Three days.
That was how long it took for the story to spread. In a village as small and starved for entertainment as Millbrook, news traveled with the speed of a forest fire. By the end of the first day, every farmer on the east side knew that the orphan Kael and the tanner Brenn had cleared the leech nest. By the second day, the story had mutated the leeches had grown to the size of men, and Kael had supposedly wrestled their queen with his bare hands. By the third day, a delegation of farmers appeared at the cellar door with a fresh-killed pig and a request.
Kael accepted the pig with thanks, handed it to Elara for butchering, and listened to the farmers' problem with a practiced ear.
"It's the old logging road," said a man named Theron, a wiry farmer with a permanent stoop from a lifetime of bending over crops. "The winter storms brought down half a dozen old growth pines across it. We need that road clear to get our grain to the miller before the spring rains turn the ground to soup."
"Why not ask the Baron's steward?" Kael asked, though he already knew the answer.
Theron's face darkened. "Steward Valdris said it's 'not a matter of noble concern.' Said if we want it cleared, we can pay the road tax. Five silver. For a road his own men let fall into ruin."
Five silver. A fortune for farmers who lived harvest to harvest. Kael's jaw tightened. The Baron's steward was squeezing the village dry while providing nothing in return. It was the kind of inefficiency that made Ethan's project manager soul scream in frustration.
"How many trees?" Kael asked.
"Six. Three are massive. The others are manageable."
Kael's mind was already working. The leech quest had given them 50 XP. They needed only 5 more for the guild hall upgrade. A logging quest would easily cover that. But more importantly, it would expand their reputation beyond the farmers. The miller was a key figure in the village. If they could get grain moving again, they'd have leverage.
He glanced at the system window that only he could see.
[Quest Board]
Available Quests:
Clear the Old Logging Road
Objective: Remove six fallen trees blocking the main transport route to the mill.
Reward: 30 Guild XP, 3 Silver, +5 Reputation (Millbrook Farmers), +10 Reputation (Miller's Guild)
[Warning: The road is known territory for a small pack of Grayback Wolves. Increased activity reported in the area.]
Wolves. Of course. Nothing in this world came without a complication.
"We'll do it," Kael said. "But the price is eight silver."
Theron's face fell. "Eight? We can barely scrape together five for the steward—"
"The steward wasn't going to clear the wolves," Kael interrupted. "I am. The trees are one problem. The wolves that have been taking your sheep are another. We'll handle both."
The farmers exchanged glances. Theron's wife, a stout woman with hands like hams, spoke up. "You can handle wolves? With just you and Brenn?"
"We're recruiting," Kael said. "And we're not going to fight them head-on. We're going to be smarter than they are."
He saw the skepticism on their faces. He'd earned some trust with the leeches, but wolves were a different order of threat. Wolves meant teeth and speed and pack tactics. Wolves meant bodies.
"Three days," Kael said. "Give us three days. If the road isn't clear by then, you owe us nothing."
Theron studied him for a long moment. Then he nodded slowly. "Three days. You get the road clear and deal with those wolves, and we'll find the silver. Even if we have to scrape every copper we've got."
They left, and Kael turned to Brenn, who had been leaning against the cellar wall, arms crossed.
"Wolves," Brenn said flatly.
"Wolves."
"You know I'm a tanner, not a hunter."
"You're a man who knows how to set traps and skin animals. That's more than most."
Brenn shook his head, but there was no real heat in it. "And where are we getting these 'recruits' you keep talking about? Last I checked, the village isn't exactly overflowing with wolf hunters."
Kael had been thinking about that. The system required members. Not just bodies, but people with skills that could be developed. He needed someone who knew the forest, who could track, who understood how predators thought.
Kael's borrowed memories supplied a name. A person the village avoided. Someone who lived on the fringes, both geographically and socially.
"Rina," Kael said.
Brenn's expression flickered. "The woodcutter's daughter? The one they say is cursed?"
"The one who's been living alone in her father's cabin since he died last winter. The one who knows these woods better than anyone alive."
Brenn was quiet for a moment. "People say she's touched. That she talks to the forest. That's why no one goes near her."
"People also said I was dead in a ditch," Kael replied. "People say a lot of things."
He grabbed a piece of dried meat from the supply Elara had organized she'd taken over logistics without being asked, another reason Kael valued her and headed for the cellar stairs.
"You're going now?" Brenn called after him.
"We have three days. I'm not wasting daylight."
The forest at the edge of Millbrook was different from the cultivated land around the village. It was older, darker, the trees thick and close together, their branches forming a canopy that filtered the sunlight into a muted green gloom. The air smelled of damp earth and decaying leaves, and the silence was punctuated by the calls of birds Kael didn't recognize.
Rina's cabin was a half-hour walk from the village, a small structure of rough-hewn logs with a roof of patched bark. A thin curl of smoke rose from a stone chimney. A stack of firewood, cut with meticulous precision, stood against one wall.
