The caravan's noonday halt was nothing less than an orchestrated gastronomical campaign. White canvas awnings stretched between wagons provided shade, elegant rugs rolled out to preserve the dining area from muddy boots, and servants glided with the unbroken discipline of a well-trained military unit. Each plate, each cup, each garnish seemed to have been set by someone who cared deeply about presentation — and had the power to ensure that those beliefs were made a reality.
Sharath, lounging in his bassinet (which, he was more and more sure, had more spells built up on it than the royal vault of treasures), gazed at the tableau with calculated infant naivety. His gaze skipped from plate to plate, taking in tiny details: steam patterns, magic glow intensity, and plating balance.
{🐧OBSERVATION: THIS DINNER HAS BEEN STAGED AS A DIPLOMATIC ACT AS MUCH AS A PUBLIC DISPLAY. SUGGESTING MULTIPLE AUDIENCES — VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE.]
Lady Ishvari leaned over, holding out a porcelain spoonful of beige, velvety stuff. It smelled… improbably good.
He tasted.
{🐧NUTRITIONAL ANALYSIS: CARBOHYDRATE-TO-PROTEIN RATIO OPTIMAL. MAGICAL INFUSIONS PRESENT. HERBAL COMPOUNDS INCLUDE MEMORY ENHANCERS, NEURO-ACCELERATORS, AND CALMING AGENTS TO OFFSET COGNITIVE LOAD.]
They're adding brain boosters to baby food. That's either the most considerate parenting act in history… or a sneaky method to advance an entire generation of strategic thinkers without them even noticing.
{🐧RECOMMENDATION: ACCEPT. BETTER TO USE ENHANCEMENTS THAN REFUSE AND RAISE SUSPICION.]
Sharath swallowed obediently, mentally noting he'd need to monitor for long-term side effects.
Meanwhile, Lord Varundar was sampling something far more controversial — a wedge of the Merchant Guild's famous ten-spice cheese. He didn't approach it like a man tasting food. No, this was the cautious testing of a potentially dangerous artifact.
The steward observed Sharath's interest and leaned forward with deference, extending the smallest flake. "For the young master," he proclaimed, as if granting a diplomatic title.
The cheese appeared… attentive. Not "alive" alive, but with the barely perceptible sheen of something listening.
{🐧CHEMICAL & MAGICAL ANALYSIS: FERMENTATION BALANCED TO PERFECTION. TEN CLEAR SPICE SIGNATURES. PRESERVATION SPELLS GUARANTEE FLAVOR INTEGRITY FOR A MINIMUM OF FIVE YEARS. DETECTED: TRACE COGNITIVE AUGMENTATION MAGIC.]
It's literally brain cheese.
{🐧CORRECTION: HIGH-QUALITY BRAIN CHEESE.]
Sharath let the bite graze his tongue.Flavor exploded like a too-daring fireworks show — bursts of cumin heat, coriander bite, and an enigmatic underlying note that felt like reading an old book in a language you nearly comprehended.
Also, faint telepathic murmurs.Nothing to worry about — just someone's thought on optimum storage temperatures and the subtle tragedy of over-salting.
His face involuntarily crunched as if he'd bitten into a lemon bespelled by an angry orchard spirit.
{🐧DIAGNOSTIC: FLAVOR SHOCK + MILD COGNITIVE OVERLOAD. NORMAL FOR FIRST CONTACT WITH INTELLIGENCE-ENHANCING DAIRY.]
A ripple of laughter moved through the assembly. Lady Ishvari beamed. "That's his first genuine cheese reaction! Such discrimination already."
Lord Varundar raised his goblet in seriousness. "Let it be noted — the young master likes his dairy properly magically augmented."
{🐧SOCIAL ANALYSIS: REACTION SUCCESSFULLY REFRAMED AS REFINEMENT. ZERO SUSPICION OF UNDERLYING STRATEGIC AWARENESS.]
The moment became casual repartee, but Sharath's ears — augmented and consciously attuned to specific frequencies — caught more significant interchanges from around the periphery of the lunch.
