Ruinwood's starting gate opened two hours after Wren chose her permanent contract. Vell entered with one numb hand, a new Grade-Three core, plus a recipe pointing toward the forest's most dangerous bird.
Thirty-eight new guild teams crowded the cleared ground beyond the barrier. Each received an approved map slate showing red kill markers, green extraction lanes, and a score estimate beside every marked beast.
Officials sealed an emergency beacon onto each team leader before opening the internal gates. Breaking its marked route cost the extraction bond, giving every poor team another reason to follow directions without checking them.
The public board scored kills immediately but delayed salvage until judge inspection. Anything carried from an unmarked route received no points, even when the team survived retrieving it.
