The hideout didn't welcome us.
It never did.
It just… accepted us back.
Cold stone walls. The same narrow corridors. The same training grounds carved into the mountain like scars. Nothing had changed.
Only us.
We stepped out of the wagon one by one, boots crunching against the thin layer of frost. The air here was sharper than in the city. It is clean but unforgiving.
"Back to hell," Theo muttered, stretching his arms.
"…you say that every time," Agni replied.
"And I'm right every time."
Robert walked past them without a word, already heading toward the training yard.
That was enough signal.
We followed.
No one needed to say it.
***
We kept doing our training as usual.
Carrying water before sunrise, when the cold bit through our fingers and made the buckets feel heavier than they were. Physical training after that, swinging sword, core training, survival training, and repeat. Then running to the village, back and forth along the same frozen path with our breathing synchronized with the rhythm of our steps.
Study in the afternoon. Words, theories, strategy.
And at the end of the day, mana control.
Or sparring.
Or something worse that Spiro decided to call "training."
The routine was tiring.
But it wasn't hard.
Not anymore.
***
Each of us received 50,000 gold from Spiro. The bag was heavy.
"Our share from the gambling den," he said casually, like it wasn't enough money to change a normal life.
I didn't know what to do with it.
So I didn't.
I stored it in a small chest assigned to me. Locked. Untouched.
It felt… wrong to use it.
Like spending it meant something I didn't understand yet.
Theo, on the other hand…
"We're rich now," he announced one evening, tossing a coin into the air and catching it again.
Agni glanced at him. "…and?"
"And nothing," Theo replied, dropping the coin back into his pouch. "There's nothing to spend it on."
"…you complained about being poor before," Agni said.
"Yeah, well, at least then it meant something."
Pritha tilted her head. "We can buy food."
Theo looked at her.
"…we already eat."
"But better food," she insisted. "Sweet things. Warm things."
Her eyes lit up slightly.
Theo paused.
"…okay, that's valid."
Margaretha scoffed quietly. "Money is irrelevant."
Theo pointed at her. "That's because you've never been broke."
"…I still don't care."
Robert, sitting nearby, didn't even look up. "…keep the money safely."
We all turned to him.
"In case we need it."
That was it.
No explanation.
But it made sense.
So we stopped talking about it.
***
"We will have a Winter Solstice Festival in two weeks."
Spiro's voice cut through the usual end-of-training exhaustion.
We looked up.
"…so it's already the end of the year, huh?" Theo said, a bit more energy in his voice than usual.
"It's been six months," Margaretha added quietly. "Since we started training together."
Six months.
It didn't feel like time.
It felt like something else.
Like layers.
Stacking.
Pressing down.
"What do we do at the festival?" Pritha asked, eyes already bright.
Spiro shrugged slightly. "From what I've heard, eat, drink, listen to the Master's speech. That's all."
"That's all?" Theo repeated. "That sounds boring."
Pritha shook her head quickly. "No, it sounds nice."
Theo grinned. "Of course you'd say that."
"…what?" she blinked.
"You just want food."
"…yes."
Agni sighed. "…honest."
Margaretha crossed her arms. "If there's an evaluation, that's what matters."
Theo groaned. "Why do you always ruin things?"
"I don't ruin them. I prioritize correctly."
"Same thing."
Pritha giggled softly.
For a moment…
It felt normal.
***
The hideout began to change.
It was subtle at first.
More footsteps in the corridors.
More voices echoing in the distance.
Then more people.
Returning.
One by one.
Groups arriving from different directions, their clothes worn, their expressions calmer than I expected.
Relaxed.
Like they had been somewhere… easier.
We were training mana control one late afternoon when we saw him along with his group.
Havan.
Pritha's brother.
Agni's brother.
He walked into the yard with steady steps, his presence heavier than most but not suffocating like before.
"Big brother!"
Pritha ran to him immediately, wrapping her arms around him.
Havan smiled.
A real one.
He lifted her easily, holding her like she weighed nothing.
"Are you okay, Pritha?"
His voice was warm.
Completely different from the cold pressure I remembered during the hall meeting months ago.
"Yeah, brother! So many things happened last month…"
She started talking rapidly, clinging to him.
A side of her we never saw.
"Tell me later," Havan said gently, putting her down. "I need to report first."
Agni stepped forward.
"…we survived."
Simple. Direct.
Havan looked at him.
"…good."
Then he reached out and patted Agni's head.
"You did well. Protecting her."
Agni didn't respond.
But I saw it.
The slight lift at the corner of his lips.
Small.
But real.
Suddenly, something twisted in my chest.
I didn't understand it at first.
Then…
I did.
A memory surfaced.
My brother.
Standing in front of me.
Bleeding.
Still smiling.
"Run."
I clenched my hand.
Too tight.
The feeling is spreading. It was heavy and suffocating.
Not of strength.
Not of power.
But of something simpler.
Something I couldn't name properly.
Something I didn't have anymore.
"Rick."
Margaretha's voice was close and sharp.
"…you're staring."
I looked away immediately.
"…sorry."
Robert stepped slightly in front of me.
Not obvious.
But enough.
A shield.
"Focus," he said quietly.
I nodded.
The feeling didn't disappear.
But it dulled.
Pritha and Agni didn't notice.
That was good.
"…where's Spiro?" Havan asked, looking around.
"I don't know," Theo said casually. "Probably sleeping."
A hand smacked the back of his head.
"…ow!"
Spiro stood behind him.
"…I'm not."
Theo rubbed his head. "…you appeared out of nowhere again."
"What is it, Havan?" Spiro asked.
"I have something for you. Let's go to Master."
Havan smiled.
Something about it felt… off.
Not dangerous.
But not simple either.
Spiro nodded.
The two of them and the rest of Havan's group walked toward the inner hideout.
***
Three days later.
We had just returned from the village.
The supply runs were heavier than usual.
More food.
More materials.
Preparation.
The festival was getting closer.
Theo, Margaretha, and Pritha talked about it constantly.
Food.
Fire.
What it would look like.
Even Robert listened this time.
From a distance, we saw another group arriving.
Elder Patriakis.
Elder Duvent.
Their presence was different.
Heavier.
Older.
Like the walls themselves acknowledged them.
Margaretha immediately stood up.
"…father."
She didn't wait.
She walked, no, almost ran, toward Elder Duvent.
No hesitation.
Not fear.
Something else.
We watched her disappear into the corridor beside him.
Theo leaned slightly toward me.
"…family everywhere."
I didn't respond.
Because I couldn't stop thinking—
About what that meant.
***
Everybody was back at the hideout.
We see them coming while training in the field outside.
They passed us with simple nods.
Acknowledgment.
Nothing more.
I tightened my grip on the folded paper in my pocket.
The hideout wasn't just filling with people.
It was filled with weight, expectation and pressure.
And something else.
Something that felt…
Like the calm before something irreversible.
Winter was coming.
And with it…
The festival.
And whatever came after that…
Would change everything again.