"Yes."

Walter looked at him.

Kael waited.

"What?"

"I expected an argument."

"I know what seasonal means."

Walter took another drink. "You learned."

Kael narrowed his eyes.

"Edwin has already used ’progress’ too much. You don’t get ’learned.’"

"Fine. You’re less foolish."

"Better."

Edwin looked between them.

"I fail to understand how."

Kael ignored him.

The school was not Walter’s project, and Kael did not intend to turn him into another administrator simply because readers had not seen him enough lately. But agricultural timing belonged naturally within his role, and Kael valued having someone in the room who knew what a village household actually sacrificed when a child spent hours away from work.

Walter pointed toward another note.

"Adult lessons are good."

Kael glanced at him.

"You want to attend?"

Walter’s expression became offended.

"I can read."

"You told me your wife taught you."

"She did."

"So maybe you want arithmetic."

"I can count your mistakes."

Lily laughed.

Walter continued before Kael could respond. "But there are men older than me who sign things with a mark because nobody ever taught them letters. If Rennick keeps the evening lessons useful instead of trying to turn everyone into scholars, they’ll come."

"Useful how?"

"Contracts. Grain accounts. Measures. Letters."

Exactly what Rennick had said.

Walter’s voice became quieter.

"Some men don’t like asking their children to read things for them."

Kael looked at the attendance list again.

Sixteen adults had expressed interest.

He had thought about administration.

Markets.

Guild contracts.

Watch reports.

Walter had just given him another reason.

Pride.

Not vanity.

Dignity.

The ability to read something placed in your own hands without immediately searching for someone else.

Kael nodded.

"Then we make sure the adult lessons stay practical."

Walter grunted.

"Good."

The System did not appear.

Kael was glad.

Some conclusions did not need approval.

Lily moved the Guild folder toward him.

"Your other problem."

Walter looked at the cover.

"The adventurer building?"

"The Blackwood Adventurers’ Guild."

"That’s what I said."

Kael sighed.

Walter had visited the Guild once since opening, mostly because one adventurer had been asking farmers where to find medicinal plants and somehow ended up receiving a twenty-minute lecture about not trampling winter crops.

Kael suspected Galahad remembered the visit.

"Today is the two-week review."

Walter nodded.

"Two weeks already?"

"Yes."

"Anyone dead?"

"No."

"Building still standing?"

"Yes."

"Then seems decent."

Kael stared at him.

"I have pages of information."

"And I gave you the important part."

Edwin’s mouth twitched.

Kael picked up the report.

"Go bother Rennick."

"I was planning to."

"Walter."

"What?"

"Don’t make him quit before opening day."

Walter stood.

"If he survived twenty-eight years teaching children, he can survive me."

That was not reassuring.

He headed toward the door.

Then stopped.

"Kael."

Kael looked up.

Walter’s tone had changed just enough to matter.

"The school is good."

Kael remained quiet.

Walter continued, "Don’t ruin it by trying to make ten more before this one teaches anyone."

Kael smiled faintly.

"I wasn’t planning to."

Walter opened the door.

"Good. You’re less foolish."

Then he left.

Kael looked toward Edwin.

"You invited him."

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because he was right."

Kael sighed.

Of course.

The Blackwood Adventurers’ Guild’s two-week review began after the morning rush.

Kael arrived to find Galahad already waiting in the same meeting room used for the first-week review. This time, the table held fewer piles of loose paper and more organized ledgers.

That alone said something.

Mira Doss sat with the registry records.

Nalia Greve had the financial and contract ledgers.

Healer Vessa attended for the Infirmary portion.

Grom sat near the end of the table representing Black Dragon command where necessary.

Edwin joined Kael for House finances and development impact.

Lily carried the summary records.

No Darius.

No unnecessary collection of important people simply because a meeting existed.

Kael sat.

Galahad looked toward him.

"No speech."

Kael stared.

"It’s a review."

"You find reasons."

"I checked the egg this morning."

Everyone except Edwin and Lily looked confused.

Kael froze.

Galahad frowned.

"What egg?"

Kael recovered quickly.

"Breakfast."

There was silence.

Mira looked toward him.

"You checked breakfast?"

Kael closed his eyes.

Edwin rescued him.

"His Highness has had an unusually productive morning. Continue."

Galahad stared at Kael for another second.

Then thankfully opened the ledger.

"Two weeks."

Kael waited.

Galahad looked at him.

"That’s all."

"Good."

The first number was registration.

"Sixty-four registered at yesterday’s close," Mira said. "Sixty-five as of this morning."

Kael looked toward her.

"One more?"

"Experienced hunter. Verification incomplete."