Kael approached slowly, making no effort to hide his presence. Surprising a solitary woman in the woods was a good way to get an axe in the face.
He was ten feet from the door when it opened.
She was younger than he'd expected maybe seventeen, with sharp features and dark hair pulled back in a practical braid. Her eyes were the color of winter sky, pale and unsettlingly direct. She held a hand axe loosely at her side, not raised, but ready.
"You're the one they say came back from the dead," she said. Her voice was low, without inflection.
"That's one story," Kael said. "I prefer the one where I just got up and walked away."
She tilted her head, studying him. "What do you want?"
"I need someone who knows the forest. Someone who can track wolves and set traps. Someone who isn't afraid of things the village whispers about."
Her eyes narrowed. "And you came to me."
"The village says you're cursed. I say you've survived alone in these woods for a year after your father died. That's not a curse. That's competence."
Something flickered in her expression surprise, maybe, or the faintest crack in her armor. She looked at the axe in her hand, then back at him.
"They say you started a guild," she said. "That you killed leeches with boiling water and salt."
"That's accurate."
"And now you want to hunt wolves."
"I want to clear a road. The wolves are in the way. I'd rather move them than fight them, but I'm prepared to do either."
She was quiet for a long moment. Then she stepped back, pulling the door open wider. "Come in. If you're going to get me killed, I want to know the plan first."
The cabin was sparse but meticulously organized. A single room with a bed in one corner, a table in the center, and a hearth against the far wall. Dried herbs hung from the rafters. Skins rabbit, squirrel, what looked like a fox were stretched on frames near the window. A bow and a quiver of arrows hung on pegs by the door.
Kael took a seat at the table as Rina moved to the hearth, stirring something in a pot that smelled of rabbit and wild garlic.
"Tell me about the wolves," he said.
She didn't turn around. "Graybacks. A pack of six, maybe seven. They've been pushing closer to the village since winter. The old alpha was killed by a hunter last fall. The new one is younger, more aggressive. They've taken three sheep from the east pastures and a goat from the miller's own stock."
"You've seen them?"
"I've tracked them. Their territory is the old logging road and the ridge above it. They den in a cave about a mile past the fallen trees."
Kael absorbed the information. Six or seven wolves. A new, aggressive alpha. A den that could be used against them.
"If we clear the trees, will they move on?"
She finally turned, ladle in hand. "No. The road is their hunting ground. They won't give it up without a fight. But…" She paused, her eyes flickering to the window, to the forest beyond. "Wolves are creatures of habit. They follow the alpha. If something happened to the alpha, the pack would fracture. The new leader would be weaker, less confident. They might retreat deeper into the forest."
"You're suggesting we kill the alpha."
"I'm suggesting that's the only way to make them leave without killing all of them. And killing six wolves with three people is a fool's errand."
Kael leaned back. She was sharp. Strategic. She understood that brute force was the worst option. She was exactly what he needed.
"What's your price?" he asked.
She brought two bowls to the table, setting one in front of him. "You said your guild pays fairly for work. What's fair for a wolf hunt?"
"Thirty percent of the quest reward. Plus first pick of any usable materials from the wolves. Hides, teeth, claws. That's your domain."
She sat across from him, her pale eyes fixed on his face. "And what do I get besides silver?"
"A place. People who won't whisper about curses. Work that matters. And a share in something that's going to be a lot bigger than a cabin in the woods."
She ate in silence for a moment, considering. Then she set down her spoon.
"My father taught me to hunt. To trap. To read the forest. He said those skills would keep me alive when the village turned its back. He was right." She looked at the axe by her bed, then back at Kael. "But being alive isn't the same as living."
She extended her hand across the table. Her grip was firm, her palm calloused.
"I'll join your guild. But if you treat me like the village does, I'll leave. And I won't come back."
Kael took her hand. "If I treat you like the village does, you'll have every right to leave."
[System Notification!]
[New Member Registered: Rina]
Class: Tracker (Potential: [Ranger], [Scout], or [Beast Master] paths unlocked)
Skills: Tracking (Intermediate), Archery (Basic), Trapping (Intermediate), Forest Lore (Advanced)
Loyalty: Suspicious
[Unique Trait Detected: Forest Whisperer]
Effect: Rina possesses an innate connection to forest ecosystems. Monsters within forest terrain have reduced aggression toward her. Chance to detect hidden threats doubled in wooded areas.
[Party Formed: Kael, Brenn, Rina]
Quest: Clear the Old Logging Road – Status: Active
Kael looked at the new information, then at the woman across from him. She was more than a tracker. She was a potential game-changer. The system recognized something special in her, something the village had called a curse.
He thought about the wolves, about the road, about the Baron's steward who was squeezing the village dry. He thought about the guild hall upgrade that was just out of reach, and the new members he needed to recruit.
