We moved in quickly, the mood entirely transformed. The grim tension from the Glutton fight and the earlier Spire Messenger encounter was replaced by focused, profitable work. Finn and Lyra started the grisly task of skinning and harvesting, their movements practiced and efficient. They showed me how to carefully remove the iridescent feathers and extract the small, pulsating sacs from the serpents' jaws without rupturing them.
"See?" Finn said, holding up a perfectly extracted sac. "This little beauty can tip an arrow or a blade. The soul-shock isn't lethal, but it'll stun anything short of a Fallen for a good ten seconds. Gives you all the time in the world to finish the job." I nodded, storing the information away. It was a useful tool, one I hadn't considered before.
The work was messy, but it felt productive. For the first time since joining this group, we were accomplishing a goal without disaster or near-death experiences. The simple, mundane act of harvesting, of building a tangible resource, was a strange comfort. I played my part, the eager apprentice, asking questions and following their instructions to the letter.
"Not bad for a couple of newcomers," Lyra commented as she packed a bundle of pristine feathers into her pack. She gave me a appraising look, the suspicion in her eyes having lessened considerably. "You two might just work out after all." I offered a modest smile. "We're just trying to pull our weight."
Within twenty minutes, our packs were bulging with valuable materials. We had stripped the nest clean. As we exited the building, the quality of the light had changed. The oppressive, constant gloom of the Dark City was deepening, the crimson hue from the Spire above growing richer as the unseen sun began to recede. "Right on time," Finn said, hefting his heavy pack. "Let's not press our luck. Back to the Castle."
The return journey was swift and, for once, entirely uneventful. We encountered no more monsters, no more bizarre obstacles. The ruins were silent except for our footsteps. The success of the final leg of the mission seemed to have lifted a weight off all of us, even Sasrir, whose silence felt less menacing and more contemplative.
The guards at the Bright Castle gate gave our bloodied but heavily-laden group a nod of respect as we passed through. The look of schadenfreude from the morning was gone, replaced by a professional acknowledgment. We had returned successful, and in this place, that was all that mattered. We headed straight for the quartermaster's station to log our haul.
As the valuable feathers and venom sacs were counted and stored, I felt a small sense of accomplishment. It was a façade, of course, a single step on a much longer and darker path. But for today, we had played our parts perfectly. We had proven our utility, saved two seasoned Hunters, and secured valuable resources. As the castle's gloom enveloped us once more, it felt a little less like a prison and a little more like a base of operations. The game was afoot, and we were finally learning how to play.
Of course, the most important thing was making sure our value was appreciated by Gemma. Impressing him, and the big man behind him, was our end goal. Still, I enjoyed working with other people, and being able to talk to someone who didn't already know my mind like the back of his hand.
As much as Sasrir dumbed himself down for me, our thought processes were still too similar to really feel like I was exchanging opinions and values with an actual separate person. He was me and I was him, after all.
I was snapped out of my thoughts by the sound of approaching footsteps. Looking up, I saw Gemma approaching me with Kora and Finn by his side. Glancing between me and Sasrir, he gestured for us to follow with his chin. As we walked down the blackened corridors, he started the conversation.
"Well, I heard the review of your mettle, and I can't say it was too shabby. That trinket you have on you, what's its upper limit?"
"Well, apart from blinding humans if aimed at the face, it can probably burst a hole through a creature made of shadow or corruption. If they're covered in scales or armour though it probably won't work as well" I lied smoothly, downplaying the power of the Unshadowed Crucifix but still within the bounds of usefulness.
It seemed to work, as Gemma no longer paid attention to me and instead focused on Sasrir. "As for your, Mr Black, I'm much more impressed. Finn here told me that you dealt with a dozen Feathered Serpents by yourself in just a few minutes? Without even getting a scratch, at that."
"It was just type advantage" Sasrir deflected the thinly-veiled probing. "They have no way of hurting me so long as I remain in shadow form, though I have to materialise to harm them in turn." A lie, he could form weapons while still hiding, but Gemma didn't need to know that. Especially about the Shadow Curse.
Gemma surveyed him with narrowed eyes but didn't press any further. We had arrived at a room I recognised as being a hotspot for Hunters, and had a solid guess what was going on. Sure enough, Gemma swung the door open to reveal a row of beds and other teenagers scattered about.
"Welcome to the Hunter's Quarters, where you will be staying for quite a while. In other words, congratulations of being hired. Any bed without a jacket on it is free, pick whatever one you like."