The message arrived on the third morning after they had settled into the secondary holding. Northern riders had been confirmed within half a day's ride of the channel.
The river lord's factor did not waste time with ceremony. He ordered a demonstration before the sun reached its peak. Proof that the key was real, delivered in a way that would not wreck the farmstead or the fields around it.
They were taken out beyond the southern wall to a cleared stretch of ground. A single low stone marker stood in the center, half-buried and weathered.
Pre-empire work. The same angular script they had seen carved into the vault walls under the Name-Stone. The factor explained the terms without apology or soft words.
Aiden would approach the marker alone. He would use enough of the key's nature to make the stone react. If the reaction stayed visible and controlled, the protection continued. If it failed or spread beyond the field, the deal ended on the spot.
