As they left the chamber, the market around them had changed. The air grew colder, faces unfamiliar. Everyone stared longer than they should have.
"Something's wrong," Eira muttered.
A scream shattered the quiet.
Kael rushed forward, finding a vendor collapsed, eyes glazed, his stall in flames.
A cloaked figure fled into the alleys.
They chased, twisting through Hollowthroat's maze until the shadows parted to reveal the attacker—a woman in bone armor.
"I've come for the crystal," she hissed. "Surrender it, Kael, before it consumes you."
Kael drew his blade. "Come and take it, then."
She smiled. "Gladly."