Three days. They had three days to clear a road, deal with a wolf pack, and prove that the Millbrook Guild was more than a madman's dream.
He finished his rabbit stew, thanked Rina for the meal, and headed back to the village with a new plan forming in his mind. A plan that involved fire, traps, and one very angry alpha wolf.
Back at the cellar, Brenn was waiting with news.
"You've got visitors," he said, his face grim. "The kind that don't bring gifts."
Kael descended the stairs to find two men waiting in the candlelight. They weren't farmers. Their clothes were too fine, their boots too clean. The taller one had the look of a soldier—broad shoulders, a sword at his hip, and the particular stillness of a man who had learned to wait for violence. The other was thinner, with oiled hair and a smile that didn't reach his eyes.
"Kael," the thin man said, his voice smooth as poison. "I'm Vex, steward's assistant. My master has heard interesting things about you. About a 'guild.'"
Kael's heart rate didn't change. His face showed nothing. Inside, his mind was racing.
They noticed faster than I expected. Time to see how much they know.
"I'm flattered the steward takes an interest in village gossip," Kael said, keeping his voice neutral.
Vex's smile widened. "Oh, it's more than gossip. Clearing leeches. Taking payment from farmers. And now I hear you're planning to clear the logging road. Doing the steward's work for him. How… ambitious."
The soldier behind him shifted slightly, a subtle movement that brought his hand closer to his sword.
"The farmers needed help," Kael said. "I provided it. That's what a guild does."
"A guild," Vex repeated, savoring the word. "And who authorized this guild? Which noble house granted you the charter to conduct business, to take payment, to act as a force in this barony?"
The trap was clear. Guilds didn't exist in this world. There was no process for authorization. Whatever Kael built existed in a legal void, and that void was exactly where people like Vex could crush it.
Kael met his gaze. "The authority of solving problems people are willing to pay for. The authority of doing work the steward seems unwilling or unable to do himself."
The smile finally dropped from Vex's face. "Careful, gutter-rat. You're speaking of a noble's representative."
"I'm speaking facts. The leeches were killing livestock. The road is blocking grain shipments. Both problems affect the steward's tax collection. I solved one. I'm solving the other. If the steward wants to authorize my guild, I'd be happy to discuss terms. If he wants to stop me, he can explain to the Baron why grain isn't reaching the silos and why farmers are losing livestock they can't afford to replace."
The silence that followed was thick enough to cut. Vex's eyes glittered with cold calculation. The soldier's hand was now definitely on his sword.
Brenn, who had been standing in the shadows, stepped forward. He wasn't a fighter, but he was a large man who knew how to use his bulk. Elara appeared at the top of the stairs, a cleaver in one hand and a look on her face that suggested she'd used it on more than meat.
Vex looked at them, then back at Kael. He laughed—a short, sharp sound with no humor in it.
"You've got teeth," he said. "Good. Toothless dogs don't last long. But remember this: the steward is patient. He's seen a hundred ambitious gutter-rats come and go. You solve a few problems, you get a little coin, you think you're someone. But you're not. You're nothing. And when you become something worth noticing, he'll notice. And then…" He made a gesture, fingers flicking outward. "Gone."
He turned and walked to the stairs, the soldier falling in behind him. At the top, Vex paused.
"Three days for your road. After that, the steward will be collecting the road tax. Whether the road is clear or not." He smiled again, the expression as pleasant as a knife wound. "Good luck, Guild Master."
They left. The cellar was very quiet.
Brenn let out a long breath. "Well. That could have gone worse."
"It could have gone a lot better," Kael said. His hands were steady, but his mind was churning. The steward had given them a deadline. Three days to clear the road, or they'd be taxed anyway. And if they succeeded, they'd be noticed. Exactly the kind of attention Kael had hoped to delay.
But delay was a luxury they no longer had.
He looked at his party, at the people who had chosen to stand with him. Brenn, the tanner who wanted a better life for his family. Elara, who had brought soup to a dying man and now guarded his door with a cleaver. Rina, the cursed woodcutter's daughter who was probably the most capable hunter in the village.
Three people. Three days. A pack of wolves. A road to clear. And now a noble's steward who saw them as a problem to be eliminated.
Kael had managed failing projects before. He'd turned them around with careful planning, resource allocation, and a refusal to accept failure as an option.
This was no different. The stakes were just higher.
"Change of plans," he said, his voice calm and steady. "We're not just clearing the road. We're sending a message."
"What kind of message?" Elara asked from the stairs.
Kael looked at the system window, at the quest that awaited them, at the upgrade that was so close he could taste it.
"That the Millbrook Guild solves problems. And that anyone who tries to squeeze this village dry is going to find their problems solved too."
He pulled out the charcoal and began drawing on the barrel again. He had a pack of wolves to hunt, a road to clear, and a steward to humble.
The project had just gotten a lot more complicated.
He wouldn't have it any other way.