"Confirmed placements?"

"Forty-one now."

She turned the ledger.

F-Rank: 21

E-Rank: 18

D-Rank: 2

C-Rank and Above: 0

The newest E-rank had entered through experience verification rather than promotion.

Kael nodded.

"Growth slowed."

"Yes," Mira said. "Which is healthier."

Galahad added, "Opening curiosity is gone."

"So the people registering now are more likely to actually want Guild work."

"Mostly."

Mira corrected him.

"More likely. Not guaranteed."

Galahad looked toward Kael.

"She does that to me too."

"Good."

Mira ignored both.

Incomplete applications had begun accumulating, but not at a rate that threatened staff capacity. Some people registered, completed initial paperwork, then never returned for assessment. Others discovered the Guild’s rules required more verification than expected and decided private work suited them better.

Kael did not consider that automatically bad.

The Guild did not need every armed traveler in Blackwood wearing its badge.

Nalia moved to contracts.

"Twenty-four completed before this morning. Fifteen active. One properly withdrawn for injury. Three weather delays from the rain period, all now resolved. Two client disputes. One party-share complaint. One delivery-verification dispute. One contract suspended by the Guild after threat classification changed."

Kael raised an eyebrow.

"The eastern predator?"

"No. Different."

That interested him.

Nalia opened the record.

An F-rank herb-gathering contract had been suspended after a village watch reported fresh signs of a hostile boar herd near the collection area. The adventurers had not yet departed, so the Guild stopped the contract before anyone walked into a situation ranked above the original posting.

"What happened afterward?"

"Watch confirmed the animals moved north. No property damage. Contract remains suspended until the area is checked again."

"No need for Black Dragon?"

Grom shook his head.

"No."

"Guild hunting contract?"

"Not unless they remain a problem."

Kael nodded.

Good.

Not every animal became an adventure.

Nalia continued.

The most common contract categories remained gathering, delivery, local escort, tracking, pest or animal work, minor repair, and short investigation.

Combat contracts were a minority.

Kael liked that.

"Repeat clients?"

Nalia smiled slightly.

"Nine."

Edwin leaned forward.

"Nine individual clients have used the Guild more than once?"

"Yes."

"Out of?"

"Thirty-seven verified clients who have posted at least one completed or active contract."

Kael did the rough comparison mentally.

Almost a quarter had returned already.

Not enough to call established long-term trust.

Enough to matter.

"Why are they coming back?"

Nalia shrugged.

"Because it works."

Galahad added, "Payment is clear. Terms are recorded. If someone argues, there is a place to bring the argument."

That repeated the first-week lesson.

Trust grew from enforcement.

Not slogans.

Nalia turned another page.

"Two clients tried returning with work we had already told them we would not accept."

Kael smiled.

"Debt collection?"

"One."

"And the other?"

"A man wanted adventurers to frighten a neighbor over a boundary dispute."

Kael’s smile disappeared.

"Rejected?"

"Immediately."

"Good."

Grom nodded once.

The Guild was beginning to attract enough attention that some people would naturally test where its limits were.

Consistency mattered more now than opening-day explanation.

Mira moved to party records.

"Repeat party formation is beginning."

Kael looked toward her.

"How much?"

"Seven combinations have worked together more than once. Two groups have completed three contracts together."

"Formal parties?"

"Not permanent."

Galahad explained.

The Guild did not require adventurers to declare a permanent party after working together several times. But repeat cooperation created useful records. Who worked well together. Who argued. Who followed leadership. Who had complementary skills.

Kael thought of Teren and the two F-ranks.

"That helps promotion too."

Mira nodded.

"And higher-rank eligibility later."

No need to invent a party-ranking system.

Individual rank remained individual.

Party history was simply another record.

The System appeared briefly.

[Guild Operations — Two-Week Pattern]

Repeat client behavior: Emerging

Repeat party behavior: Emerging

Registration growth: Stabilizing

Contract volume: Sustainable at current staffing

Rank distribution: Beginner-heavy / expected

Institutional trust indicators: Positive preliminary

Kael dismissed it.

"Beginner-heavy."

Galahad nodded.

"Because we’re a new Guild."

"Good."

Nobody tried to fix that by handing out C-rank badges.

The D-rank board itself remained thin enough that Rellan and Derrick could not possibly cover every dangerous contract that might eventually appear.

That was a limitation.

Not an embarrassment.

Edwin moved to finances.

Nalia opened the revenue ledger.

"Ordinary brokerage income continues covering current daily Guild operations."

Kael looked toward Edwin.

"Can I ask whether it’s profitable now?"

"No."

"It’s been two weeks."

