And from what I understood, they met the requirement.

There were already nodes woven into the vines—points where mana naturally flowed and circulated—and anchor points built into the structure where the garnets could be set and linked without forcing the connection. Jael hadn’t just thrown those walls together; he had designed them with intent, shaping the network so that something like this could slot into place when the time came.

All he needed was the garnets and the chance to use them.

But that chance never came.

"I’ll continue your work, Jael. Watch this poor goblin from the afterlife."

I muttered it under my breath, my gaze drifting toward the window, where the dark sky stretched quietly beyond the base, the stillness of night settling over everything.

Then something clicked.

Right.

The daily quests.

I almost forgot.

For a moment, I just stood there, letting that realization settle, before I let out a quiet breath. Fortunately, there was still enough time left in the day to complete it, so I didn’t waste it. I stepped out of my quarters and got straight to it, moving through the tasks one after the other without dragging things out.

It didn’t take long.

By the time I was done and made my way back, the base had settled into a calmer rhythm, the earlier tension long gone, and as I approached my quarters, I noticed movement.

Zarah had just woken up and was about to step out.

"Chief."

She called out the moment she saw me, and before I could respond, she closed the distance in a quick stride, then jumped slightly, wrapping her arms around my neck as she pulled me into a hug.

I caught her easily, my arms coming around her without hesitation.

And for a moment, I just stayed like that.

Holding her.

Feeling the warmth of her body against mine, steady and real, the kind that grounded you without needing to say anything.

It was... soothing.

We broke apart slowly, and she looked up at me, her expression shifting as she asked if I was okay. I answered, but somewhere between that and the quiet that followed, the distance between us closed again, slower, until it turned into something else entirely.

One moment it was just a brush of lips, light and uncertain, and the next it deepened, the pace changing as the tension we hadn’t addressed found its way out in a different form.

It didn’t stay gentle.

It built, shifted, and before long, we ended up tangled together on the bedding, the weight of everything—from the fight, the exhaustion, the relief—bleeding into it. And by the time it settled, by the time the energy burned out of us, sleep took over just as naturally.

Morning came quietly.

I woke to the sound of knocking, steady and deliberate against the door, pulling me out of whatever was left of my rest. It didn’t take long to recognize who it was.

Narg.

He had come to check on me.

I sat up, letting the last of the grogginess clear as I answered him, telling him I was fine, before giving him instructions to pass along to the others—we’d be having a meeting soon. There were things that needed to be addressed now that we had the garnets, and at the same time, I made it clear that we needed to discuss what he had been doing in the cave before I appeared.

It was of utmost importance that anything capable of benefiting the clan involved me, not because I needed control, but because I needed awareness. And if it turned out to be something that leaned in the opposite direction—something that could bring harm instead of strength—then I would rather it be stopped entirely.

Once he left, I turned my attention back to the room, moving through the usual motions as I prepared for the day, Zarah already up and getting ready as well.

"Did anything happen while I was gone?" I asked, glancing her way.

She didn’t hesitate.

"Well... Thok was everywhere," she said, her tone carrying a faint trace of amusement. "He kept asking if there was anything he could do to impress you. He thought you were angry at him."

I paused slightly at that.

"So Gobbo stepped in," she continued. "Decided the best way to help him was to train him, make him stronger so he could ’earn your approval.’ Thok agreed to it."

She let out a small breath, somewhere between a sigh and a laugh.

"It didn’t go well. He ended up being more of a punching bag than anything else... and passed out before it was over." 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

That wasn’t the kind of update I expected.

But it was fine.

The gigolo getting beaten up was... good news.

"Anything else?" I asked, keeping my tone even.

"I went on a hunt with Talia," she said. "We were trying to find creatures like those monkeys that attack in groups, but we didn’t come across any. I did take down a massive bear, though... but Talia didn’t want to keep going, so we turned back."

She paused briefly, then added quickly, "It was Talia’s idea."

A small smile formed on my face.

She was trying to avoid what happened last time—when she ran after Zivra with Zonk and Gobbo, and I had to step in. She remembered that. Took it seriously enough to make sure I understood she wasn’t acting recklessly on her own.

But the truth was... I hadn’t been planning to scold her.

Even if it had been entirely her idea.

And I didn’t tell her that.

Because this was the line I had to walk.

I wanted to protect her—but I couldn’t cage her.

If I told her to stay within the base, she’d grow restrained, hesitant, second-guessing herself. If I told her to go out freely, then I’d be the one pushing her into risks she didn’t need to take.

So I did the only thing that made sense to me at the moment.

I said nothing.

"Is that all," I asked after a moment, "or is there something else?"

She hesitated this time.

"...There is," she said. "An explosion happened."

I looked at her properly now.

"But it wasn’t anything important."

An explosion? That was definitely not something to brush off.

"What caused it—and where did it happen?"

"Well..." she began, far too casually for what she had just said. "It happened in Flogga’s workshop."

I stopped.

"What? Flogga got into an explosion?"

"Yes," Zarah replied, still composed. "She mixed something wrong, and it went off. It wasn’t that big, it just blew a hole in the building."

Just blew a hole?

Either Zarah was downplaying it because no one got seriously hurt, or her sense of scale for "not big" was completely different from mine. Because anything strong enough to punch a hole through a structure wasn’t something I’d call minor.

"I’m going to see her," I said, already moving toward the stairs.

"She’s alive and fine," Zarah added, her voice calm, almost reassuring, as if that alone should settle it. It didn’t.

It was like hearing your mother got into an accident and choosing not to check on her just because someone said she was fine.

I couldn’t do that.