The outpost buzzed with restrained urgency for the next two days, defenders no longer bracing for imminent attack but preparing supplies for a journey that promised to be far stranger than any siege they'd survived so far.
Bellan and Corwin arrived on the first evening, exhausted from their journey but relieved to find the group reunited within the outpost's walls. Bellan's ankle had healed enough to bear weight properly, though a slight limp remained as evidence of the ordeal.
"You made the right call," Bellan said, once Gad had explained the parley and Vesk's offer in full. "As much as it unsettles me to say it."
"You don't sound convinced," Mira said.
"I'm not fully convinced of anything anymore," Bellan admitted. "Not after everything we've learned since Solenne. I've simply run ou