"Exactly."

Kael sighed.

Nalia smiled.

Edwin continued.

"Current operating income exceeds routine operating expenses modestly."

"There."

"That is not the same thing as proven long-term profitability."

"I know."

"Do you?"

Kael stared at him.

Galahad looked amused.

Nalia continued before the administrative argument consumed the meeting.

The Guild Relief Reserve had grown.

Not dramatically.

Enough that the reserve could now cover several ordinary recovery-transport incidents or one more expensive emergency without immediately emptying.

Kael looked toward Vessa.

"Any changes needed?"

"Not yet."

"Medical usage?"

"Low."

The Guild Infirmary had treated several minor contract or assessment injuries during the second week. Cuts. Bruises. A twisted wrist. One blister severe enough that Vessa had apparently spent ten minutes explaining socks to a grown man.

Kael thought of Damien.

He said nothing.

"No serious injuries?" he asked.

"No."

"Any case that should have gone directly to the clinic?"

"One fever unrelated to Guild work. I sent him there."

The boundary remained intact.

Vessa continued. "But there is one thing."

Of course.

"What?"

"People are beginning to treat the Infirmary as a place to ask whether they’re healthy enough for a contract."

Kael considered that.

"Bad?"

"Not necessarily."

Galahad frowned.

"Could become useful."

Vessa nodded.

"If limited. Someone with a healing ankle asking whether they should take a three-day escort is reasonable. Someone wanting a full medical examination before every F-rank delivery is not."

Kael looked toward Galahad.

"Procedure?"

"Simple guidance. No new department."

Kael smiled.

"Good."

Vessa looked suspicious.

"That was fast."

"I am capable of restraint."

Everyone at the table remained quiet.

Kael frowned.

"Continue."

Grom handled security next.

"One physical fight in two weeks."

"The soup fight," Kael said.

"Yes."

"No repeat?"

"No."

"Badge fraud?"

"One suspected attempt. No repeat."

"Military transfers?"

"One clean threat review. No action required afterward."

"Guild security?"

"Adequate."

Grom’s answer remained short.

Kael waited.

The goblin looked toward him.

"What?"

"Nothing you want changed?"

"Runner training."

"Already?"

"Started yesterday."

Of course.

The scenario-based emergency communication training had begun with simple questions.

Fire.

Injury.

Violence.

Unidentified threat.

Who received the message first?

Who did not need to receive it?

What information mattered?

Grom pointed toward Galahad.

"One runner told me he’d find the Guild Leader first if the stable caught fire."

Galahad closed his eyes.

Kael smiled.

"What did you tell him?"

"To find water."

That seemed correct.

Grom continued. "They are improving."

No more needed.

The Quartermaster issue remained unresolved because it was not yet an actual problem.

The Guild had more equipment than opening day but current staff still tracked it adequately.

No new appointment.

Harvester capacity remained absent.

Still no magical or hazardous carcass-processing attempt.

No new appointment.

Permanent healer still unnecessary.

No new appointment.

Kael looked around the room.

"We have identified three future jobs and filled none of them."

Galahad nodded.

"Beautiful, isn’t it?"

"Disturbing."

Mira spoke.

"We also have an assessment backlog."

That ended the joke.

"How bad?"

"Not bad yet."

Twenty-four registered people remained either incompletely verified, awaiting assessment, or temporarily limited.

Some would never finish.

Others would.

The current evaluator system could manage the volume if registration remained near its slower second-week pace.

If another surge happened, it would become a problem.

Galahad looked toward Kael.

"We do not hire more evaluators because of a hypothetical surge."

"I know."

"I was making sure."

Kael sighed.

The System appeared.

[Guild Staffing Review]

Current staff capacity: Adequate

Assessment backlog: Manageable

Quartermaster need: Emerging

Specialist assessor need: Limited

Permanent healer need: Not established

Harvester need: Emerging / unresolved

Immediate broad staffing expansion: NOT RECOMMENDED

Kael dismissed it.

Two weeks ago, he probably would have wanted to solve every line.

Now he wanted to know which one became real first.

That felt healthier.

Edwin asked the next question.

"Transient pressure?"

Lily opened the House-side report.

This was where the Guild’s effect extended beyond its walls.

The number of temporary visitors around the manor settlement had increased since opening. Adventurers, clients, merchants, carriers, and people simply curious about Guild work created additional demand for food, stable space, temporary sleeping rooms, equipment repair, and market services.

Not all registered adventurers lived in Blackwood.

Many would never settle permanently.

"Any shortage?" Kael asked.

"Not yet."

"Prices?"

"Some increase in meals and stable feed near the Guild. Not enough to call distortion."

