Dawn in Valcrest arrived with mist.

Nathan woke first, as he had been doing since they left Greywall. The warehouse habit remained firm, even after everything. He dressed in silence so as not to wake Liaraen, who slept in the other bed with her braid undone over her shoulder and a deep, calm breathing that Nathan envied slightly.

He went down to the communal house.

Nera was already in the kitchen preparing breakfast. Without asking, she served him a cup of a hot infusion that tasted of toasted root and honey, along with two slices of dark bread with fresh butter. Nathan ate sitting by the window as the sun began to filter through the mist covering the valley.

Tomen entered the communal house half an hour later.

He served himself a cup. Sat across from Nathan.

"Did you sleep well last night?"

"Enough."

"I made the decision."

"About what?"

"About the dungeon."

Tomen nodded slowly. Drank from his cup.

"Which is?"

"I’m going to keep the plan. With extreme caution."

"Mmh."

"It’s not an easy decision."

"It’s not a decision I support. But it’s your decision, not mine."

"I appreciate the distinction."

"Nathan."

"Yes?"

"One thing. Before you leave. I’m going to give you something."

Tomen took from his jacket’s inner pocket a small pouch of dark cloth, roughly the size of a fist. He placed it on the table between them. The pouch made a small sound of small stone against cloth as it settled.

"What is it?"

"Open it."

Nathan opened the pouch. Inside was a small, round stone, approximately the size of a walnut. It was a pale gray that seemed slightly different depending on how the light fell. Nathan took it out. Held it between his index finger and thumb. The stone weighed more than its size suggested.

"It’s a return stone," Tomen said. "Old. Pre-Pantheon. There are only a few known across the continent. This is one we’ve had here in Valcrest for generations, kept by the coordinators for serious emergency cases."

"What does it do?"

"When you press it firmly against the skin of your neck, specifically over your pulse, and say the name of the place you want to return to out loud, it transports you to the last safe place you visited within the last twenty-four hours. Only once. The stone breaks when used. It’s not reusable."

Nathan stared at the stone.

"What if I’m with Liaraen when I use it?"

"If you’re holding it and she’s touching you when you activate it, you’re both transported. Direct physical contact. Not just close. Contact."

"I deeply appreciate the gesture."

"It’s not a gesture. It’s a tool for specific use. If something happens inside the dungeon and the two of you can’t get out by ordinary means, the stone gives you an exit."

"And the last safe location would be Valcrest?"

"It would be Valcrest if you activate it today within twenty-four hours of having been here. After that, the location updates to the last Veil settlement you’ve visited."

Nathan closed his hand around the stone.

*This is worth more than I can calculate.*

*And Tomen is handing it to me for nothing.*

"Tomen."

"Yes?"

"Why?"

"Because you’re carrying Lady Sael’thoryn. Because her house helped Valcrest twenty-one years ago. Because a young Hunter who decides to enter a pre-Pantheon dungeon knowing the Veil communities actively avoid it deserves at least an emergency exit. And because, honestly, I’d rather lose a return stone than know that two people who stayed under my roof died in a place I could have tried to prevent."

"Understood."

"The stone is yours. Use it if you need it. Return it intact if you don’t. Either option is acceptable to us."

"Accepted."

Nathan tucked the stone into the deepest inner pocket of his jacket—the one most protected by double stitching. Tomen nodded once, finished his cup, and stood from the table.

"The day three road is quiet. Light forest. Three water crossings. No intermediate settlement. The next Veil settlement is about eight hours of steady travel away. It’s called Marren. Sixty people. Senior coordinator: Halden. He has the implicit introduction letter from Selene, the same one you have. He’s a quiet man. Don’t make unnecessary conversation. Just the essentials. Neither he nor you will waste time."

"Noted."

"Safe travels, Nathan."

"Safe travels, Tomen."

Tomen left the communal house.

Nathan sat for a few more moments, staring at the bread he no longer felt like finishing.

*Tomen knows something he didn’t specifically tell me.*

*The level of caution he’s taking with me, the return stone, the extra warning—none of that is just professional courtesy.*

*And yet he’s giving me the tool.*

*That’s a specific way of telling me "I can’t stop you from going in, but I can try to get you out."*

*Good.*

*I’m going to carry that energy as part of the calculation.*

---

Liaraen woke an hour later.

She came down to the kitchen with her braid redone, her travel clothes on.

Nera served her breakfast. Liaraen ate while talking with Nera about a specific fermentation technique she’d remembered during the night and wanted to write down for her before leaving.

When they finished, Nathan and Liaraen gathered their things from the room.

Nathan checked the horse in the community stable. It was rested. Fed. Brushed. Nera had sent one of the community’s teenagers to care for it during the night—a boy named Berin who’d developed obvious affection for the animal after just one night.

"Take care of him, Mr. Nathan."

"I will."

*He called me mister... Do I really look that worn out?*

They loaded the cart. Adjusted the provisions. Liaraen said her formal goodbyes to Nera, who received them with an inclination.

Tomen appeared at the settlement entrance when the cart was already heading toward the road.

He gave Nathan a small gesture.

Nathan returned it.

No words were needed.

The cart left Valcrest.

And Nathan, as the settlement receded into the dissipating mist, felt the return stone in his pocket with the clear awareness that he was going to need it. He didn’t know it specifically. But he knew it with that strategic certainty his Class had been giving him with increasing frequency.

*I’m going to use it. At some point. I’m going to use it.*

*But not before it’s necessary.*