The lingering scent of smoke and blood clung to the clearing, and the forest still seemed to hold its breath. But despite all of that, Jack’s focus remained on Tanner.

  The man had gone still, his hand unconsciously touching the raw skin of his throat where the collar had once been. His fingers traced the absence of metal, pressing against the flesh as if he expected the cruel device to reappear at any moment. His breathing had become uneven, and his eyes—wide with something close to disbelief—refused to leave the broken pieces of the collar lying in the dirt.

  Jack saw the way his shoulders trembled, the way his entire body tensed as though he couldn’t decide whether to collapse or run.

  “I’m…” Tanner swallowed, the sound rough. His voice, once bitter and guarded, now held an unsteadiness that hadn’t been there before. “I’m free.”

  Lyla watched him carefully, her expression empathetic but wary. Cael, watching with an oddly blank expression, said nothing. The wolves were ignoring the whole thing as they licked each others wounds. The silence stretched between them, thick with a weight none of them could quite define.

  Jack studied Tanner’s face. The man had spent years with that collar digging into his skin, a constant reminder that his life did not belong to him. And now, it was gone.

  The former slave let out a shaky breath. “I never thought…” He trailed off, shaking his head. “I thought I’d die with that thing still around my neck.” He gave a short, breathless laugh, but there was no humor in it. Just exhaustion. Just something hollow, like he hadn’t yet convinced himself this was real.

  Jack couldn’t blame him.

  Tanner’s fingers curled into a fist, his nails digging into his palm. Then, slowly, he looked up at Cael and then Jack, something unreadable in his expression. “…Thank you.”

  That made Jack stiffen slightly. For some reason, he hadn’t quite expected that.

  Tanner let out a slow breath, shaking his head. “I don’t… I don’t know what to do with this.” He gestured vaguely at himself, at the empty space where the collar had been. “I’ve spent so long being that I don’t know how to be anything else.” He gave another hollow laugh, his shoulders sagging. “I don’t know how to be free.”

  Jack met his gaze, then said simply, “Then stay with us.”

  Tanner blinked. “…What?”

  Jack crossed his arms. “You said it yourself. House Aguilar used you as tool. They may not be so happy with losing a Seer. If Faraun or his kin come back, you’re in danger.” His expression hardened. “You need protection, and we need answers. So stay with us. At least for now.”

  Tanner hesitated, as if the idea was so foreign that he didn’t quite know how to process it. Then, after a long moment, he exhaled sharply and nodded. “Alright.”

  Jack accepted that. It was a start.

  But before he could say anything more, Tanner’s expression darkened. His gaze drifted toward something lying beyond the battlefield’s ruined ground. His body tensed, his fingers twitching toward the knife at his belt.

  “Before we go celebrating too much,” he muttered, “we have another problem.”

  Jack followed his gaze—and his stomach dropped.

  An elven woman lay sprawled in the dirt, her long red hair tangled and streaked with soot. Her armor, once polished and pristine, was battered and scorched. She was unmoving, her body limp in the fading light of the battlefield.

  But she was still breathing.

  Cael was the first to react. Without hesitation, he stepped forward and unsheathed his dagger. “I’ll finish it.”

  Tanner didn’t hesitate either. “Good.” His voice was cold. “She deserves worse.”

  Jack immediately stepped between them, his spear barring their path. “Stop.”

  The goblin’s eyes narrowed.

  “Jack, she’s an enemy.”

  Jack didn’t argue that. He seen what she could do. The way she had wielded fire, the way she had fought without hesitation, attacking them without mercy. He understood that leaving her alive was a risk.

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  But killing her like this—when she wasn’t even awake to fight back—felt wrong.

  “We don’t even know who she is,” Jack said. “And more importantly, we don’t know what she ”

  Tanner scoffed. “She’s an What else do you need to know?” His voice was thick with hatred. “One of them. Just like the ones who did this to me. Just like all the others who think we’re nothing but tools to use and discard.” His hands clenched into fists. “Kill her now, before she wakes up and burns us all alive.”

  Jack frowned at him. “…You know her?”

  Tanner let out a humorless laugh. “Not personally. But I know she is.” His lip curled. “That’s Celia Hightower. One of the noble houses of the elves. Her family profits off the same filth that enslaved me. The Hightowers, the Aguilars, the whole damn system—they’re all the same.” His voice dropped, low and seething. “She deserves to die.”

  Jack felt the weight of his words. Tanner’s hatred wasn’t just about her—it was about everything she represented. He could understand that. He even sympathized with it.

  But even so…

  “We don’t kill people in their sleep,” he said, his voice firm.

  Tanner’s jaw tightened. “You think she’d hesitate if it were you lying there?”