"Housing?"

"Temporary lodging pressure moderate."

Edwin pointed toward the report.

"This is where we need to remain careful."

Kael nodded.

A few crowded inns did not justify building an entire adventurer district.

"Measure duration."

"Already."

How many visitors stayed one night?

Three?

Ten?

How many became repeat travelers?

How many eventually rented housing?

How many left?

The settlement data would matter before permanent construction.

The System agreed.

[Guild-Linked Population Pressure]

Transient activity: Increased

Permanent migration attributable to Guild: Insufficient Data

Lodging pressure: Moderate

Food-service pressure: Low to Moderate

Immediate permanent housing response: Not recommended

Kael almost smiled.

The System had become extremely good at telling him not to build things.

Walter would be proud.

The final review category was something Kael had requested personally.

"What went wrong in the second week?"

Galahad looked toward the ledgers.

"Nothing dramatic."

"That’s not the question."

Mira answered first.

"Reports."

Teren’s six-paragraph orchard fence had apparently not been unique.

Several field reports were either too long or so short they were nearly useless.

The new standardized template should improve that.

Nalia went next.

"Clients still misunderstand what ranking means."

"Even with the sign?"

"Especially with the sign."

Kael frowned.

"How?"

"One merchant saw D-rank and assumed Derrick could guarantee protection against anything encountered on the route."

Galahad nodded.

"The contract limits matter more than badge confidence."

"So we keep explaining."

"Yes."

Vessa’s answer was predictable.

"Boots."

Kael stared.

"Boots?"

"Bad footwear."

"That’s the major second-week medical lesson?"

"Do you want me to invent a monster?"

"No."

"Then boots."

Grom’s answer came last.

"Complacency."

Everyone looked toward him.

He tapped the table once.

"Nothing serious happened."

Kael understood immediately.

"People start believing nothing serious will happen."

"Yes."

The Guild had worked.

Contracts paid.

People returned.

Injuries remained minor.

Rules seemed orderly.

That could create exactly the wrong confidence.

Grom continued, "Keep emergency procedure boring."

Galahad frowned.

"Boring?"

"Repeated."

That made sense.

Fire drills were useful because they happened before fire.

Threat escalation procedures mattered before a real threat forced the Guild to use them.

No need to frighten people.

Just prevent normal success from making them careless.

Kael nodded.

The System appeared.

[Blackwood Adventurers’ Guild — Two-Week Review Complete]

Operational stability: POSITIVE EARLY RESULT

Financial sustainability: Positive preliminary / insufficient long-term data

Client trust: Emerging

Adventurer retention: Insufficient long-term data

Rank framework: Functioning

Promotion framework: Functioning at initial scale

Security framework: Adequate

Medical framework: Adequate

Staff capacity: Adequate with emerging specialist needs

Institutional risk: Complacency after successful launch

Then a final notice appeared.

[Launch Phase Complete]

Recommended next phase: Normal Operation

House review interval: Weekly

Kael looked at the words for several seconds.

Normal Operation.

That was what he had wanted.

Galahad closed his ledger.

"We done?"

Kael looked around the table.

Mira had records to return to.

Nalia had clients waiting.

Vessa had an Infirmary to run.

Grom had left part of Black Dragon training in someone else’s hands to attend the review.

Edwin had half of Blackwood waiting in his folders.

"Yes."

Galahad stood.

"No announcement?"

"No."

"No commemorative—"

"Say plaque and I will build one just to annoy you."

Galahad immediately stopped.

Kael smiled.

The meeting ended.

No applause.

No milestone ceremony.

The Blackwood Adventurers’ Guild had survived its first two weeks.

Tomorrow it would simply open again.

Kael stayed long enough to watch Derrick Sorn’s party leave on the western trade-route survey escort.

Derrick wore his D-rank badge beneath his traveling coat. The two E-rank adventurers accompanying him had already checked their equipment. The merchant survey clerk arrived with rolled maps, measuring lines, a writing case, and the expression of someone who considered mud a personal insult.

Nalia reviewed the contract one final time.

"Two-day expected duration."

Derrick nodded.

"Route remains inside Blackwood."

"Yes."

"Survey clerk controls survey decisions where safe."

"Yes."

"You control immediate travel and protection decisions."

"Yes."

The clerk sighed.

"We have read this."

Nalia looked at him.

"Then this should be easy."

Kael smiled.

The party left without incident.

No System milestone.

Just an active D-rank contract beginning.

Normal operation.

He liked the phrase.

The agricultural household visited the second possible placement that afternoon.

This time, Kael did not go with them.

He did not send a special House observer either.

