The morning sun cut through the mist hanging over Ashvale as the gates opened for the caravan approaching from the east. Leading the small procession were Jinrai and Tharion, flanking a pair of finely dressed men on horseback — one clearly a noble diplomat by his cloak and carefully trimmed beard, the other looking far more practical with dirt-smudged boots and a scroll case tightly strapped to his side. Behind them was a cart filled with supplies and the merchant who had initially helped initiate the talks, now looking far more pleased with himself than when he left.
As they passed through the gate, a few soldiers stationed there gave a tired salute. Jinrai nodded back and guided the group straight toward the inn they had stayed in before. The diplomat seemed unimpressed with the modest structure, but he said nothing. The surveyor, by contrast, looked around with curiosity — taking in the town's state, the wear on the roads, the positioning of structures — like his mind was already making calculations.
Once they handed off the diplomat and surveyor to the innkeeper and made sure they were properly lodged and fed, Jinrai and Tharion climbed the stairs toward the room where Amukelo, Bral, and Idin were staying. Jinrai stopped in front of the door and knocked twice, firmly.
No answer.
Tharion looked at him and raised an eyebrow. Jinrai shrugged, then knocked again.
This time, a voice called out, muffled and gruff, "I'm busy. Come back later… or don't."
Jinrai and Tharion looked at each other, eyebrows raised. Tharion snorted. "That's got to be Idin."
Jinrai nodded, "Yeah, that's definitely him."
Tharion called out louder, "Hey, is that you, Idin? We came back. We need to talk. Got something for you."
The door creaked open a second later.
"Oh," he blinked. "It's you."
Tharion leaned against the frame. "We've got some news. I hope you do too."
Idin nodded, "Right, I'll go fetch the others."
A few minutes later, he reached the library and found the rest of the group. Bral was sitting on a bench with a book opened across his lap. Pao and Bao were next to him, leaning in to glance at the page, while Amukelo was sitting nearby, doing slow breathing exercises — hands resting on his knees, eyes closed.
Idin leaned against the doorway, arms crossed. "Oh, you're not training?"
Bral grinned, not looking up. "They did a little break for me."
Bao rolled her eyes and pointed at Bral. "You interrupted us."
Bral flicked a hand toward Idin. "Anyway, what do you want? Need a book for your sewing again? Maybe something on embroidery this time?"
Idin raised an eyebrow. "As if any of these dusty things could help me. No. Jinrai and Tharion are back. And apparently, they've got something worth hearing."
Bral's smirk dropped. "Well, that sounds more interesting than sitting here bored."
Bao stood and stretched. "Finally, something's happening."
Together, they left the library and returned to the inn, heading straight for Jinrai and Tharion's room. The old warrior opened the door for them, stepping aside to let the group in.
Bral sat on the arm of a nearby chair, arms crossed. "Alright. So? Did you achieve anything while you were out? Or were you just enjoying fancy dinners in the capital?"
Jinrai gave a short laugh. "Depends on your definition of 'fancy'. But yes, we achieved something. Tomorrow, the new surveyor will take a look at the landscape. If he confirms that the notes are real — and I mean not just any road project, but this exact one — then the diplomat we brought will start the contract work to fund and continue the road."
Idin raised an eyebrow. "He'll know it's real the moment he reads it. Those markings, the calculations — it's not some generic document."
Jinrai nodded. "He actually said the same. But the diplomat was firm. He said he won't push for funding unless it's verified properly. Which is fair — with all the sabotage going around, I don't blame them for being cautious."
Tharion added, "The merchant really helped us there. Apparently, he's got enough pull with a few council members in the capital. It's why they even agreed to send someone this quickly. Took some convincing though."
Jinrai said. "If the surveyor approves the documents, then funding should follow shortly after. And if that happens, the road project might finally get back on track."
Jinrai leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms, letting out a slow breath. "Alright. Now that you know what we were doing while we were away… tell us. What happened on your end? Anything we should know?"
The room went quiet for a moment. They all glanced at one another, wordlessly deciding who would speak first. It was Idin who finally broke the silence.
"Yeah," he said, nodding slowly. "There was an incident."
Jinrai raised an eyebrow. "Go on."
"A storage room in the outpost exploded."
Jinrai sat up straighter. "Exploded?"
Tharion leaned forward. "The one where we left the bait?"
Idin shook his head. "No, we weren't that careless. We left the toolbox with the parchment in the captain's office, under lock. This explosion happened in a completely different part of the outpost. But… if it was a distraction, then he failed. The toolbox was untouched."
Tharion frowned. "He? You say 'he' like you know who did it."
Amukelo stepped in then. "We don't have solid proof. But we have a very likely suspect. The explosion was caused by flour. Someone had ordered too much of it — something the outpost never stores in that area. Normally, they store wheat grains and grind them as needed. But this time, three extra bags of flour appeared."
"Flour?" Tharion asked, blinking.
Amukelo nodded. "Flour is extremely flammable in large amounts if it's stirred up in the air. In a closed room with no ventilation, all it would take is a single spark — like a torch. The whole room would go up. That's what happened."
Tharion rubbed his chin. "So someone ordered extra flour. And just left it there?"
Bral stepped in now. "After digging a little bit, we learned that it was at the request of a lieutenant. Lieutenant Raidar. He claimed he needed extra flour for a monster extermination patrol. But when Rhan checked the military archives for any such patrol, there was nothing. No request, no plan, no personnel logs."
"After that," Idin continued, "Raider vanished. No one's seen him since. The whole outpost has been searching."
Pao folded her arms. "And one more thing. I sensed something strange on him. A spell. Similar sensation to when we met Shio. I can't dispel it like Jinrai, so we didn't act."
Jinrai's eyes narrowed. "You're sure?"
"I'm not going to claim one hundred percent certainty without a dispel. But I'm certain he was under a spell."
Jinrai leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. He went quiet for a long moment, staring at the floor, putting the pieces together.
"That… would explain a lot," he said finally. "If Raidar's a vampire, it would explain his motives. And if he's a lieutenant, he'd have access to anything — patrols, storage, even time alone in the office."
He turned to the others. "Remember when the captain first told us about the people who might know about the merchant in advance? He mentioned only a few people entered his office. A lieutenant like Raidar would've been one of those people."
Tharion frowned again. "But if that's the case… if he stirred up the flour, created a distraction, went to the captain's office to find the parchment — why didn't he take it? Or destroy it?"
"Good question," Idin said. "That's what stumped us too."
Bao added, "Rhan said the toolbox was untouched. Not even the position of the tools had changed."
Tharion raised an eyebrow. "So either he didn't find it… or he found it and put everything back exactly the way he found it. Which doesn't sound likely unless he's very meticulous."
Jinrai leaned back again, thinking. "Maybe he did find it. And realized it was fake."
Everyone paused.
"If he found out it was a trap," Jinrai continued, "he might have backed off. That would explain why he disappeared. If he thought we were trying to expose him, or catch him in the act, he'd vanish."
"And," Tharion added, "if he thinks the parchment is fake, he might also assume the road project is no longer a threat to him or his allies."
"He'd think we gave up," Bral said with a grim smile. "That we lost momentum. That he can disappear now and wait it out."
"Well," Jinrai said, "then he's going to be very disappointed."