  Jack didn’t flinch. “Maybe not. But if we kill her now, we lose any chance of getting information. Faraun might be gone, but Aguilar’sstill exist. And I doubt they’ll simply give up on getting the Dungeon for themselves. You know that.” He nodded toward Celia. “ Information can be greater weapon than any sword or spear. She can tell us things we to know.”

  Cael’s grip on his dagger tightened. Jack could see the tension in his stance, the way his fingers flexed like he was trying to resist an impulse. The old Cael might not have even considered this an argument. But now, after the dagger…

  Jack forced himself not to think about that.

  Finally, Cael exhaled sharply and pulled back, sliding his dagger back into its sheath. “Fine,” he muttered. “But if she tries anything—”

  “Then we deal with it,” Jack finished for him. “On our terms.”

  Tanner looked unconvinced, but he didn’t argue further. Instead, he shook his head in frustration. “This is a mistake,” he muttered.

  Lyla, who had been silent until now, finally stepped forward. “Then let’s make sure she bound.” She knelt beside Celia, summoning thick vines from the ground that curled around the elf’s wrists and ankles. “This should hold her. At least until she wakes up.”

  Jack let out a slow breath, running a hand through his hair. The tension in the clearing remained thick, but the battle was over. At least for now.

  “We can’t stay here,” Lyla said, rising to her feet after securing Celia’s bonds. “If there are more of them lurking around, we’re in no shape to fight. We need to regroup somewhere safe.”

  Jack nodded. “Lyla, your aunt. She lives in her Bondtree, right? If we put Celia next to it can she pull her mind into that weird place she lives?”

  Lyla hesitated for a moment before nodding. “I think she can. I’m not sure if she will but it’s worth a try.”

  “Then we go to her,” Jack decided. “We need to plan our next move, and we need somewhere to keep until we know what to do with her.” He gestured toward Celia.

  Tanner exhaled sharply, glaring down at the unconscious elf. “You’re just full of bad ideas, aren’t you?”

  Jack met his gaze without flinching.

  “Would you rather we wander through the forest with her dragging behind us? Or leave her here for someone else to find?”

  Tanner scowled but didn’t argue. Instead, he kicked at the dirt and muttered, “Fine.”

  Cael glanced at the unconscious elf, then at Jack. “The longer we carry her, the bigger a liability she becomes. We should at least gag her.”

  Lyla nodded in agreement and pulled a strip of cloth from her belt, tying it securely around Celia’s mouth. “That should keep her from burning us alive the moment she wakes up.”

  Jack turned to the rest of the group.

  “Alright. Lyla, you take the lead. Cael, keep an eye on our surroundings.”

  Tanner looked like he wanted to protest but relented with a heavy sigh. Together, they lifted Celia, making sure her bindings were secure before setting off toward the deeper part of the forest where Lyla’s aunt resided.

  The journey was slow. The weight of exhaustion, both physical and mental, bore down on them. Jack wished his companions could help him with carrying Celia. With his high Strength stat it didn’t feel like she weighed much but it was awkward carrying someone over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. But neither of the wolves had fully recovered from their injuries and Jack didn’t want to burden them. He also wanted Lyla unburdened in case they needed some quick spellcasting, and she was the only other spellcaster in their group. He didn’t trust Cael with the elf, and he wasn’t going to ask a former slave to help carry a slavemaster. Tanner remained quiet for most of the trek, his gaze shifting warily at every sound the forest made. Jack could tell he wasn’t used to traveling freely—every step seemed measured, uncertain. As if he half-expected someone to drag him back into chains.

  Cael, on the other hand, had grown increasingly silent since the fight ended. He moved with the same sharp focus, but Jack noticed the tension in his jaw, the way his fingers twitched near his dagger. Ever since he’d taken that cursed weapon, something had changed in him. And Jack wasn’t sure if it was for the better.

  To distract himself, he glanced at the notifications he had been ignoring and found something that surprised him.

  [You have completed a Quest:

  Save the Forest

  Objective: Clear the Dungeon

  Rewards: 25,000 Experience, Attunement Crystal]

  Jack had completely forgotten about the Quest he had gotten before heading into the Dungeon. If he had any doubts about his Quest being completed, when a glowing yellow crystal popped into existence above his hand. He almost missed catching it and made a mental note to invest more into Dexterity before examining his reward.

  [Light Attunement Crystal

  Rarity: Epic

  Quality: Pristine

  Properties: Grants the Light Attunement to a single person upon use. Consumed upon activation.

  Description: A radiant crystal imbued with the essence of pure light. When absorbed, it aligns the user’s energy with the Light element, allowing them to harness its power. Its power fades after a single use.]