"We’ll hunt first," Lukas said. "We can try the dungeons later."

Karrakas nodded. "Good."

He didn’t move to stand immediately. Instead, he leaned forward slightly and looked around the table. "Before we head out, there’s something I want to show you. One of the reasons I told you to lock down an inn first."

"Beyond having a place to sleep?" Akira asked.

"Beyond that." He gestured at the room around them. "When you’re in a new area without a guide, you need a way to get current information. Not the kind written in books or handed out at gates. Current information."

"That means what’s moving, what’s been sighted, and what’s changed in the last day or two." He paused. "In almost every inn on the Second Floor, you’ll find an information broker. They make it their business to know what’s happening in the surrounding area and sell that knowledge to anyone willing to pay."

"How do you spot them?" Melody asked.

"Dark cloak," Karrakas said simply. "It’s their way of advertising without advertising."

They looked around the room.

It didn’t take long.

Near the far end of the tavern, seated alone at a small table with a drink in front of him and his hood down, was a man in a dark cloak.

He wasn’t eating or talking to anyone. He simply sat there, watching the room with a drink in front of him as if he was waiting for something.

"Follow me," Karrakas said, standing.

They walked across the tavern and pulled chairs up around the man’s table. He straightened as they sat, and his expression brightened into a smile.

"Looking to buy?" he asked.

"Yes." Karrakas produced his bank card and held it up where the broker could see it.

The man reached into his cloak and set a small flat device on the table between them. "What do you need?"

"Basic sweep. Immediate area outside the city walls. Current conditions."

The broker tapped the device once to activate it, and Karrakas pressed his card to the surface. A soft tone confirmed the payment. The broker pocketed the device and folded his hands.

"Beasts have been pulling back," he said. "There have been fewer surface sightings over the past three days. Most are sitting in wait in the sand, which means they’re harder to spot but they’re out there."

He lowered his voice slightly. "There’s a B-rank beast sighted to the west. Whatever it is, it’s been pushing the weaker beasts away from the area. The ones that were ranging west are now moving north to get away from it."

"So avoid west," Lukas said.

"Unless you’re confident in handling a B-rank, yes." The broker glanced at him. "One more thing. There’s a sandstorm building in the area. Based on the movement patterns this morning, it’ll hit in roughly five hours. I’d wait it out before leaving the city."

Karrakas nodded once. "Appreciated."

He stood, and they followed him back to their table. After sitting, he leaned back in his chair, still smiling. "That information was worth every coin."

"If we’d gone out without this information, we’d have walked straight into a sandstorm," he said simply.

Lukas looked at him. "How bad are the storms?"

Karrakas set his elbows on the table. "Storms usually come with two sets of problems."

"The first is the storm itself. The sand moves at speed, and at that velocity, it doesn’t feel like sand anymore. If it catches you with insufficient clothing, it will tear through any exposed skin. The gear on your list exists specifically for that reason."

"If you ever find yourself in a sandstorm, the best thing you can do is raise a tent and hole up there."

"The second problem is what lives in the storm. There are beasts that hunt inside sandstorms. That is their environment. Visibility drops to nothing, the noise covers their movement, and they know the terrain better than any Adept ever will."

He looked around the table. "Experienced hunters avoid storms unless they have no choice. New Adepts have no business being inside one."

"So we wait until it’s gone?" Akira asked.

"Yes, we wait," Karrakas confirmed. "But the news isn’t all bad. That B-rank to the west has pushed a large number of lower ranked beasts north. Which means the north is currently more populated than usual with exactly the kind of targets you want for your first hunt."

He stood. "Go check your rooms. Rest, eat, do whatever you need to do. We’ll meet back here in six hours."

They stood and headed for the staircase. They soon found their room.

The room was large, with a wide window and a bed that took up a generous portion of the floor space. It had been made up cleanly, with enough room on either side to move around comfortably.

Melody walked into the room and dropped onto the bed face first. She pushed herself up, bounced once experimentally, and nodded in approval. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Lukas set his bag down and reached into his spatial ring, pulling out one of the books on the Second Floor that Akira had bought from the bookshop.

Melody was already pulling her deck of cards from her bag. "Up for a game of Deadly Draw?"

Akira grinned. "Of course. What about the stakes? First to win three out of five rounds takes half of the other person’s pay from our first Le Fay mission."

Melody considered it for half a second. "Done."

They settled on the bed, cards between them. Lukas pulled the chair from the corner to the window, sat down, and opened his book.

The game was calm at first, each player feeling the other out. Then it turned intense.

Akira won the first round, lost the second, won the third, and closed it out in the fourth. Melody set her cards down and stared at the ceiling.

"Again," she said.

"Same stakes?" Akira asked.

"Same stakes. The winner takes half pay."

The second set was different, with Melody playing more cautiously.

The games took more time as both players tried to out think the other.

Akira won the first round, while Melody took the next two, lost one, then won the final round.

Melody collected the cards with visible satisfaction. She’d won back her pay.

Akira pointed at her. "One more game."

"Later," Lukas said, closing his book and standing.

Both of them looked at him.

"It’s time." He moved towards the door. "You can finish your games when we get back."