Reidar blinked for a second after Caleb left. <Shit…>

He looked around and realized that all those in the area wore black armbands.

<These are all with Caleb.>

Reidar's gut tightened as he looked through the crowd again. The sheer number of black armbands around him made him feel as if he'd walked into a hornet's nest without even knowing it. How had he missed this? How deep did this thing go? How many church members were here in Havenwood?

Maybe they were displaying the armbands now just for the sake of scaring him.

Regardless, he needed to go to check on Aaron. He was pragmatic, grounded, and most likely knew things most didn't. The workshop wasn't far anyway.

As Reidar moved closer to the forge, he spotted two men with black armbands blocking someone without one from the food line. They weren't shouting, but the way the man flinched when one of them grabbed his arm said it all.

The non-member eventually stepped back, letting them take his place. No protest. Reidar moved toward what looked like a public kitchen, noting how people changed their paths to avoid him now.

<What the fuck?>

A young woman stared at his summoner's crook, probably wondering how he'd gotten such high-level gear all on his own. That kind of stuff usually took a group pooling resources, at least, that's what Keth'Moran had told him when he was still in the Three Lakes.

She hurried off when he caught her eye. Her left arm had a fresh bruise shaped like someone's fingers.

<The tension isn't just between the church and the others. Even among the armband-wearers, things feel off. Polite nods that mean nothing, conversations stopping as soon as someone else gets close.>

Reidar knew he had been in Havenwood for less than 4 days, but what he was seeing now that he was paying attention partially explained the situation. Martin was worried, and reasonably so, because the situation looked like it could explode at any moment, and the monster situation wasn't making things better.

In fact, it was the opposite, because if it really was the church behind all of this, then it would just be a matter of time before the citizens turned on him.

Reidar found Aaron at the workshop, hammering a broken hinge.

Aaron's hammer stopped mid-swing as he spotted Reidar nearby. He straightened up and brushed the iron dust from his hands.

"Hey Reidar," Aaron said. "Still wandering out here this late?"

Reidar gave him a small nod, his gaze lingering on the engineer's dust-streaked face and weary posture. "I could say the same about you. It looks like you've been at it longer than I have."

"I just came from a quarry-clearing quest," Reidar continued, watching Aaron's reaction carefully.

"Yeah… I heard… It looks like it went well."

Reidar gave a nod. "Yes, we cleared the quarry completely and eliminated the nest boss. Martin should be able to send mining crews out there safely now."

"The quarry quest?" Aaron's expression shifted from weary to genuinely happy, a spark of enthusiasm lighting his eyes. "How?! Wh—That's excellent news! All that stone will be helpful for reinforcing our walls and rebuilding the eastern wall."

For a moment, they exchanged small talk, comments about repairs holding up, the weather turning. But Caleb's words stuck with Reidar.

He let the silence linger just long enough and then broke it. "I heard an interesting rumor," Reidar said. "It looks like someone is thinking that you might know something people don't. People say you noticed something weird going on here." He held Aaron's gaze.

Aaron's jaw tightened, a subtle but unmistakable shift on his face. He set the broken hinge aside with a clatter against the stone floor, then wiped his palms across the worn fabric of his trousers, leaving faint smudges of rust and grit behind.

"Yeah," he said. Then his voice dropped to a near-whisper. "Follow me. Here is not private enough."

They slipped out of the work area and took a side hall that led into an under-used storage annex. Just two cracked chairs, a dead radio on a shelf, and dust thick enough to mark footprints.

Aaron shut the door, leaned against it for a moment, and scanned the corners like he was pondering if even the walls could listen.

Reidar crossed his arms. "Is this so big you've got to hide here to say it?"

Aaron nodded. "Martin… It looks like he's steering the ship straight. But the course he's setting? It's getting stranger every week." His voice dropped.

"It doesn't surprise me. But I would like you to explain what you mean by 'weird.' What kind of weird orders might that guy be giving?" Reidar asked, though the question felt hollow even as it left his lips. He kept his face blank, curious but not too eager to show it, just enough to ask about someone's doubts without pushing too hard.

In what could be in all effect called an apocalypse, Reidar found it bizarre for weird orders to be given. All orders were weird, starting from those related to hunting monsters. But of course, he got what Aaron meant.

Aaron nodded. "I see every haul that comes in and goes out. I've never once seen what Lena's group brings back despite trying."

Reidar raised a brow. "Never?"

"Never, which makes you wonder about the secrecy."

He paused. "As much as I know, they bring everything to a warehouse. No one's allowed near the building except a few handpicked people. I'm not on that list. I'm the damn engineer, and I can't even step through the door."

"I might know something more than you about Lena and the others."

"You do?" Aaron knew about his expedition to the quarry with them, so his surprise was a bit odd.

"Yes," Reidar said. "Lena and the others are leveling up and pooling resources to get strong enough to fight the monsters."

Reidar wasn't sure if Aaron had heard the rumors about who was behind the monsters. But he kept quiet. Whatever Martin was up to, telling anyone else could mess things up. Besides, it might not be true.

"Well… It's not like I didn't know that, given their levels."

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