The guild hall had once been magnificent.

Its vaulted ceilings still soared high enough for griffins to perch in the rafters. Stained-glass windows painted ancient heroes in radiant blues and golds. Hundreds of quest plaques lined the walls, each bearing the names of adventurers who had returned triumphant.

Today, half the candles were out.

Rain dripped through a leak in the roof into a bucket that someone had thoughtfully labeled "Roof Fund." It contained three copper coins and a button.

You pushed through the heavy oak doors, your armor still scarred from the A-Rank contract. The head of the Frostmaw Chimera hung from a cart outside as proof enough. An A-Rank bounty. Dangerous enough that most guilds would have assembled a party of five.

You'd done it alone.

As you approached the payment counter, the clerk couldnt manage her usual smile.

Amaranth adjusted her spectacles and stared at a ledger as might start to cry