Damien rode Aquila back to the town in the same way he'd left—swiftly and unnoticed. The griffin landed in the same shadowed alleyway it had previously taken off from, its wings folding with grace.
As Damien dismounted, his sharp eyes caught something unusual on the mission scroll in his hand. A tiny black design had appeared in the top corner of the parchment, one that hadn't been there when he first took the job.
Curious, he turned the scroll over, examining the mark closely. Though he couldn't decipher its meaning, Damien instinctively knew it was significant.
"Hmm!" With a slight shrug, he tucked the scroll under his arm and made his way back to the Mercenary office.
The office was relatively quiet when Damien stepped inside, the steady hum of conversation from a few mercenaries in the corner filling the space.