A settlement clerk arranged the visit, and the family spoke directly with residents near the manor-side farming area they were considering.

The location offered less available land than the village they had rejected.

It offered better clinic access.

Better market access.

Shorter travel to the Guild area, though nobody in the family cared much about that.

Housing was smaller.

The father liked the farmland less.

The mother liked the location more.

That was exactly why Kael was glad he was not standing beside them.

Some decisions needed to happen without the territorial lord making people feel watched.

He would receive the result tomorrow.

Not tonight.

The System listed only:

[Controlled Settlement Pilot — Household 4]

Second settlement visit: In progress

Household preference: Pending

No action required

Kael dismissed it.

He was becoming very fond of that phrase too.

Walter found him again near sunset.

Kael was walking toward the manor after inspecting one of the market drainage channels when the older man appeared from the road carrying a sack over one shoulder.

Kael looked at it.

"What is that?"

"Turnips."

"I can see that."

"Then why did you ask?"

Kael sighed.

Walter walked beside him.

"Rennick hates you."

"Good."

"He said if you arrive tomorrow with banners, he’s closing the school."

"I am not bringing banners."

"Musicians?"

"No."

"Speech?"

"Brief."

Walter grunted.

"How brief?"

"Why is everyone worried about this?"

"Because you’re a prince."

"That doesn’t mean I give long speeches."

Walter looked at him.

Kael reconsidered.

"Fine."

They walked several more steps.

Kael glanced at the sack again.

"You carried turnips all the way from Oakridge?"

"No."

"Then where did you get them?"

"Farmer near the south road."

"Why?"

Walter looked genuinely confused.

"To eat."

Kael laughed.

Walter shook his head.

"Princes."

They reached the path leading toward the manor.

Walter slowed.

"You going tomorrow?"

"Yes."

"Good."

Kael looked at him.

"I thought you were worried I’d ruin it."

"You should be there."

Walter’s answer came without hesitation.

"Those people remember when the school closed. They remember when nobody cared enough to reopen it. You don’t need to talk long, but you need to stand there."

Kael’s expression softened.

Walter continued, "Then leave Rennick alone and let him teach."

Kael smiled.

"That’s the plan."

"Good."

Walter continued toward his own path.

Kael called after him.

"Are you coming?"

Walter turned.

"To school?"

"Yes."

"No."

"Why?"

"I’m old enough already."

Kael stared.

"The opening."

"I know what you meant."

"Then why?"

Walter lifted the sack.

"I have work."

Kael shook his head.

"You’re impossible."

Walter smiled.

"Less foolish."

Then he walked away.

Kael stood there laughing.

That evening, the Guild’s daily report arrived.

Kael nearly opened it immediately.

Then stopped.

The two-week review had already happened.

He looked toward Lily.

"Anything requiring me?"

"No."

"Serious injury?"

"No."

"Military issue?"

"No."

"Financial problem?"

"No."

Kael pushed the report aside.

"I’ll read it tomorrow."

Lily stared at him.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"You’re doing Edwin’s face."

"I do not have Edwin’s face."

"That expression says otherwise."

Kael ignored her.

The System appeared anyway.

[Blackwood Adventurers’ Guild — Day 14 Complete]

Registered Adventurers: 65

Confirmed Rank Placements:

F-Rank: 21

E-Rank: 18

D-Rank: 2

C-Rank and Above: 0

Active Contracts: 15

Completed Contracts: 24

Serious Incidents: 0

Operational Status: Stable

Launch Phase: COMPLETE

Current Phase: NORMAL OPERATION

Kael dismissed it.

Tomorrow he would not need a Day Fifteen report.

He did not need a Day Sixteen Chapter.

The Guild would keep operating while the rest of Blackwood moved around it.

The school opened tomorrow.

Stonebrook still needed houses finished.

Five settlement households had entered Blackwood’s controlled pilot, and one still had not found a place it wanted to call home.

Walter remained perfectly capable of appearing in Kael’s administrative room, stealing his chair, insulting him, and somehow leaving behind better agricultural policy.

The dragon egg remained alive beneath the manor.

Derrick’s party was somewhere on Blackwood’s western roads escorting a survey clerk who would probably complain about mud before the first evening camp.

Damien remained away.

Victor Ravenshade remained at Greywatch.

Milo was probably avoiding work somewhere until Sera found him.

Blackwood did not need all of those lives to occupy the same room at once.

They simply needed to continue.

Kael looked toward the darkened window.

For the first time since the Guild opened, tomorrow would not be counted by how many days its doors had remained open.

It would simply be another day in Blackwood.

And that meant the Guild had finally become part of the territory instead of the newest thing inside it.