Hazel Quickpaw's Arc

Chapter 5 of 5

Hazel walked beside the cart, watching Grendel's back. The badger-kin hadn't said much since they left the wall with the Syndicate mark, but his shoulders stayed tight, his ears swiveled at every sound. Hazel replayed the conversation from days ago—the offer to keep him alive until Nor. He'd thought it was about coin, or protection, or maybe just Grendel's need to feel useful. But now, with the Tower's name sitting in his coat pocket, the timing felt wrong. Too convenient. He needed to know if Grendel had been playing him from the start. He caught up to the badger-kin and pulled out the debt parchment, the red ribbon already loose from years of handling. "You ever hear of the Overgrown Tower?" Grendel stopped walking. His hand went to his chest, fingers brushing a chain hidden under his collar. "Where'd you hear that name?" Hazel held up the document. "My parents' debt. It's listed right here. Been carrying this thing for years." Grendel's jaw tightened. He pulled the necklace free—two wedding rings, one smaller than the other, threaded on a worn chain. "My wife worked there. Before the Red took it. Before it took her." His voice went flat. "I knew the name the moment you said you owed the Syndicate. The Tower's the only collateral they care about anymore." Hazel's chest went cold. "You knew. Before I even told you." Grendel nodded once. "I knew." He reached into his coat and pulled out a faded polaroid—a badger-kin woman in a garden, soft snout, kind eyes. "Her name was Maren. She died three years ago, trying to get supplies out of that place." He pressed the photo into Hazel's hand. "I told you I'd keep you alive until Nor. But if you're going to that Tower after, you're not going alone. That's the price for the lie I've been carrying." Hazel stared at the photo, then at Grendel. The badger-kin's face was stone, but his hand shook when he let go of the picture. Hazel folded the polaroid carefully and tucked it into his coat with the parchment. The debt had a shape now—and it had a witness. Someone who'd already lost everything to the same place Hazel's parents had signed away. He didn't know if that made the odds better or worse, but it changed the game. He wasn't carrying this alone anymore. "Deal," Hazel said. Grendel nodded and started walking again, and Hazel followed, the weight in his coat heavier now, but steadier.