Overheard Conversation #1 – Guild Representatives, beverage table
"…ramping up sealing procedures," one whispered."Even the profitable locations?""Especially those. The Crown is more afraid of what will be brought up than the gold we lose sealing them."
{🐧ALERT: POLICY CHANGE SUGGESTS SOONER OR LATER TRIGGER EVENT. ]
The phrase "Depth Containment Protocol" floated by, followed by the ringing of goblets. Magic automatic collapse of any mine penetrating existing chambers. Not mere precaution — suppression.
"What about miners who've experienced something?""Surface reassignment. Memory alteration for those demonstrating… instability."
{🐧DATA CORRELATION: GOVERNMENT-LEVEL COVER-UP IN PROGRESS. MEMORY ALTERATION CONFIRMS THREAT CLASSIFICATION BEYOND PUBLIC DISCLOSURE.]
Overheard Conversation #2 – Merchant Guard Captains, near supply crates
"…patrol found another one two nights ago. Whole cavern lit by symbols. Couldn't even look straight at them.""And?""They sealed it. Fast. Too fast. Didn't even catalog the artifacts.""You think they're hiding finds from the Guild?""Not hiding — destroying."
{🐧IMPLICATION: KNOWLEDGE ITSELF MAY BE PERCEIVED AS A VECTOR OF CONTAMINATION.]
Overheard Conversation #3 – Junior Clerk & Courier, behind spice wagon
"…sent letter to my cousin in the capital about the deep mines. Three days later, different letter arrived in my own handwriting, claiming I'd made a mistake.""And?""I never wrote it."
{🐧CONCLUSION: INFORMATION SANITIZATION IS ALREADY OPERATIONAL IN COMMUNICATION CHANNELS.]
By dessert (a subtly chilled fruit custard with protective sugar sigils), Sharath had amassed sufficient raw intel for a complete briefing dossier. NeuroBoop, his resident assistant, started organizing it into two categories:
Field Report – Kavrenn's Crossing Intelligence Summary
Economic & Industrial Assessment:
Forge efficiency: 78% optimal for current tech level.
Market organization: extremely systematic, indicative of long-term planning.
Material supply chains: strong, redundancy in distribution networks.
Magical integration: smooth, sustainable, economically scalable.
Security & Threat Assessment:
Several authenticated "dungeon breaks" of ancient architecture.
Recurrent reports of brain-damaging symbols and psychic events.
Crown-authorised Depth Containment Protocol — direct magical eradication of break points.
Systematic concealment of information, including memory alteration and forged communication.
Official conduct suggests threat categorization at existence level.
{🐧CREATOR, CROSS-REFERENCING PATTERN WITH ANCIENT SYSTEM ACTIVATION OR NON-HUMAN INTELLIGENCE CONTACT.]
Back in his cradle that night, Sharath gazed at the moonlit ceiling. The wooden horse on his table emitted a soft, approving snort — a noise he was no longer entirely convinced was merely wood settling.
This society wasn't "medieval." It was refined, adaptive, and profoundly competent — but now teetering on the brink of something very old and very dangerous.
{🐧CREATOR, WE ARE NOT HERE FOR SIMPLE INDUSTRIAL MODERNIZATION. PRIMARY OBJECTIVE HAS SHIFTED TO ASSISTING CIVILIZATION SURVIVAL UNDER EMERGING SUBTERRANEAN THREAT.]
Exactly. And to do that, they'd need someone fluent in both technology and magic — someone who could understand the engineering of pulleys and the politics of enchanted dairy.
{🐧RECOMMENDATION: MAINTAIN COVER AS "ADORABLE INFANT PRODIGY" WHILE INITIATING LONG-TERM THREAT ANALYSIS AND COUNTERMEASURE DESIGN.]
Sharath closed his eyes. "Start prepping."
{🐧Acknowledged. Commencing Simulative Comprehensive Threat.]
Outside the window, the stars shifted in their eternal curves — and somewhere, deep below, something stirred.
It wasn't hurrying.It was not.It had time.