Kane woke up with an ache radiating through his chest. His two cracked ribs still hurt when he breathed deeply, but they felt highly functional after a night of rest and Thora’s magical healing.

He sat up slowly and rubbed the sleep from his eyes, testing his range of motion. He scanned the room and noticed Kessa was gone.

Her traveling pack was missing from its spot in the far corner.

’Did she run away?’ Kane thought, feeling a brief flash of irritation.

’It would be a shame to lose someone with that much potential just because she got scared of the magical bond.’

For four seconds, he genuinely believed she had taken her things and left permanently.

He assumed the beastwoman had just used him for a safe place to sleep before skipping town.

Then a loud, commanding voice drifted up from the courtyard below his window.

Kane pushed the blankets aside and walked over to the glass.

Kessa stood proudly in the center of the dusty training circle below.

She was already drilling Brak and the rest of the Bloodfang warriors, barking harsh corrections at their sloppy footwork while effortlessly pushing two of his tallest men backward with her bare hands.

"You’re stepping too wide," Kessa yelled at Brak, sweeping his leg out from under him.

"If you plant your feet like a tree, a fast opponent will just chop you down. Stay loose and keep your center of gravity low."

Sira stood right beside Kane at the window with her arms crossed tightly over her chest. She watched the striped beastwoman dismantle Brak’s spear guard for several minutes before letting out a quiet sigh.

"She’s good," Sira admitted reluctantly.

"She’s useful," Kane replied, keeping his eyes on the courtyard below.

"You always say that."

"It keeps being true."

Kane turned away from the glass and walked back to the center of the room.

Thora was already dressed in her armor for the day. She had visited the early morning market and spread fresh food neatly across the small wooden table.

She handed Kane a warm portion of roasted meat and sweet bread without any unnecessary ceremony.

The domestic routine felt completely natural to them now. They ate in comfortable silence while the sounds of combat training continued outside.

’Everyone knows their role and executes it perfectly. Kessa is already proving her worth by elevating the men, and Thora is keeping the core group stable. The pieces are falling right into place.’

Firlia arrived within the hour.

She didn’t sneak through back alleys or wear a hooded cloak to hide her face this time. She walked right up to the front door of the inn in broad daylight and knocked firmly on the wood.

Kane opened the door and invited her inside.

That small change in her behavior told him everything he needed to know about her current state of mind.

She was no longer acting like a terrified victim hiding from her royal blackmailer and had finally chosen a side.

Firlia sat down at the table and unrolled a large stack of stolen tournament parchments. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

She brought the full details of Lothburk’s underground arrangements and the prince’s cheating network.

"Prince Aelrindor has been very busy behind the scenes," Firlia began, pointing a manicured finger at the bracket lines.

"These three matches were fixed last week. The prince paid those specific fighters a fortune to take early falls in the arena. More importantly, we need to look at the quarterfinal brackets right here."

Kane leaned over the table to inspect the names written in elegant elven script.

"The prince is scheduled to fight a veteran dwarven champion in the quarterfinals," Firlia explained, tracing the line with her nail.

"But the dwarf is already bought and paid for. He has been deliberately placed in that spot to lose on purpose. The prince wants to reach the semifinals without fighting a real match so he can stay rested for the championship."

Kane listened to everything she said without interrupting her flow.

He absorbed the complicated political web Aelrindor was weaving to secure his inevitable victory.

The elven royalty loved to preach about honor and tradition, yet they rigged their own sacred games just to protect their fragile egos.

’He pretends to be this untouchable god of the arena, but he pays gold to ensure he never has to sweat.’

"So he removes unknown variables before they can become actual problems," Kane said, pouring himself a cup of water.

When she finally finished detailing the corrupted brackets, Kane leaned back in his wooden chair and crossed his arms.

"Is there anyone else the prince controls the same way he controls you?" Kane asked.

Firlia hesitated.

Her red eyes darted toward the window for a split second before looking back at him. She swallowed nervously.

"The seer," Firlia answered quietly.

Kane went still.

"She has been reporting your movements to the prince since the very day you entered the city," Firlia continued, her voice barely above a whisper.

"He thinks she is loyal to the elven throne. She has been feeding him information about you specifically, including where you sleep and who you recruit to your cause."

Kane processed this new information carefully.

He thought back to their strange encounter on the street.

’She’s been reporting to the prince this whole time,’ Kane thought, piecing the complicated puzzle together in his mind.

’But she also warned me directly about hidden blades and cages.’

He stood up and began pacing the length of the room.

’Seers always have a hidden agenda,’ Kane analyzed, staring at the floorboards.

’They see the threads of fate, so they know who is going to win before the war even starts. That means she is playing both sides of this war. If she were loyal to the crown, she never would have warned a foreign barbarian about the prince’s schemes. She wants something from me that the prince simply cannot give her.’

"Set up a meeting," Kane told Firlia, his voice firm and decisive.

"Tonight. Just her and me in a private location."

Firlia nodded quickly and gathered her stolen parchments.

"I will send a messenger to her tower immediately. Be careful, Kane. Seers don’t play the same political games we do. They live in a different reality."

"I’m very good at adapting to new realities," Kane smiled.

He walked Firlia to the door and watched her leave down the busy street, and looked down at the courtyard where Kessa was still wrestling with his warriors, slamming Brak into the dust with a triumphant laugh.

Then he felt a strange prickle on the back of his neck. He raised his head and looked across the avenue.

The blindfolded seer stood perfectly still in the open window of the building directly opposite the inn.

She had been standing there the entire time, facing his exact direction despite her covered eyes.

She raised one pale hand and pointed a single finger directly at him.

Then she smiled.

[Hidden Quest Updated: The Seer’s Gambit]

[Target Located]